Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Necessary Sacrifices	By : magentasouth Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 31254 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from any part of the Harry Potter universe

Chapter List
- 1-Ch 1
- 2-Ch 2
- 3-Ch 3
- 4-Ch 4
- 5-Ch 5
- 6-Ch 6
- 7-Ch 7
- 8-Ch 8
- 9-Ch 9
- 10-Ch 10
- 11-Ch 11
- 12-Ch 12
- 13-Ch 13
- 14-Ch 14
- 15-Ch 15
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 18-Ch 18
- 19-Ch 19
- 20-Ch 19b
- 21-Ch 20
- 22-Ch 22
- 23-Ch 23
- 24-Ch 24
- 4
- 5
- 6
Breakfast was subdued that morning.�

Harry stirred his spoon in his bowl of cereal
aimlessly.� Ron ate solidly, hardly
looking at Harry �apparently the two had had a falling out last night after
she�d gone to bed.�

Ginny sat with them and stared at Harry moon eyed.�

Hermione prepared herself a plate of melon and strawberries
and ate thoughtfully, wondering what was wrong with Harry. Was he upset over Ron?�� He didn�t seem to be interested in Ron.��

�So... what are you both doing today?� she asked them.�

Ron grunted noncommittally and Harry shrugged.� A moment later he seemed to shake himself and
looked up at her with hopeful eyes.�

�I..need to work on my transfiguration
assignment.� What are you doing?��

She sighed internally.�
That was Harry�s way of saying.. I need you to
help me with my transfiguration assignment.�

She had wanted to start one of the Dark Lord�s books today.� She�d been looking forward to it.� Drat.

�I guess I�m working on transfiguration� she said resignedly.� Harry beamed gratefully.�

Ron scowled.. �Yeah.. I need to do that assignment too.� I�ll join you both�

Noticing Harry�s face fall Hermione suddenly got a sinking
feeling.� She told herself Harry was just
irritated to be spending time with Ron in a snit.�

It didn�t even convince her.. but she was glad as hell that Ron
had invited himself.� Being alone with Harry
was not a good plan if she was right.�

She just about jumped out of her skin when Professor Snape
materialised behind her on the left.�

How did that man move about so subtly?!.. he was dressed from head to toe in black in a great white
room.� It wasn�t as if he blended
in.�

She decided it must be something in the way he moved.�

�Headmaster�s office, Mr Potter.� Now.��

Hermione looked at Harry, surprised.� What had he done?!� When had he done it � he hadn�t mentioned
anything.�

Bloody useless spy she was if she
missed something like this.� Maybe it was
some kind of notification.� The Dursleys? Remus?�

�Harry?� she said uncertainly.�

�It�s ok, Mione.� I
know what it;s about� he reassured her, getting up
from the table and hurrying after Professor Snape, who was already off and
striding at a fair clip in the direction of the headmasters office.�

Turning back to the table she saw Ginny looking worried. �What do you think its about?� the girl asked her.

Ron hadn�t looked up from his bacon and eggs.�
He had a black cloud of snit hanging over him almost tangibly.��

She pushed her plate away and replied� �I�m sure it�s nothing serious..He�ll
tell us all later I guess��

Walking briskly out of the great hall she headed for the
headmaster�s office.�

The gargoyle was perched across the stairs and so she slid down the wall beside
it to sit on the floor and wait for Harry.�

�There�s�
NO bloody WAY!!�

�Albus.. really.. you cannot be serious!�

�Harry, Severus, calm yourselves.� This is
the best solution.� Remus
is away and I cannot guarantee I will be able to remain awake to watch
you.� I am forced to take ...medication..at present that leaves me exhausted during the night.�

You must remain close to Professor Snape
during the night.� He will occlude you
from Tom�s influence.� And I cannot
require him to sit in the sixth year boy�s dormroom
all night.�

�Albus!!�

�No, Severus.� The
idea to occlude for the boy was yours after all.� I will not discuss it with you further.� You will assist Harry.

You should have more energy now that you have Miss Granger assisting you with
brewing.�

Harry and Severus looked at one another hatefully.� The elder man slid his eyes away
shiftily.� Dumbledore had him by the
short curlies.�
He was to view Miss Granger as a bribe, apparently.�

He felt mild disgust that his two masters could often be so alike.�

�Yes, Headmaster.� Miss Granger has been very helpful.� ...I will ..do as
you ask.� Please excuse me in order that I might retire
to my chambers and prepare them for my new..roommate.�� he said the word
with distaste.�

�Quite alright, Severus.� Off you go, my boy.� I�m certain Harry will be down later on with
his things.��

Harry said nothing.�
He was looking at the headmaster incredulously.� After the Professor had departed he demanded
almost panicked

�I can�t stay with him,
headmaster.� Snape hates me..and I can�t stand him either.
He�ll end up poisoning me or something if I�m down there with him all the time.� There has to be another way!!��

The headmaster looked quite sad for a moment.�

�I�m afraid not, Harry.� There..are..some objects that might
help.. charmed stones..an
enchanted pillow.. things of myth and antiquity.. but I am afraid that I am not in possession of any of
them.�

Nor do I know of anyone who might loan me such an item.� They are mysterious things and rare
indeed.�

It will not be as terrible as you fear to stay with your Professor.� Severus does not so
much as snore. You will be safe with him.��

Harry groaned seeing that it was pointless to even discuss
it. The headmaster�s mind was made up.

�Miss Granger!�� Professor
Snape scowled down at her as he emerged from the stairwell.�

�Do you have nothing better to do than lie about the corridors in an
undignified manner?� Surely there is some
book you could be ingesting compulsively?��

She frowned slightly at his rude manner � he�d been..nicer
yesterday.� It seemed that might have
just been the potion fumes.

�No Professor.� I�m
waiting for Harry. And I�m sitting up.�
It�s adequately dignified.�

The man�s face darkened slightly.� �Is that so, Miss Granger.
Well you may as well do something productive while you wait.� Mr. Potter will be down in the dungeons
shortly I imagine.� Come along.��

He gestured with a hand snippily and began to stalk away, stopping after a
couple of steps when she did not move.

�Miss Granger.. I believe I instructed you to
come.� Move.� Now.��

She got to her feet grumbling and scuffed off after him.

