The Fortress Within

Lucius Malfoy moved quickly to intervene


Lucius Malfoy moved quickly to intervene. “Now, now,
Hermione, you don’t want to castrate your partner, do you?” he purred in her
ear. 
 


Hermione’s gaze was unwavering as she answered, “I was
thinking I would begin with castration; with death as a more suitable end.”
 


The tip of her wand pressed against his groin, hard enough
to cause Severus pain.  He had to
think fast, to work his way out of this situation. 
“Professor Granger, please accept my deepest apologies. 
Had I realized it was you, I surely would have controlled my baser
instincts.” 
 


Her eyes narrowed at his words.  She clearly was unsure of his sincerity. 
Still, he felt the pressure of her wand relieved. 
“Just so we are clear as to where the boundaries lie in our newfound
partnep, Sp, Snape.”  She released
his wrist and stepped back
 


Snape bowed his head submissively.  “We are perfectly clear, Professor.  Thank you.”
 


Lucius moved carefully behind the young witch and reached
around her to unclasp her cloak.  He
slid it from her shoulders and passed it to Severus.  “Severus, be a good chap, find a place for this. 
I believe Hermione and I have a few things which need attending to,
don’t we darling?”
 


Severus inclined his head again and faded back into the
darkness.  He found his way back to
the bar and deposited Hermione’s cloak on a stool. 
He motioned for the bartender, “Glenfiddich, double, neat.”  
His mind was a whirl of confusion.  The
bartender returned quickly with his scotch. 
Severus downed it in one gulp and motioned for more. 
“Nevermind.  Accio
Glennfiddich.”  The bottle of
amber liquid flew across the bar to his hand. 
He filled the glass to the rim and proceeded to drain it again. 
 


He held his hand out and willed it to stop shaking. 
When he was satisfied the tremors had passed, he turned around to the
dance floor once again. 
 


Lucius Malfoy had the Granger girl face forward over a
table.  She still wore her clothing,
although her skirt was hiked up around her waist.  From behind Malfoy pumped her viciously. 
 


Severus could see her mouth working, forming the sounds of
passion.  Her eyes, though were
surprisingly blank, cold and lifeless.  He
saw her mouth continue to move, as her upper lip curled in a parody of his own
dark sneer.  For a moment, he
thought she was mocking him, but as he observed her, he was sure that her eyes
were seeing absolutely nothing.
 


He grabbed his cloak, turned quickly and exited the
ballroom.  He had had enough, seen
enough.  As he flew down the
staircase he heard Voldemort call his name. 
“Damn”
 


He entered the study and took his place at the Dark
Lord’s feet.  “You called, My
Lord.”
 


“Yes, Severus.  I
see you have met your new partner.  I
am sure that with her guidance, you will be able to deliver that fool Headmaster
to me, correct??”  Voldemort
studied the Potions Master with red eyes, searching for any little
inconsistency.
 


“Yes, My Lord.  My
Lord, may I be so bold as to ask a question?”
 


Voldemort appeared a bit surprised at Severus’ nerve. 
Still, the Dark Lord nodded his head in agreement.
 


“I was just wondering how a mudblood became such a
powerful creature in My Lord’s eyes.  Obviously,
I do not have the skill at finding talent that you possess; but the use of a
muggleborn is very confusing to one such as myself.”
 


The subservience in Severus’ voice was like sunlight to a
flower.  Voldemort’s head rose and
he straightened his back proudly.  “Ah,
that is a good question, even for the likes of you, Severus. 
Perhaps, I will show you how she proved her loyalty to me. 
The image is much more effective than the words.”
 


Voldemort grabbed Severus by his hair and forced the man on
the floor to look him in the eye.  Severus
felt the Dark Lord’s cold hand move to his forehead and his mind was filled
with a memory that was not his own. 
 


He saw the revel through the eyes of Voldemort, felt the
evil surging through his veins.  In
a sense, Severus became Voldemort.
 


The ballroom was filled with his followers. 
He could feel the satisfaction of the Dark Lord as he surveyed the room. 
Screams echoed through his head as he watched a muggle child being
violated and tortured.  He could
smell the child’s fear. He enjoyed it.
 


Suddenly there was a “pop” on the floor in front of
him.  The crowd parted, allowing him
to view the woman on her knees.  He
smiled as he observed the wild, bushy hair that could only belong to Hermione
Granger.
 


