The death of a git, the rise of a hero...

"He wants to see us?" her voice was slightly above a whisper, scarcely believing the words that slipped from her lips. Was he serious? Was this a test?

"Yes." came the hollow reply as he stood up from the bed, the gentle squeaks of the bedspring allowing her a moment to breathe. Oh God. Voldemort. She was breathless, but stood quickly as she grasped her wand on the nearby table. Every minute they waited was another suspicious wonder from Voldemort and his followers.

She swished the wand over her head, allowing a fine glowing mist to envelop her, and a moment later she was fully dressed and clean. She looked to Snape imploringly, a determined look in her eyes. He was standing a few steps away, having turned his head when she began the spell.

He looked darker in the room, as if it were possible. She was tenser at the fact that he himself looked worried. She accumulated it to the fact that he'd never had to bring along a sidekick with him to these Death Eater meetings. Lying for himself was one thing, lying for herself was quite another.

"Let me do the talking." he said solemnly, "Just stand at my side and be silent."

She nodded to herself and walked over to him as he held out a bored hand. She quickly took a deep breath and held it as she clutched his cold hand, feeling as he pulled her to him and getting lost in the sensation of Apparating.

* * *

"Right in our room!" Ginny was finishing up as Molly pulled on her slippers and miserably trudged to the room that the girl's shared. Ron and Harry were also stumbling out of bed, having heard Ginny's frantic screaming from their room.

"He swooped in like the great bat he is, and then he yelled at me to get out and woke up Hermione."

"Why was Snape seeing Hermione this late?" Harry demanded, looking bleary eyed but defensive. Ron gave Harry a confused lood thd then looked to his mother in question.

"Maybe they had urgent business to discuss." Molly offered with a yawn as she pushed open their door. It was empty, but Ron, Harry and Ginny barged in anyway, looking around for them.

"Where would they have to go?" Ginny said shakily, "You don't think..."

"Probably." Ron said logically, "It makes sense. Why else would Snape want to see Hermione?"

At this Harry felt his blood boil. It was bad enough that Snape was stealing Hermione right away from him through marriage, but now he was monopolizing every spare minute she had. He was furious, not thinking logically through his mist of anger.

"There's no point in standing around here." Molly said, although with a bit of strain in her voice. "They won't come back any faster if we're all crowded in here."

"But, where exactly did they go?" Ginny demanded, ever the inquisitive sister. Ron offered a feeble shrug, although looking quote worried over the fate of his friend.

"Well, we know they're together." Harry said angrily as he pointed to Hermione's bed. On it lay a single handkerchief with the initials S.S. embodied upon it.

* * *

"Ahhh...Severus and his Mudblood." Voldemort hissed lazily as the two of them came into view from down the long corridor. He was currently shacked up in some old, rundown and abandoned Muggle hotel. "I've been expecting you."

"Yes Master." Snape said with a low bow as Hermione mimicked his movements, but said nothing. Her eyes never met the red, searching one's of Voldemort. She leaned a little closer to Snape, realizing she had to make their match authentic. He certainly wasn't doing his part. As soon as they'd Apparated into the dingy hotel he'd dropped her from him like a sack of potatoes.

Now they stood arm to arm and Snape could clearly feel the young girl's shaking form next to him. She was trying to conceal the trembling that danced all along her, and focused her attention on Voldemort before he spoke.

They were all alone she noticed, no Death eaters to jeer and tease. Only she, Severus and Voldemort. This calmed her a bit, but not by much. What did he want? Why were they there? Why was he doing this?

"To what do we owe this great privilege?" Snape said with a bow of his head. Voldemort nodded briskly, before answering, letting them stew about in their fear.

"It's about your wedding."

Sna eye eyes grew wide. This was it. Over. Death. He felt Hermione's shoulder's tremble slightly more as she tried to maintain her stance beside him. Something in her action made him collect himself, he had a duty.

"I only called you," Voldemort said masochistically, "To give you these."

He flicked his wand and momentarily a small gold case flew over to the standing Snape and Hermione. They peered at it as the small gold case in front of them opened and Hermione flinched.

Inside the plush green velvet were two small gold bands. The small skull with its purplish tint imprinted upon the rings was what gave Hermione the chills as she dragged her eyes away.