�And pick your feet up when you walk� he sniped back at her,
turning the corner.�

Reluctantly abandoning hope of getting to take a look at the
book on forgotten curses today she broke into a jog to catch up to the Professor.� She was supposed to pay attention to both of
them and Professor Snape obviously knew what Harry had been to see the
headmaster about.�

Professor Snape could really burn through the corridors when he wanted to, she
noted.� She was having
to almost jog to keep pace beside him.�

Darting a look at him she observed a small satisfied little smirk

�Sir!� she admonished, short of breath. �Please could you
slow down..��

Her severe Professor quirked a brow at her
bobbing form alongside his. �I shouldn�t think so, Miss Granger.� Keep up.��

They made it down to the dungeons in what had to be record
time for her.� She threw herself onto a
stool, resting her face on one of the potions benches in Professor Snape�s
private lab and just tried to catch her breath.�

The snide comment from Professor Snape did not make her feel any better-� �You spend too much
time in the library, Miss Granger.� What
good will knowing the name of every figure in the goblin wars do you when you
are being pursued by death eaters?!�
Physical fitness is more than simply cutting a pleasing figure.��

She banged her head against the desk cursing to herself. She didn�t have to worry about death eaters chasing her any more. �

�Professor.. why is Harry in
the headmaster�s office� she asked point blank.�

Professor Snape�s face was less informative than a wiped
chalkboard.�

�I am certain that if the headmaster intended you to know, Miss Granger, he would
have extended an invitation to you.�
Prepare a number 8 cauldron.� You
will be making polyjuice potion.� I will return shortly to check your
ingredient ratios.�� He billowed off
through the door into his chambers, closing it after him.�

She cursed again, this time out loud.�

Great.� She
couldn�t ask Harry now what was going on and Professor Snape was not going to
tell her either, and she couldn�t stay in her room and read books of interest and she was under NO illusion
that the polyjuice was for the infirmary.� There was no
legitimate use for polyjuice.� She was essentially brewing for the death
eaters.. which.. she supposed.. was fine too in a
way.. it was just his manner..

Gah..

She set about beginning the ingredient preparation.

Harry wandered down to the dungeons.� He had gone back to his room to find his bed
made and all his things missing.� No
points for guessing where they would be.�

Ron hadn�t been in the common room and he wasn�t sure whether he had noticed
the changes in the dorm.�

He�d have to explain to him and to Mione where he was and why.�

...He�d be vague.�

He�d explained to the headmaster what had happened and let
him legilimise him.. well.. he hadn�t really had a
choice he supposed.� It wasn�t as if he
could occlude the headmaster.� But at least
he�d asked and given Harry the illusion of choice.� ��

Just to make everything that little bit worse the headmaster had had Snape look
at his memory too.��

The git hadn�t even bothered to ask, hadn�t hesitated, just
drew down on him and forced his way into his mind.� He could feel him there as he was dragged
through the horrible experience for the third
time.�

When Snape had withdrawn from his mind he�d looked upset for
a moment and he and the headmaster had exchanged words under some kind of
muffling curse.�

And that was when the headmaster had told him he�d be staying with the great
git in the dungeons.�

This...sucked..�

This sucked a lot.�

He knocked hesitantly on Snape�s chamber door and it swung
open.� He looked around uneasily.� The bastard was nowhere around.�

He wasn�t sure whether he should just go in.�
Maybe it was a trap.�

�Oh do stop fussing, Potter and get inside.� I would rather the entire castle did not
observe you dithering on my doorstep.� Snape emerged from the corridor at the
side of the room.�

Harry stepped in resentfully and closed the door behind
him.� As if he wanted
anyone seeing him going into Snapes quarters.� They�d think...�

He groaned miserably at the rumours that were going to circulate because of
this.�

�Ah..there.� Finally. � Snape
sneered nastily. �I had every faith that your undernourished little brain would
extrapolate the results of the headmaster�s pragmatism if you had enough time.�

This is going to be unpleasant for both of us..however
I imagine it will be marginally more
unpleasant for you Potter.��

Harry grimaced.� The
git looked disgustingly pleased now.�

�That�s all right..� he shot back at him. �If I have to have everyone thinking I�m gay,
I�ll tell them all you�re a bottom and I get off on having you kneel for me�

The Professors eyes bulged in barely sublimated rage.�

Harry backed up in shock as the man stalked toward him and blocked him in
against the door.� His mouth twisted into
a cruel snarl. �You really are a fool, boy.�
You depend upon me for your sanity.. for your very life..and you think to provoke me..��

One of the Professor�s hands boxing him in moved to grip his jaw, tilting his
head slightly, examining his face in a disconcerting appraising manner.�

�Back off� he growled, unable to keep the smallest tinge of
fear out of his voice at the proximity of the larger man. �Don�t touch
me.��

Snape smirked nastily. �Oh?�
But to hear you tell it we are..well..acquainted, Potter.��

You have no idea of that which you speak of but I promise you.. If you contribute to the
rumour mill around this school in any way
that displeases me, I will educate
you in these matters.�

And I assure you..
I will be ..pitching.�
he released Harry�s jaw roughly, turning on his heel and stalking away back
down the corridor he had emerged from.�

Harry let himself slump back against the door.� That had been..strange..� Horrible.. bizarre.. frightening.. and..strange.�

Unless he was losing his mind, the bat of the dungeons had just threatened to
fuck him. �And he was supposed to live here?!

How?!!

Could this day get any worse?!��

He took several deep breaths and then followed Snape down the corridor he�d
left through.�

Severus ran a hand through his hair agitatedly.� How did the boy always manage to make him
lose his composure like that?� He only
had to be in a room with the little bastard for minutes and he found himself wanting to throttle him.�

What the HELL was he doing threatening the boy like that?� He just threatened a student with rape!!�

Merlin�s hairy balls there was no way he could have the boy in his chambers for the foreseeable
future.

.and the boy was completely incompetent at occlumency.�� He may have just adopted the whelp until the
end of the war.�

How the blazes was he supposed to
serve the Dark Lord with Potter living in his quarters?�

Not to mention if one of the children of the Death Eaters
passed the word back that the boy who lived was within his possession all night,
every night, all hell would break
loose.