“Well, mudblood, what have you brought me??”
 


Hermione rose to her feet and raised her head proudly to
look Voldemort in the eye.  A
collective intake of breath could be heard throughout the room.  Severus could see shocked faces staring at the mudblood who
dared to stand proudly before the Dark Lord. 
 


He could see that she was drenched in blood. 
Her brown hair was matted black in places. 
Streaks of crimson painted her face. 
She stared at Voldemort in an unnervingly calm way. 
“Before I present you with my gift, I want your word, that if worthy,
it will buy my rank in your service.”
 


Severus could feel Voldemort’s curiosity was peaked. 
“If she is that confident, it must be something good.” 
“Very well, mudblood, you have my word.”
 


The now familiar smirk adorned her bloodied face as her
eyes went dead.  Slowly, her right
hand rose as her mouth formed unintelligible words. 
Another “pop” and the lifeless head of Remus Lupin looked up at him. 
She held it by the hair, swinging it in a carefree cadence. 
A trickle of blood ran from its mouth. 
Deliberately, Hermione took her left thumb, caught a drip of the sticky
fluid, and brought it to her mouth to suckle like a child.
 


Severus’ mind began to swim again, as Voldemort broke the
connection.  He fell face down on
the floor, struggling with the fury that now coursed through his body. 
He stilled his wild mind and rose again, slowly, to his knees. 
With a forced smile of understanding he looked up at the demon in front
of him.  “Ah, now I understand. 
I apologize for my stupidity.”
 


Voldemort ackndgeddged his apology. 
“Just be sure to work with her, Severus. 
She is our strongest weapon, now.  Strongest,
but for me.”
 


Severus agreed, nodding thoughtfully. 
“Do I have your permission to return to Hogwarts? 
There is much groundwork to be laid.”
 


“Beg
&n
 


Severus apparated to the gates of the castle. 
In the shadow of his home, he fell to his knees and vomited. 
 


Severus couldn’t be sure how long he lay outside the
gates.  Over and over he played the
horrible vision through his mind.  The
Granger girl was a powerful witch. Even in her student days, he had seen her
display astonishing feats, both magical and intellectual. 
Now she was a depraved witch. 
 


Hermione Granger must die.
 


He leapt to his feet and raced into the castle. 
Down the stairs into the dungeons he flew. 
In his office, he tore through his desk, scattering parchments as he
searched.  Finally he found what he was looking for.   He
had developed his own version of the Marauder’s map. 
Professor Granger was back at Hogwarts. 
 


Once again, he tore through the castle. 
Outside of Minerva McGonnegal’s chambers, he paused. 
He passed his wand over the surface of the door. 
“No wards”  He
didn’t bother to knock, just opened the door and entered, wand at the ready. 
Minerva sat on the sofa, in front of the fire.  Curled up like a child, Hermione Granger lay with her head in
Minerva’s lap. 
 


Without a word of explaination, he strode over to the young
witch.  The vision of Remus clouded
his eyesight.  He picked her up by
her hair and threw her against the wall.  Before
she could slide to the floor, he was on her. 
He wrapped a large hand around her throat and lifted heom tom the floor,
cutting off her air supply.  With
his other hand he pointed his wand at Minerva. 
“Leave now, or I will stupefy you and you can watch her die.”
 


“Severus, wait, you don’t ….”  Minerva tried to buy time. 
She was trying to pull out her wand.
 


With a flash Minerva McGonnegal was levitated out of the
door.  The door slammed and locked
behind her.
 


His black eyes were once again fixed on the witch hanging
from his hand.  “You little whore. 
I will kill you myself, for Remus. Voldemort and this fucking war be
damned. Magic’s too good for the likes of you.” He tossed his wand aside and
suddenly both hands were pressing down on her windpipe. 
“I -- will -- rip -- you -- apart -- with -- my 
-- bare  -- hands -- and  -- paint  -- the 
-- room   -- with 
-- your -- blood.”
 


His face was close enough for her to smell the sh onh on
his breath.  Her head was swimming
from the lack of oxygen.  Slowly,
she lifted a hand to his face.  Her
fingers traced a path upwards, feeling the line of his cheekbone.  He studied her eyes, now. 
They were not the blank eyes he had seen at the revel. 
Distracted by her touch, mesmerized by the eyes of a frightened girl, his
grip loosened ever so slightly.
 


