Disharmony in the Dungeons

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 27 ~ Two Interesting Meetings

Hermione breezed through her first year of university with excellent grades, and had shown quite an aptitude for spell making. She found herself once again the darling of her Professors, and a target for others jealous of her brilliance. She took it all in stride however. Hermione was used to being alone, and didn’t require a large circle of friends for support. She still had her friends from Hogwarts, and of course there was Severus, who was very supportive of her.

She was out of university for the summer, but spent most of her time reading up on the next year’s work and getting an early start on it. She found spell making fascinating and loved her studies. She had secretly made a few spells already that were quite interesting. Of course what she was doing was illegal, she didn’t even have her certification yet to dabble in spells creation, but when did anything like rules and legality stop her from pursuing what she wanted? She would have the required licensing at the end of her next term.

Hermione was very interested in spell dissolution, which was breaking spells down to their separate components for study, research and realignment. With a bit of tweaking, a spell could be changed by one component and used to accomplish something completely different than its original purpose. She felt this ability would help her and Severus in their work against Voldemort in the future.

Severus was on an ingredient-gathering mission for the day, having apparated to some secret area to find rare herbs for his stores. Potions Masters guarded their harvesting places as carefully as rednecks protected their best fishing holes. Severus never took anyone with him when he went gathering, and even took pains to place an anti-tracing spell on himself to insure no one could follow or discern where he had gone. Hermione thought it was all very cloak and dagger, but Severus was very serious about protecting his supplies.

Hermione was curled up in the armchair in front of the fireplace when she heard a knock on the Potions office door. Ever since Lucius had pushed his way in, Hermione was extremely careful about how she met visitors. She walked to her rooms entrance and opened it, going to her private entrance and cracking the door, peering out to see who was in front of the Potions office. It was a witch, someone she had never seen before. She was dark-haired and small of stature, and wore a yellow sundress. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She looked a little nervous. Hermione wondered who she could be.

Hermione quietly closed her door and walked back through her rooms and closed the entrance. Then she left the study and answered the Potions door, opening it wide.

“Hi, can I help you?” she asked the woman.

“Ah, yes. My name is Denise Burgess. I was wondering if Professor Snape was in,” the woman replied, looking Hermione over a little.

She had very blue eyes, and was an attractive woman, a little heavier than Hermione but the same height.

“No, he’s not, but maybe I could help you?” Hermione asked her, curious about what the witch could want with her husband. Maybe she was a fellow teacher? Hermione doubted it. She didn’t look like a teacher. “Would you like to come in? Maybe have a glass of pumpkin juice?”

“That sounds lovely. It’s a dreadfully hot day outside, though it is much cooler down here,” the woman responded, entering the Potions office. Hermione led her through the study and opened her rooms.

“Oh, this is new,” the woman commented, following Hermione in and looking around.

“Oh, are you familiar with the Professor’s rooms?” Hermione asked, now knowing that the woman was no teacher for sure.

“Yes,” the witch replied, looking at Hermione with interest. “Quite familiar.”

Hermione led her to the kitchen and drew out a chair. Denise sat down as Hermione got out two glasses, and poured some pumpkin juice into them. She brought the drinks over to the table and handed one to Denise. She then sat down across from her. Denise took a long drink, then smiled appreciatively.

“Thank you,” she said, “I was so thirsty.”

“You’re welcome,” Hermione replied shortly, trying to figure out how to ask the woman who she was to Severus without seeming rude.

Denise’s blue eyes swept over Hermione, who was dressed in a tank top and cotton shorts, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She looked younger than what she was today.

“Are you the Professor’s daughter?” Denise asked her

Hermione fought back a grin. Technically, she was young enough to be Severus’ daughter if he had fathered her at age eighteen or so. The woman was in for a shock

“No, actually I’m his wife,” Hermione replied watching for the witch’s reaction. She got one.

The woman stared at her for a moment, unable to speak, then she flushed bright red, and went to rise from the table.

“Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t realize he had married. That explains a lot,” she said, “I’ll just be going now.”

“Wait,” Hermione said, “Sit down. You don’t have to rush off. Friends of my husband are more than welcome to visit.”

Denise looked at her, not taking her seat again.

“Um, your husband and I were more than friends, Mrs. Snape,” she said softly. Her eyes took on a rather heated look. Then she caught herself. “My being here is quite inappropriate under the circumstances. I don’t think he would be pleased to see me.”

“He won’t be back for hours. Please stay a few minutes. I’m…I’m rather curious. I’ve never met anyone who was involved with my husband before. I’d like to talk to you,” Hermione said earnestly. She might never have an opportunity like this again. “A little girl talk, perhaps? I could break out some wine.”

Denise’s eyes swept over Hermione again. She didn’t look like the jealous type. Denise was curious about the witch too. The Professor did not seem like the marrying type. How did this young witch land him? She couldn’t be more than twenty years old. The witch sat back down.

“Some wine sounds lovely,” she said, smiling at Hermione.

Hermione excused herself and raid Severus’ liquor cabinet. She brought back a huge bottle of wine and rejoined the witch at her table. She remembered Severus telling her about the woman he would have anal sex with. She bet this was her.

She got another two glasses and poured them both a liberal amount of wine. They began to talk. Hermione found out that Denise had met Severus at the Three Broomsticks one night when she was in a very lonely and sad mood, having recently ended a relationship. The Professor had watched her for a long while from his table, then came over and asked if he could join her. They shared a few drinks together, and one thing led to another and they had an encounter.

“We were never actually an ‘item’, Denise confided, the wine loosening her up. “We were more like occasional lovers. He would come pick me up and bring me here to spend the night with him. He never felt comfortable at my place for some reason. I don’t really think we had anything in common other than sex. He didn’t seem the kind of man who would give his heart, though he was very passionate,” Denise said, flushing a little.

“He is that,” Hermione agreed. “Were you aware he had other women?”

“Oh yes,” Denise said, “I saw him at the Three Broomsticks with a rather buxom blonde a couple of times. But that was all right. He told me about her, and two other women he saw on occasion. He had very specialized tastes it seems,” the witch said wistfully before looking at Hermione.

“Is he still involved with any of them?” Denise asked her.

“When we first married he was, but he soon stopped seeing them,” Hermione replied. “As far as I know there is only me.”

And the women Voldemort made him fuck. But she and Severus didn’t discuss that. He had to do what he had to do to stay in the Dark Lord’s good graces. Hermione knew this when she agreed to remain married to him.

“I see. I guess he finally found the whole package,” Denise said, eyeing Hermione speculatively.

“Well, not the whole package yet,” Hermione said, pouring Denise and herself more wine. She was getting a bit of a buzz. “There’s a part of the package that hasn’t been unwrapped yet.”

Denise looked at her a moment, a bit wide-eyed. Then she understood.

“Ah. I guess you know what he and I used to do then,” Denise said. The wine had her buzzed too, so she didn’t blush but looked at Hermione frankly.

“Yes,” Hermione said, “He said you had a preference for it. That you didn’t do anything else.”

“He told you the truth,” Denise said, “Anal sex is all I do. I don’t know why that is but that’s how it’s always been since the first time it was done to me. And I was coming to see the Professor because…” she faltered.

“Because you were hoping to have an encounter with him,” Hermione finished for her.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I really didn’t know he was married. He hadn’t called on me for more than a year, and I finally decided to come see him. He is…was something special in the sex department,” she said quietly.

Hermione felt a little bad for the witch. She obviously still had it bad for Severus. But he was her husband now. So she’d have to find somebody else to plug her.

“How did you take him?” Hermione blurted out, “He’s so big. Didn’t he hurt you?”

Denise gave a little half-smile.

“Sometimes, but it was a good hurt,” she replied, “Sometimes pain brings the pleasure.”