If the Dark Lord didn�t demand he abduct the boy, he�d demand he kill him or..something else.�

Possibly something very much along the lines of what he just threatened the boy
with.�

Albus would have bloody known that. �What the hell was he thinking putting the boy
here?!� He should have called the
werewolf back to watch over him.�

And who would watch over Miss Granger?!�
Albus hadn�t even mentioned her - as if she were entirely
irrelevant.� �

From Potter�s dream, the little muggleborn was going to be high on the Dark
Lord�s priorities.� He fully expected to
hear orders to acquire her when he went to the next summons.�

The way the Dark Lord had looked at the girl.. it was..unusual..to
say the least.� He was almost tempted to
allow Potter to have another dream so that he could compare it. ��

He slammed back into the lab closing the door behind
him.�

The girl had jumped at the sound.� He so
enjoyed making her flinch like that..

Her expression would shift for a microsecond to one of relief when she saw it
was him and then she would look at him with this cross little reproof
afterward.� It was somehow...overly
familiar.� The kind of look one gave a
friend.�

She�d always done it.�

He�d always valued that tiny second of relief.�

�Are you ready?� he demanded impatiently, seeing by the
preparations that she was indeed in essence ready, although she had prepared
too much iron and saltpetre and too little fluxweed.�

She looked back at him uncertainly.�

He went to the stores, taking more full-moon fluxweed and depositing it with the rest.�

As I�m certain you�re aware, you will prepare the polyjuice in the
cauldron in which the lacewings have been stewing.� I recommend lowering the bench or employing a
stepladder, Miss Granger.��

He moved to her ingredients and levitated off a portion of
iron and saltpetre each, sending it to the potion stores.�

�The ratios are now adequate. Remember the amounts you have before you now.. I will monitor your brewing today but in future, this
will be one of the potions you may brew for me unattended.��

The girl nodded, peering at the array of ingredients carefully.

�Begin� he intoned, seating himself upon a stool at the side and watching the
girl as she methodically worked by heart through the stages of brewing.�

It was gratifying to have an excuse to sit and stare at her.��

He was thinking idly about Potter�s dream and wondering whether the boy had
seen Miss Granger unclothed or if it was all speculation, when there was a
knock on the door.��

�Snape?� Are you in there?!�� Harry�s voice called.�

Miss Granger whirled in shock at hearing Harry from inside his quarters and responded automatically
�Harry?!!��

The door opened immediately and Potter�s head peered around
the edge of the door.� He shot him a
filthy look which the boy ignored completely.�

�Mione.. what
are you doing here?!��

He sniffed and pulled a face. �Polyjuice?!� What are you making that for � I thought you were brewing for the infirmary?!��

He interrupted whatever she was about to say. ��No Mr Potter.. I
said that she was assisting me.� I brew many different things.� This is one potion that falls within Miss Granger�s
range of expertise.��

The boy�s face took on its customary oppositional-defiant
expression

�You�re having her brew for Death Eaters
aren�t you?!�

You know damn well that potion might be used against her if-�

�Enough Mr Potter.� I know no such thing.� There are potions which may be brewed and
potions which must be brewed.� This is one of the latter.

If Miss Granger takes some of the basic potions off my hands, I will have more
time to apply to more demanding brews such
as wolfsbane ..or nerve regenerating draught.�

Cease your childish tantrums now.� You
are not obligated to remain in my quarters all day, Potter.� Go and play with your little friends.��

The boy stuck his chin out. �No.. I�m
staying with her.� I don�t trust you, Snape.� Who knows what you might slip into her
pumpkin juice after what you said out there.��

Hermione watched them both with interest, one eye on her
potion, her hand moving slowly through the figure eight stirring pattern.� It was thickening up nicely.�

She was relieved that the two people she was supposed to watch were both in the
same place and quite keen to remain in her presence.� It made everything much easier.�

�Harry?� she asked softly.�

Her friend recognised the tone of voice and ducked his
shoulders slightly. �Don�t ask me Mione..� he said
quietly.� �I don�t want to talk about it,
ok?�

She frowned and turned back to the potion feeling irritation
bowl over her unexpectedly.�

�Fine.� She said as patiently as she could manage.

�If you change your mind and want to talk to someone..
let me know. Otherwise � didn�t you say you had a
transfiguration assignment to work on?!��

Harry looked hurt at her blatant dismissal.� In her peripheral vision she thought she saw Snape
looking smug.�

�..Ok Mione.� We�ll
talk later..alright?�
When Ron and Ginny are there.� I�ll tell you all at the same time.��

She nodded curtly and he hesitated, then
slipped back out the door, closing it quietly behind him.�

She added the boomslang skin to her potion and
stepped back.� Now all that remained was
to allow it to stew for another nine days.�

Professor Snape was not saying anything, although he looked
at her speculatively.�

�What?!� she demanded snippily.�

His face became blank as driven snow and he raised his eyebrows questioningly.
�I don�t believe I addressed you, Miss Granger.�
But I think I will allow you
to work on one of your..private.. potions
now, if you wish.� You may select one of
your choice.��

She brightened considerably.�
That, she had not expected.�

Perhaps Professor Snape was pleased she had hurt Harry�s feelings.�� If that was the case he was going to be
delirious when he learned she had sold him out to the Dark Lord.�

A slight pall tinted her bright feelings at that thought.� She really had, hadn�t she?!� She�d
essentially stabbed him in the back, brought Voldemort his head on a gold
platter.. She was going to go back to her room tonight
and report on him..
hell.. she was going to report on them both.� And Professor Snape was offering her the
chance to brew for pleasure with him.�

She really was despicable.�

But maybe... Professor Snape could
be saved.

�Thank you Professor!!� she said brightly. �Can I work on...um.. Gren and Gables Geas?��

The sable-haired man�s eyes may have widened almost
imperceptibly but she couldn�t be certain.�
�Certainly. �I will be retaining the finished potion
however.� I cannot risk that particular brew floating around the
school..

I am confident you are aware where it will go when you have completed it...� It is hardly something one could use in an
infirmary.� Nevertheless I am sure someone will put it to use in some
manner.

Can you accept that.. Miss Granger?� You know its purpose..��

She frowned at him slightly.�
Was he trying to feel her allegiance out?!�

Good grief.. the Dark Lord
had warned her that he was observant.. and she had
known it herself from the last six years with him.. but
she didn�t think she�d done anything worthy of suspicion at this stage.