Her mind cleared a tad at the precious commodity she drug
into her lungs.  Before Severus
realized what was happening, her hand had found its way to his forehead and he
felt the power surge from her mind to his. 
For the second time that night, Severus rode the tide of someone else’s
memories.
 


Hermione seemed to be trying to show him so many things. 
Voldemort only wanted him to see the one evening. 
Hermione was showing him years of memories. 
His mind pounded as it tried to absorb all that he saw. 
 


First, it was an appearance before the Ministry of Magic. 
“If you choose to accept this assignment, you do realize that once
under cover, you are completely on your own. 
We will not be able to help you at all.”
 


Her small voice reverberated around his cranium, “Yes”
 


Harry Potter’s voice was next, “Hermione, you have got
to build up a resistance to these spells.  Voldemort
throws them around like candy.  Try again.”
 


“Crucio.”  Pain
tore through her body.   He
heard her screams and he echoed them.
 


He flew to another point in time.  He could feel someone was ripping her in two, pounding into
her without mercy.  He could hear
Sirius Black’s voice now.   “They
will do you muchse tse than me, Hermione.  Now
let me tha that you’re enjoying it, scream my name.”
 


Thankfully, he was sucked away from that moment. 
He could feel her calming down, now. 
She was crying, and he could feel her being rocked. 
A soft voice filled their minds, “Ssssshhhhh, it’s ok. 
I know, I know.”  Remus
Lupin was rocking her.  He felt a
hand under his chin and through tear filled eyes he saw his friend. 
Their eyes closed and he could feel his mouth on hers.  
Remus’ hand stroked her body, gently. 
She wasn’t scared now, she just surrendered herself to the feeling,
embraced it.  There was no tearing,
no pain in this.  Only sensations,
passion, love.
 


Hermione lay entangled with the older man. 
Once again, he heard Remus speak to her, instructing her softly, “You
must find a place within yourself, Hermione. 
Somewhere safe.  When it’s too much, go there. 
Distance yourself from everything else and go somewhere safe.”
 


The images flew faster now. 
She was beaten, violated, raped, brutalized in every sick way possible. 
Men’s faces flew before him.  “All
for the good of the cause” echoed through her conscious mind. 
 


Harry Potter, Cornelius Fudge, Sirius Black, Ron Weasley,
countless others.  All took their
turns with her.  They called it her
training.  He could feel her
slipping deeper and deeper inside with every face. 
He reached out to her and tried to touch her in the safe area she had
erected.  He could hear her calling
to him, but he couldn’t make it through. 
 


Suddenly, he was in the Potions classroom. 
He was giving instructions.  His
voice droned on about the magical properties of wolfesbane, asphodel, countless
other potion ingredients.  The
lecture wasn’t important. 
 


Hermione Granger sat before him, her eyes locked to his. 
Her thin arms were wrapped around her frame. 
She just stared, listened and rocked herself. 
Her lip rose in a sneer. 
 


He understood, now.  He
was in her fortress, her safe zone. He could still feel her pain and fear.  
He heard the spells, crucio, imperio, expelliarmus.
Still he continued on with his lecture.  Grunting
and moaning, drowned out by Severus’ v.&nb. 
Beatings and torture overcome by the girl sitting, sneering in the
Potions Classroom.
 


 He felt her
push him now; push him away from her.
 


They knelt before Voldemort now.  “So, you, a mudblood, you think yourself worthy of joining
the ranks of my deatheaters?  What
do you have to offer me in return??”
 


“Harry Potter, I know where he is My Lord. 
With some assistance, I may be able to give him to you. 
He is with the werewolf, outside of Athens soaking up the sun.”
 


Voldemort motioned for several of his followers to join her
in front of him.  “Bring me proof
of either wizard’s death, and I will entertain the thought of marking you. 
Betray me girl, and you will wish for death a thousand times over before
I tear your heart out.”
 


They were battling.  He
could see Remus and Harry, fighting, trying to stay alive. 
Remus had been hit several times and staggered off behind a pile of
ancient rubble.  He heard Hermione
call out, “The werewolf is mine; you finish the boy wonder here.”
 