Severus recognized them, knowing full well what they were. Bonding rings. They would have to keep them, exchange them on their wedding day and have until they died.

He reached inside the box and took the two rings, slipping them into his robe and felt the blood drain from his cheeks as he prayed silently that Miss Granger would remain stoic.

"Thank you Master."

Voldemort nodded his head regally, like a king on his throne as Snape bowed lowly once more, knowing he loved it when his followers did so. He was ready to leave, to grab Hermione and have them leave when she spoke.

"Master?" Hermione suddenly said as Snape's blood ran cold. What the hell was she doing? Snape took a long look at her and felt his stomach lurch as Voldemort shot a wary look at him. "Won-""Sev"Severus" Voldemort interrupted bemused, not answering Hermione's inquiry as he shook his aged head at the elder Death Eater. "You should have her better trained than this."

Snape nodded, bowing once more before realigning. Hermione stood beside him, looking to Snape in pensive panic. She felt the shaking growing more and more, what had she done? Snape spoke lowly, his dark eyes clouding.

"I apologize Master, it will not happen again."

Snape looked at Hermione and with a decided lurch in his stomach, knocked her to her knees in front of Voldemort. She yelped in the unexpected pain, she hadn't even seen him do it.

Her knees were stinging from the pain and she looked to the ground on her hands and knees and felt the tears starting to form in her eyes. She should have seen it coming, and waited for Snape's inevitable order.

"Apologize." he barked at her, looking away as her shoulder's shook. His voice was shaky as he continued, "You should know better than to talk back to our Master."

Hermione tried to ignore what he was saying, tried to realize that he was doing this to save her. But he didn't need to be so cruel. She ignored the stinging in her hands and knees and instead bottled her courage, refusing to give Voldemort the satisfaction of her tears.

"I'm sorry...Master." Hermione said softly, her voice barely reaching the Dark Lord's ears. Her shoulder's shook with dry sobs and seeing Voldemort's disgust, Snape grasped the collar of her robes and dragged her to a standing position.

Voldemort shook his head in a repugnant fashion and turned his attention back to Snape. "Severus." he said with a glint in his eyes, "You will have your hands full with this one. She may have spirit, but it's misguided. See that you show her the proper use of such passion...or I may have to."

Snape nodded, yanking Hermione with him down the hall where they were to apparate. He saw her flinching from his touch and felt a pang of pity as well as anger course through him. He didn't want this to happen, didn't she see?

When they reached the end of the hall Snape turned and looked at her, he noticed she was limping and the blood was beginning to dry on her kneecaps. Her palms had aquired some nasty scrapes and her mouth looked bruised. It was then that she raised her dark eyes to him, and he saw the breath of her pain and fury.

He grasped her to houghoughly moments later, not wishing to see any more of the anguish and hatred in her eyes.

He didn't want to see what she thought of him.

* * *

As soon as they Apparated back into the empty kitchen of the Burrow Hermione pushed Snape from her, eliciting an angry pang within the said Professor.

"Just what were you thinking?" he hissed furiously, "Are you stupid? Some brilliant mind, you can't even follow simple directions! I said not to talk to him. Weren't those my exact words?"

"Yes." Hermione spat furiously.

"And yet, you went against them."

"I was scared."

"You'll be dead if you do it again."

Hermione's tears fell freely, but not of pity or fear, out of pure untainted fury directed at the man in front of her. He had made her call Voldemort "Master" and that was worse than anything she could have felt at the receiving end of a wand.

"You are pathetic." she hissed darkly, "You have made me call the one man I despise more than you, Master. The very man that killed my best friend's parents. You have no pity for anyone but yourself. I tried so many times to please you, to get us to get along. But no more. I'd rather die a thousand deaths than EVER be married to you."

Her chest heaved heavily as she spoke whilst Snape's eyes narrowed into a hateful glare. Was she just being difficult? Didn't she see what danger she had created with those little words of hers?

"Well," He said sardonically, "Keep mouthing off to the Dark Lord, and perhaps that can be arranged."

Hermione didn't answer, opting instead to flounce off to bed where she promptly cried herself to sleep, leaving Snape standing alone in the kitchen, planning their next move.