She responded somewhat reticently. �Yes Professor.� I know what it can be used for.. however
I only want to brew it.� I wouldn�t mind
if we tipped it down the sink afterward.. and if they wanted that potion � I �am confident you would
already be brewing it for them.�� She
looked at him baldly.�

His face showed no indication of what he might be thinking as he nodded and
gestured toward the potion stores.� �Then
by all means, Miss Granger.� Let us brew
liquid Imperius.��

It was several hours later that they finished.� The geas was quite a complex potion.� At one stage she had gotten muddled up about
whether it was three clockwise to one anticlockwise or the reverse and she had
been lucky Professor Snape was watching her closely.�

He didn�t seem overly bothered by her near error but he stood very close
looking over her shoulder for the rest of the time, which was somewhat
daunting.�

Professor Snape always smelled of dry herbs and licorice.

She knew the licorice smell was from a particular
astringent cleaner which the cauldrons needed to be cleaned in to remove every
last trace of their contents.� Scourgify�s were inadequate to remove particulate
rests.� Although students in detention
would often clean cauldrons, it was unthinkable that the Professor might invite
them into his private lab to clean there and he was almost constantly brewing
in the room, meaning he was almost constantly cleaning cauldrons.� So there was always a faint lingering licorice scent.�

She liked the scent of licorice so
it wasn�t unpleasant and it combined well with the quiet herby scent.� It suited him somehow.��

At the moment they were sitting in his study and she was
wondering what she was still doing here on her Sunday afternoon when she had
three tempting books to read.�

She was sipping a cup of lemon tea with honey and feeling out of place when a
book dropped into her lap.� A book she
recognised.� She looked down at it and
said nothing as the Professor seated himself in his wingback chair and picked
up his own green tea.�

�I would invite you to familiarise yourself with the potions
in that book once more Miss Granger, before beginning your next selection.� Had you slipped up with the stirring
instructions today, the potion would have been ruined.� You may refer to the text while you are in my
quarters.��

She picked up the book and ran her fingers over the embossed
leather cover.�

�Thank you, Professor��

This copy was more worn than the Dark Lord�s had been.� �How old were you when you finished them
all?� she asked curiously.�

He smirked.

�Twelve, Miss Granger.� However I had a
use for many of the brews and a wealthy patron willing to pay for them.��

She wrinkled her forehead, wanting to ask who it was,
doubting that Tom would have required the brewing skills of a twelve year
old.�

�Professor..What would you be working on if there weren�t ..you know.. the war..and Harry.. and everything?� she
asked softly.�

The man looked at her in mild surprise.

�Do you know.. you
are the only person to ever ask that,
Miss Granger.�� He seemed to think for a
while.�

�When I was younger, and far more arrogant, I hoped to duplicate the
philosophers stone.. �I suppose I would still enjoy dedicating
myself to that end.. It would be a work of many decades
I imagine.. if I ever
succeeded at all.� In all probability I
would not.�

I should also like to experiment with cognitive enhancers..nerve
regeneration in the field of severe cruciatus injuries and memory loss and no
doubt that would be a far more productive field of endeavour..�� He hesitated and a minor twinge of guilt
flickered for a millisecond, she was almost certain.��

�...Perhaps I could also be persuaded to work on improvements to wolfsbane.. or
different approaches to curing the affliction itself.��

Pensively he stared at the fire.�

�There are many areas I might devote myself to, had I the
opportunity to do so.� Unfortunately...I
rather doubt that that will ever come to pass, therefore it is an idle speculation.��

She looked at him, concerned.� �What do you mean?� If Harry wins..-�� Professor Snape interrupted her� �if
I survive to see Mr Potter defy all the odds and defeat the Dark Lord, then I
will be placed in Azkaban.�

Perhaps.. if the headmaster
is alive, I may be allowed to remain at Hogwarts teaching-�

His face showed no enthusiasm for this prospect

�-although I very much doubt it.��

�In all likelihood, the best case scenario would probably be
that I might be incarcerated and required to brew for the Ministry.�

She looked at him horrified.�
�But..� she started to say, wanting to express
something like �they wouldn�t do that.� Or �that�s not fair� and unable to face
either of the insipid blatantly questionable statements.�

He snorted at her, amused by her naivete.

�The ministry of magic would be as compassionate a master as the Dark Lord, I
have no doubt.� Perhaps even less so.. �At least the Dark
Lord allows me to go about my own affairs to some extent if I provide him with
whatever he desires.�

Hermione felt a pang in her heart at the poor man�s
situation.� He was in it up to his
eyeballs, no hope of freedom or a life after the war and he was still doing everything to save Harry
and bring down the Dark Lord..

..assuming that was actually what he did...

..assuming that he wasn�t truly loyal to Tom.��

�What..what will happen to you if Harry
loses?� she asked quietly.�

The Professor was silent for a long time.� Finally he answered. �If you complete all the
potions in that book within the next two weeks Miss Granger, I will allow you
to work on Grey�s �Poisons Sweet and Cruel�... would you like that?�

He watched her unreadably.�

She felt a leap toward the idea of Professor Snape willingly
allowing her access to banned dark arts texts but it was also more than merely suspicious.

�Why would you do that, Professor?� she questioned softly.�

The man hesitated and then smirked darkly.�

�You are correct to wonder.. I should not be contributing
to your fall to the dark arts, Miss Granger.�
I more than all others here know
how ...seductive..
they can be.��

She became distracted by the movement of his finger upon his
cup, it was stroking up and down the porcelain and for a sudden moment she
thought of his finger stroking her breast.�

She swallowed and darted her eyes to his face shocked at herself.�

He was smiling knowingly.�

She reassured herself... he can�t see my thoughts, he can�t
see my thoughts.. I�m wearing the necklace. �

She countered with redirection.

�Do you regret having learned anything that might be considered dark, then?��

She was surprised when Professor Snape laughed in a manner
that could not be argued to be anything but sinister.

�In my most maudlin, if I am deep in my cups, I occasionally do.. �...however, most
days I merely struggle to convince myself that I do not want to utilise..my
knowledge.��

He paused and seemed to struggle with the temptation to speak further.

�yes?...� she prompted, having the
feeling she probably should be shutting the conversation down and excusing
herself..but not quite ready to.�

Her word seemed to inflame his eyes further.

�You tempt me, Miss Granger.�
I see you ambling gaily toward the precipice and it reminds me of my own
fall..