She was kneeling now, cradling Remus in her lap. 
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. 
“I’m so sorry, Remus.  I
didn’t know what to do.  I tried
to protect you both, but I didn’t know how.” 
He could see she held her wand to Remus’ head.
 


The man in her lap smiled up at her, “I know, I saw. 
All for the greater good, you know.” 
 


Her tears mingled with the blood on Remus’ face. 
A sound behind her, and the masked figure of a Deatheater was there. 
Her wand shifted, pointed toward the minion of evil. 
“Avada Kedavra” and he lay dead. 
Several more followed, only to meet their ends the same way.
 


Remus struggled against her, trying to pull away. 
“Hermione, stop.  Voldemort will kill you for this.  Everything will have been for nothing.”
 


The tears flowed faster now.  “It’s all for naught anyway, he needs proof of my loyalty
and I have none to offer.” 
 


The werewolf collapsed against her again, his breathing was
coming slower.  His breath bubbled
red on his lips.  He struggled to
form words, “You will have it, sweet girl. 
Just a few more minutes.”
 


“Remus, no.  You
have to hold on.  There can’t be
many more left, Harry will take care of them and we will get you out of here.” 
She cradled him in her arms and soothed him with her words. 
Suddenly she felt him go stiff.  “Hermione,
it’s OK, love.  Do what you have
to do.”  Remus Lupin exhaled a
final stream of blood onto her lap.  He
was gone.
 


Severus’ voice filled their minds again. “I don’t
expect you will really understand the beauty…..”


 


He saw her rise to her feet and point her wand at the body
lying on the ground.  “Accio,
head” There was the sickening sound of flesh being torn, as the head flew into
her hand.  He saw her reach down and
tear the shirt from the corpse.  Once
again the wand was pointed downward and this time he smelled burning flesh.
 


“Don’t be an idiot, Longbottom.  That’s the fifth cauldron you melted this term. 
Detention.”
 


 Hermione
reached down into the hole at the top of the torso and took a copious amount of
blood into her hand. 
 


“Weasley, you will be the one to test the potion for
your team.  Get up here.”
 


She brought her hand to her face and smeared, covering the
tracks her tears had left on her cheeks.
 


“Foolish Girl.”
 


They stood in front of the Dark Lord and threw the head to
the floor.  “You have your proof,
My Lord.”
 


Voldemort grinned coldly, “Accio wand” Hermione’s
wand flew into the Dark Lord’s hand.  “Crabbe,
Goyle, take care of this foul little mudblood. 
She has nothing of worth to offer us.”
 


The shock barely had time to register in their minds when
he heard her voice, strong and confident.  “Avada
Kedavra. Crucio.”  Vincent Crabbe
lay dead, Gregory Goyle writhing in pain on the ground next to him. 
Hermione had the the Unforgivables without a wand.
 


Surprise was etched on Voldemorts face, to be replaced by
an understanding smile.  “You have
proven yourself to be most powerful as well. 
All right, Miss Granger, you have your place.  Rise, girl.”
 


Hermione Granger rose to her feet.  Voldemort moved in on her, he glanced down at her wet, sticky
shirt.  He reached out and tore the
fabric from her body. 
 


Severus could hear his voice again, pounding through her
head.  Vaguely he could make out the
burning in her breast, as well.  She
didn’t flinch, didn’t even register the pain. 
Just listened to the voice of the Potions Master.
 


“Lucius, she stands beside you now.”
 


The lecture in her head came to a screeching halt. “My
Lord, one more thing, if I may??”
 


Voldemort eyed her suspiciously, but inclined his head
 


“Accio wand”
 


Her wand flew back into her own hand. 
Voldemort laughed.  “Well done.”
 


Finally, they appeared before the gates of Hogwarts. 
She stumbled into the castle, met by Dumbledore at the main staircase. 
She collapsed in a heap, sobbing.  The
great wizard lowered himself to the floor and held the girl in his arms. 
The child was back.  Dumbledore
rocked her in his lap.
 


Severus returned to his own mind.  They weanglangled in a heap on the floor of Minerva’s
office.
 


He looked at the girl panting on the floor beside him. 
He reached out, slowly to touch her face, trying to find the words of
apology, words of comfort.  As his
finger brushed her cheek, she flinched.
 


“I told you never to touch me, Snape,” she spat at him. 
She rose to her feet with dignity and strode from the room