I should be warning you off...
building fences to protect you from your own curiosity..
but part of me wants to accompany you on your way
down.�

On some level..even if I might ostensibly engage in
argument with my conscience, on some level
I have already decided to allow you to corrupt yourself.

For that reason I offer you a book slightly darker than the one you are working
from now.��

�Poisons are straightforward, Miss Granger.�

By that I do not mean they are simple to brew.. The
best.. rarest.. most inventive or least traceable ones tend to be
interesting to brew, with many stages of preparation and life threatening risks
for the brewer at every turn.�

They are...exciting...and that makes them tempting.�

They are straightforward
in that.. while one might use
an enticing elixir or a deflating draught in an innocent manner.. one may self dose the deflating draught for example.. poisons are created
to end life.�

In brewing them, one is aroused by the danger and simultaneously forced to
accept the truth that what is being created is a weapon.� A tool of murder.. of undeniable darkness.�

And the helpless fascination with said acknowledged evil work of skill is
corrupting��

Hermione parsed this enticing little speech noting the way
part of her was requesting permission to go and leap upon Professor Snape�s lap
and snog him senseless

�So.. in essence you are wondering whether
I am at risk of succumbing to the dark arts.. because
I brewed one dark potion�� she summarised and sipped her tea to disguise
the faint tremble in her fingers.

The man�s eyes flickered to her hand and then back to her
face, a tiny smirk at the corner of his lips.

�In essence..� he agreed and looked away, standing
up.�

She followed him with her eyes as he walked across the room
to the bookshelf.� He reached for a red
book on the top shelf and when he removed it, its colour bled out and it turned
black.� It looked to be a different book
entirely.� The leather binding looked old
and brittle.�

He walked over to her and sat on the sofa next to her. ��Slightly closer than was typical in a polite
conversation with one�s Professor, she observed. �He leaned back against the black leather of
the sofa, forcing her to either lie back too or turn around behind herself to
see him.�

She chose to lie back too.�

Unsurprisingly, the book he was holding was Grey�s Poisons
sweet and cruel.� He held it carefully,
as she would have also done with that binding.�

She finished her tea and leaned forward to put it on the
coffee table.� When she leaned back it
seemed like he was even closer.�

Tentatively, as if he was worried she might suddenly fling
it into the fire, he offered her the book.��
�Page ninety two� he directed.��

She handled the text reverently and cautiously opened it to
92, balancing it and not spreading its covers too widely.� The expression on Professor Snape�s face
indicated that he approved.��

Page 92 was Aphrodite�s revenge.�

She read swiftly.� Apparently it was
called this because it was frequently used by assassins topically.� After applying sealing and impervious charms
it would be spread on the skin of lips or..intimate
areas of the assassin.. and absorbed through the skin
of the victim who came in contact with that area.�

It led to a delayed but indescribably painful (due to the stonefish secretion
contained in it) topical effect of the affected body part, which would tend to
be lips, tongue, hand or genitalia,� and
a slow and entirely incurable collapse of the soft internal organs, veins and
capillaries.�

While this occurred, neuronal fibres were preserved, allowing the victim to
experience horrific pain while they bled from every orifice, right up until
they drowned in their own blood.�

Hermione swallowed nervously.� That sounded awful..

She had heard of stonefish.� Apparently
their venom was so painful that those affected would beg for the limb to be
amputated.� She couldn�t begin to
comprehend the pain that..um.. a
genital application of the poison might evoke.�

She read down the page curiously to the brewing instructions..ignoring the soft low chuckle at her side at her continued
interest.�

Professor Snape was right.. the
brewing of this poison was incredibly involved.�
It would take a month to prepare and there were at least five..no six.. places where direct
handling of venoms or poisonous secretions was required.�

�You�ve brewed this?� she asked faintly.�

His voice was like dark rich chocolate when it came.. �I have brewed all of these potions, Hermione.. and hundreds of others.. I have
been fascinated with the art for three and a half decades.��

She looked at him startled.�
She had never before heard Professor Snape use her first name.� �Sir?� she asked uncertainly.� He took the book from her gently without
looking away and placed it closed on the far side of the sofa. �

She felt as if she were slightly dizzy.�
His eyes were incredibly dark; like black stones.� �

Struggling to retain perspective and remember what the point of being here was
she asked weakly� �What
made you turn away from the dark arts?��

He smirked wryly.. �One never truly
turns away from the dark arts, Hermione.� The temptation is always present.��

He reached out slowly and captured a curl of her hair, twirling it around his
finger.� Her eyes widened and she
swallowed, on the brink of jumping up and running out of his quarters into the
corridor and relative safety.

�Did you join the Death Eaters so that you could practice
dark arts?� Was that why?�� She asked hesitantly.�

He looked thoughtful as if he were truly considering the
question.� �Perhaps..
in part.� He responded lowly.�

�There were other reasons.� My associates
were involved with the group.� The Dark
Lord promised me things I desired very much at the time..
but a large part of my reasons for joining was
possibly in order to brew whatever I chose.. to
receive acclaim for spells and curses I developed, irrespective of their
perceived moral rectitude.��

She frowned �

�But you don�t get to work on anything you want to work on, Professor.� Was it always that way?� Is that why you wanted to leave?� �

Professor Snape seemed to shake himself slightly.� He opened his mouth and then hesitated.�

A few moments later his face had closed like a blind had been pulled down and
he said dismissively �No.� No, Miss Granger.� It was ..something else.��

He stood up swiftly.� She watched him go
to the bookcase and return the poisons book, which became red and new as it was
slotted in.�

�I have no idea what came over me, contemplating brewing
illegal and dangerous poisons with a student.�
Please forgive my behaviour of the last hour Miss Granger.� I believe I have..-��

She leapt up and rushed over, babbling, afraid that she had
just blown her chance when he had started to open up to her. �Please Professor Snape.. I�d like to brew them.�
I�m sorry.� I shouldn�t have
asked.� I..I�ll
try not to be so curious.�

Please.. if I finish the
other book in two weeks as you said.. can we brew some
of Grey�s potions?��

Professor Snape was, astonishingly, visibly indecisive. �He
stared down at her and his hand came up again, as if off its own accord and
twirled a finger in one of her curls.�

His eyes, fixed on her own, as if upon a portent of doom, wandered to her curl
around his finger before he withdrew his hand abruptly and stepped back.

�I will think on it Miss Granger.� I do
not require your assistance tonight.�
Please leave now.�

She sighed and nodded.�

�Ok..� I�m ...sorry
for upsetting you Professor.� Thank you
for letting me brew today..and...for
talking to me..��

Turning, she quickly slipped out the door into the corridor.
�She walked away from the Professor�s
quarters with a lot on her mind.�

Well that certainly cleared up that question.�
Professor Snape did like
her.�

He touched her hair.� That wasn�t normal.

And the way he had looked at her.. and..and toyed with her
perhaps a little...

This was not necessarily a good
thing.� If he had abandoned his loyalty
because of Harry�s mum as Tom had suggested, then liking her and having her
reject him for Tom would be just the thing to push him firmly away from the Dark
Lord if he was on the fence.�

She wondered vaguely at Dumbledore letting her assist the Professor.� There was no way he�d know.� And the Professor probably did need
help.� Possibly at
least.�

She wondered.�

If he did uh.. fancy her.. then it was possible he had asked for her to assist
him to have her close at hand..

but if so then Dumbledore would have said no,
surely?�

And..-

wait..

what the hell was Harry doing in there?!�

She was jolted out of her preoccupied slow thoughtful walk
toward the dungeon stairs by a hand around the top of her arm that wrenched her
into an open door of an old never-used classroom as she passed it.�

It was pitch black as the door closed behind her and she stumbled trying to
right herself and pull her wand at the same time.�

The temptation was great to curse and demand to know who the
hell did that and what they wanted, but the kind of person who would pull her
into a pitch black room and close the door probably wasn�t going to apologise
for it.�

She dropped low and quickly moved to the side of the room, feeling in front of
her for the wall and getting her back against it then readying her wand as she
listened hard.�

There was silence. �

She strained her eyes trying to make out anything in the dark, wondering if the
door was locked and if she could make her way around the walls back to it.�

Suddenly she felt like all the air was being sucked out of
her lungs and she was unable to breathe in. �

She tried to scream with her last breath but it was dragged away into
nothingness.�

She slid down to the side, scrabbling at her throat, her wand useless since she
had no idea what was cast or where her assailant might be.� Whatever the spell was he had cast it
silently and it probably had a black colour since it hadn�t shown up in the
dark.��

Just as she started to see white spots before her eyes and felt herself
slipping into unconsciousness she heard a soft snigger.

�Enervate� Draco
watched the mudblood clench her eyes and pull a face.� Yes.. he knew that the curse he had used on her tended to leave a
bitch of a headache.�

She seemed to remember where she was and what was happening and opened her eyes
panicked.�

When she saw it was him she groaned.�

He sneered, knowing he had the upper hand.� She was on her knees, her wrists bound and
tied to her bound ankles.� There was
nothing she could do to free herself and the room was locked and soundproofed.� Nobody would be coming for her.� When he was finished..to
be on the safe side he�d obliviate her.�

But she wasn�t behaving right.�

She should be scared out of her mind right now and not glaring at him in
annoyance.�

�Draco.. what
the hell are you doing?!� Did you get permission to bloody accost me in
the corridors?!�� You are-�

He snarled at her �Shut it, Granger. You should have known
what you were getting into.� You are my inferior. A Worthless filthy little subhuman.�

Your kind serves on their knees and it just so happens I�m in the mood for your
service right now.��

He saw her eyes widen slightly and she swallowed.� But instead of accepting her situation and
making the best of it she just started yattering
again.

�Draco you don�t-�

He didn�t find out what she was going to say because he put
his boot into her side roughly, throwing her to her side on the ground.

�Silence, mudblood!!� How dare
you use my name!� You aren�t worthy of
it.� You
will call me Sir.� Understand?��

Granger looked slightly scared now and nodded.

He reached down and, with great satisfaction, buried his fingers in her hair
and dragged her up to her knees by it.�
She whimpered softly.�

The sound made his cock actually hurt
he was so hard.� He rubbed himself to
ease the ache.�

He saw her eyes go to his hand at his groin and widen.� She looked up and seemed to plead with her eyes.

�Don�t bother, Granger. You�re not leaving here before I�ve
shot my load down your hot little throat.��

She shook her head. �It�s not that..
it�s..-��

He ignored her, parting his robes and unfastening his
trousers, easing his zipper down slowly�

Granger was looking extremely worried now, her eyes on his cock.� He could almost feel her looking at him and stroked himself
up and down, enjoying the feeling.

�He�ll know..� she whispered
suddenly, looking terrified.

He frowned.� That was
not what he expected her to say.�

He had thought it would be something along the lines of �oh please don�t!�� Or� �if you let me go I won�t tell�.� Or even �You can�t do this. I�ll tell
someone. Yada yada��

She didn�t seem..right.� ...The way she�d said it..

�I�m not kidding..Sir� She snorted at the word.

�He�ll know.. and I don�t
know what he�ll do to you.. �Unless...
unless he told you to do this. �Did he?��
She looked unsure for a moment.�

He felt unsettled at her insistence. She seemed so bloody
sure that the Dark Lord gave some kind of a shit what anyone did to her.�

How delusional could you possibly get?�
Didn�t she understand the way the Death Eaters worked?!�

There was the Dark Lord on top, commanding everyone.. then the inner circle, who were all pure-bloods apart from
his godfather.. and then the pure-bloods of the outer
circle, then the half-bloods.. then the pure-blood
associates and then the half-blood associates..and
then somewhere way, way, down the
food-chain after pure-blood captives �and even after half-breeds like Greyback..came mudblood
servants.�

There were only a few.�

Most mudbloods were just fodder.� Victims.� Toys...�

she was nothing but a full time slave.� Hadn�t she realised?!��

�Shut your hole, Granger.�
Or rather.. open it.� I�ll give you something to occupy your busy
little mouth�� He
smirked and stepped up to her.�

She seemed frustrated, scowling.� Abruptly she brightened and sighed. �Suit
yourself.� And then she opened her mouth
for him.�

He was so struck by the appealing sight of the bane of his
school life on her knees before him ready for his cock that he froze for a
moment just staring.�

He shook himself and moved almost flush against her.�

�If you bite me, I�ll smash every last tooth in your mouth out, Granger� he threatened,
cock in hand, stroking it slowly�

She responded in an �oh so reasonable� voice - �I�m not
going to bite you. �Would
I have bothered to try to warn you if I really wanted you harmed?!��

He growled and shoved his cock between her lips.�

He wasn�t even in all the way when his mark suddenly burned viciously.� He gasped and yanked himself out of her
mouth.� ..The bitch sucked hard all the
way out.�

He�d never felt the mark feel like this..
it felt like his arm was on fire.. he clamped his hand over it
ineffectually.�

�Fuck..� he said, starting to get scared.�

Granger hadn�t been lying.. fuck..
fuck.. the Dark Lord somehow
knew he�d touched her and for whatever reason disapproved.�

He was in bloody trouble.. again.. because of this goddamn fucking whore.�

His father had been upset with him only yesterday
at the meeting for failing to find the little bag she�d had somewhere hidden on
her.. and now.. now he�d managed to upset the Dark Lord again.�

He wanted to just swing back and punch her in the mouth but
he was sure it would probably only make things worse.�

Flicking a finite at her bindings he pulled her wand out of his inside pocket
and flung it at her.�

She was smirking at him and looking pleased with
herself.�

BITCH!!.. he
hated her SO much.. Fucking Granger!.. �

He swept out of the room without looking back and raced to the entrance hall
and then out and down the path toward the entrance of the school.�

By the time he was far enough along the way to Hogsmeade to slip into the
bushes and apparate to the Dark Lord�s side, his arm
felt like it was being flayed by red hot knives.��

He reappeared in a cell.�

The cell was empty except for one other person and he
started to shake uncontrollably when he read the cold fury on the Dark Lord�s
face.��

He was in his mind before he could even think to occlude and then he was
pulling out everything since he�d grabbed Granger in the corridor.� He had no sooner withdrawn than Draco felt
himself levitated and flung violently against the wall of the cell.� His arms were stretched above his head and
manacles closed about them.�

He screamed his lungs out when the Dark Lord cruciated him
and started begging immediately.� The
look of disgust on the alien face didn�t bother him in the face of his
desperate need for the pain to stop...

And then the pain did stop and the Dark
Lord spoke to him.

�I realise you were uninformed as to the girl�s importance, Draco,� However she clearly
warned you.�

You should have abandoned your pursuit and sought my counsel
immediately, irrespective how unlikely her words seemed.��

Let me elucidate matters for you.� Miss Granger
is off limits.�

She is currently significantly more
useful to me than you are, due to her position with Potter and, to a
certain degree due to her capabilities.. and as such.. you are more expendable
than she.�

Should you prove unable to understand
that she is not to be touched, your father may find himself short an heir.� As you are the
last of your line and your mother is now barren..I
would think carefully on how you choose to react to my gentle warning. I am
exercising considerable restraint with you at present Draco!��

At that the Dark Lord sent an orange coloured curse his
way.�

He screamed, feeling like his body was being skewered
by needles on every inch of his skin, over and over and over again.� It was the most painful and sickening
sensation and it did not stop.�

He begged but the Dark Lord only sent a pale blue hex to
follow.� Now it felt like he was being
skewered by red hot needles.�

The sensation was unbearable.� He writhed and struggled against the chains
he hung from and screamed for mercy.�

The Dark Lord smirked at him, looking satisfied, and said only �Take a while to
think about what we�ve discussed�, disapparating only
a moment later.�

He screamed and screamed helplessly, although there was no
one to hear.� In his mind he kept going
over the fact that Granger had tried several times to warn him and if he�d just
been thinking with his big head and not his little one he might be sitting in
the common room right now with Blaise and Pansy and Crabbe and Goyle and not dangling from a foetid dungeon wall in
agony.�

Hermione was very
alert walking up the corridor toward the portrait.�

She had been very alert all
the way from the empty classroom.�
She suspected she would not be wandering around the corridors
daydreaming anymore from now on.�

Draco had taught her a valuable lesson.�
She should be grateful, in a way.�

She wondered if he was ok.�

He couldn�t help being a brainwashed prat.�
And he was pretty good in potions and charms and arithmancy too; almost
as good as her.��

She had to respect that.�

He wasn�t stupid.. just ignorant.�

She ducked in the portrait and, seeing Ron and Ginny sitting
on the sofa, tried to dart to the stairs without being seen.�

�Hermione!!� Ginny called out, preventing
her escape.�

Now she would have to go and be nice for a while longer.� She could have bloody slapped the irritating
red headed girl.�

�Where have you been?!� I�ve been looking for you since breakfast �
Ron says that all Harry�s stuff is missing.�
It looks like he�s been taken out of the dorm.� Have you seen him anywhere?!��

Hermione made connections in her head.�

Oh..

Oh...

She felt another wave of sympathy for Professor Snape suddenly.� But why the hell-...�

The voice suddenly floated up in her memory. �Harry is
asleep.� He is dreaming about his
godfather�

Oh for goodness sake � really?!�

She would be inflicted with Harry permanently around whenever she went down to brew, all because Tom felt like terrorising his sleep a
little?!� God fucking damn it!�� She just couldn�t catch a break, it
seemed.�

And she just knew Harry would be
wandering in all the bloody time when she was brewing.�

She�d never get to brew half the
interesting things she wanted to with Mr
Morals down there.�

Ginny and Ron were still rattling on, speculating on why Harry
was missing.

She had had enough.�

�Well I�m sure he�ll come and tell us what�s going on... and
when he does, you can come and get me � I�m going to take a nap.��

That said, she spun on her heel and stalked off up the stairs, leaving the two
staring after her.�

Breathing a sigh of relief at the empty dorm room she leapt
onto her bed and closed the curtains, taking out her diary, ink and quill.�

As she had expected Tom had already written.

Are
you hurt?

She smiled. Was it irrational that it meant more to be asked whether she was ok
by someone who thought nothing of killing complete strangers?�

It was flattering beyond belief to imagine that he considered her differently
than he did the rest of humanity.�

She knew it was just wishful thinking..
he was probably only concerned about his asset in the
midst of his enemy.

I�m fine. Thank you for rescuing me..�

Is Draco alright?� I don�t like the guy
much but I wouldn�t wish him dead.� He�s
just a prat.

The response took a long time coming.�
She was about to close the diary and get out one of the books when he
wrote.

Draco is hanging in the dungeon reflecting on his error. I would not go quite as
far as to say he is �alright�.. but
he will live.�

You were in the dungeons.� Brewing again?..

Yes.� I expect everything i brewed today will go to you. Including my private brewing..

What did you �What
is the potion in question used for?

Making people do a certain thing that you�ve imbued it with using an
incantation.

Ah. Excellent. I am sorely tempted to request that
potion of Severus immediately simply to check your quality..
but I rather suspect that might be suspicious.

Did you do something to Harry?

What has happened?

He�s being moved to stay in the dungeons with Professor Snape.� I�m going to continually have him underfoot
down there now.� Was whatever you did
necessary?!�

He was dreaming about you.� I stepped in
and took over.� It may have been somewhat
traumatic for the boy.

You would look stunning with my name burned into your flesh, you know..

Which name?

Touch�

Professor Snape definitely fancies me. �He said he wants to let me corrupt myself with
the dark arts so he can join me for the ride, or
something like that.

He offered to brew poisons with me after we finish these twelve potions.�

Did he now?.. interesting.� Tell me about Harry and Severus today.

Harry was depressed at breakfast I think.�
He wanted to spend time alone with me later but Ron invited himself
along, purely to be an ass.�

They apparently had a bit of a fight last night after I went to bed and aren�t
talking now.

Harry was called to
the headmaster�s office during breakfast.�
I went after him to wait for him but
Professor Snape came out first and insisted I go to the dungeons with him and
brew.�

While I was brewing for you, Harry came in, recognised the smell and pitched a fit
that I was brewing something that �might be used against me��

Professor Snape shut him up pretty quickly.

I take it that they
think you�re going to have me abducted?

I would imagine so.� I told Harry I might
find out whether the real you was as enjoyable.�

Of course the real you is infinitely more enjoyable, my dear.� Besides.. I feel it
would be difficult to rape you now.

You raped me in Harry�s dream??!!

Yes.� In the Chamber of
Secrets no less.� With Harry tied
to a pillar watching.� It was eminently
satisfying.�

I�m sure its twisted of me to find that a turn-on..�

Oh don�t fret.. Poor Harry found it a turn on
too.� He was terribly ashamed and said he
would take dreamless sleep every night from now on so that I couldn�t do it
again.

oh.. and he�s going to �piss
on my corpse� apparently.�

If he takes dreamless sleep every night he�ll end up mad.� He must know that?!

When you did it were you yourself or did you look like your younger version
from the diary?

You really *are* turned on by the idea, aren�t you!� �...How
delicious..

Both. �I altered my appearance to that of my
seventeen year old self to begin with and took you� from behind- wrists bound and your
face pressed against the wet stone.

Then I turned you over and shifted back to my current form to continue.�

You were beside yourself with terror.�
And that was when I burned my name into your flesh with my wand.

In answer to the next question.. Lord Voldemort.� It was for Harry�s benefit
after all, not your own.

Would you prefer me to carve Tom Riddle into your skin?

I�m not sure how I feel about any names carved or burned into my body anywhere.

If you insist..yes... I�d prefer Tom Riddle

.

You were telling me that Harry interrupted you brewing with Severus and became
upset.�

Yes.. and Harry wouldn�t tell
me what he went to the headmaster�s office about so I essentially sent him
away.�

And that made Professor Snape happy and he let me brew one of my potions. �Then we drank tea in his study.

He doesn�t seem to think
he has much to hope for.�

I asked what he would
like to work on and he listed all of these things but said it was a pointless
question since he�ll be either dead, in Azkaban, forced to brew for the MoM or stuck teaching at Hogwarts.

When I asked him what
he�d be doing if Harry lost he changed the subject and offered to let me brew
poisons.

What does Severus want to be working on?

Um....� he wanted to replicate the
philosophers stone.. but he
didn�t seem sure whether he could.� And.. he wanted to work with neural
regeneration..

and memory..

Cognitive enhancement he said.� He wanted
to work on cognitive enhancement.

I would be only too pleased to have him work on any of those areas.� What is wrong with the man?!

With all the infirmary brewing and things for you and his classes and then your
meetings and whatever else you have him doing.. he doesn�t really have any chance to work on anything.� He�s too busy doing everything else.

He is my principal potions master and a spy.�
He has duties.� When Harry lives
no more, he will be free to leave his position at the school.

He said he joined the Death Eaters in order to practice dark arts and because
you promised him things he desired.� What
did he desire?

...that was a long time ago.�

You don�t remember?

I remember.

He asked for the opportunity to work on creating new potions and he
wanted revenge on several students who had tormented him.

But circumstances change.� Two of his
schoolmates are dead and another is a death eater

He was able to experiment in potions for several years.

Draco is quite good in potions.

You think I should delegate all his regular duties to yourself and the

- one moment.�

...is everything alright there?

Hello?

...

Yes.� The boy had slipped my mind.� There should be no lasting effects however.
He is resting on my sofa at present.�
Continue.

Yes..

Maybe
if you arranged for all of Severus unpleasant duties to be handled by others
and got him to work on something creative.

It might not be
enough. �It�s possible you were right
about Harry�s mum.

I will think on that matter also.�

Have you started on your reading assignments?

No Professor Riddle..

...Professor Voldemort?�� Lord Professor Voldemort?

I was going to begin forgotten curses when the business with Harry happened.

Sarky.�

Have you the remotest inkling of what I would do to a death eater who spoke to
me as you do?

I�m sorry.� I didn�t mean it
disrespectfully.

I would have loved to have you as a Professor.

My detentions can be rather taxing - as young Draco here can attest.

Read the Senatus book first.� Summarise your day later. �I will speak with you tomorrow.

The writing disappeared and she reluctantly put the diary away.��

Ten minutes later she was several pages into Triumph and Sacrifice and was frowning
at the pages faintly.� What was she
supposed to get out of this?!� The �Senatus� who�d written it was clearly a man after machiavelli�s heart.. although.. from the style she
supposed he may have preceded the Italian court advisor. �

She agreed with some things �things that seemed perfectly logical, regarding
the purpose of strategy and the necessity of adaptability..but
others, such as the impossibility of true alliance and the costs and benefits
of loyalty, made her feel a bit..mercenary...reminded
her of how dramatically things had changed for her in the last couple of
days.��

She shook off her disapproval and concentrated on
reading.� Tom would no doubt expect her
to summarise her observations.

Author note.

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Necessary Sacrifices