“He says that all the time,” Hermione said. She knew what Denise was talking about as far as pain bringing pleasure when it came to Severus. He was so intense he made everything feel good.

“So I guess you haven’t experienced him that way yet,” Denise said.

“No,” Hermione replied, “And I’m not really looking forward to it.”

“I know this is going to sound cliché, but don’t knock it ‘till you try it,” the witch said. “He knows how to make a woman feel good.”

Denise swallowed.

“You know, I think it’s time for me to go,” she said rather thickly. Hermione was sure it wasn’t all wine that made her sound like that. She watched as the witch rose, and rose too.

“All right, Denise. I’ll tell him you came by,” Hermione said, wondering how Severus would react to that.

“No, don’t,” Denise said. “I’d rather leave it like this. With him not knowing I came looking for him. He’s moved on. I have to too.”

Hermione nodded.

“Well, it was nice meeting you,” Hermione said, walking her to the door and opening it. Denise walked through. She turned to Hermione.

“I feel the same,” she said, then “You’re a lucky young witch to have a wizard like that. I hope you appreciate how special he is.”

“I do,” Hermione said.

Denise looked at her and gave her a sad smile. Then she left without another word.

Hermione closed the door and returned to her rooms. Meeting Denise had been very interesting and strangely reassuring.

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Draco Malfoy sat in the Hog’s Head Inn nursing a firewhiskey, his hood drawn over his head. Every time the door opened and someone entered, his ice-blue eyes looked at him or her speculatively. He was meeting two wizards here, recommended to him by Theodore Knotts. He said they were wizards who could be trusted…if given enough galleons.

Theodore had explained his situation to the two wizards, and they agreed to meet him. Draco patted his robes pocket, feeling the sack of galleons he held there. A rather large down payment for a very important job.

Suddenly Draco was aware of being flanked by two wizards. Both had masks drawn over the bottom of their faces. They wore light summer robes. There was a distinctly unsavory aura about them. Something dangerous.

“Lord Malfoy?” one wizard said in a gruff voice.

“Yes,” Draco replied. The wizard had small, mean eyes. They were black with a slight rheumy blue around them. Heavy brows rested above them. The brows were set as if in a perpetual scowl. Both wizards sat down and the one who spoke cast a silencing charm around them.

“I’m Wayne, and this here’s Dwayne,” the wizard said, gesturing to the other masked wizard, who nodded. He had rather intense, glazed green eyes. They looked a bit mad really. Thin blonde eyebrows topped them, raised inquisitively. Draco knew these weren’t their real names. It didn’t matter as long as they could do what Theodore said they could do.

“Theodore tells us you have a bit of work for us. A couple,” Wayne said, his mean little eyes staring into Draco’s intensely. Yes, there was what he was looking for…hate. He didn’t work for people who didn’t have hate in their eyes. They would usually try to change their minds and not pay. Then it became a nastier business then it already was.

“Yes. But they’re not easy to reach. And the wizard is very dangerous,” Draco said.

“Nobody’s out of me and Dwayne’s reach, and even the most dangerous wizard can be taken out,” Wayne replied. “We’re cleaners. We do it neat and right.”

Draco reached in his pocket and took out two photos, cut from last year’s Hogwarts yearbook. One was a picture of Professor Snape, scowling horribly. The other was of Hermione, who was smiling broadly.

“She’s a pretty piece,” Wayne commented, passed Hermione’s picture to Dwayne, who studied it intensely, then nodded his head vigorously, looking at Wayne excitedly. Wayne studied Severus’ picture.

“He looks like a fucking vampire,” he commented, looking up at Draco, “Vampires is more.”

Draco scowled. “I assure you, he’s not a vampire. He’s an ordinary wizard. Very dangerous though. I want him dead…but I want his wife brutalized before she’s killed. And him to see it happen to her. I want her killed first, then him so he can feel what it’s like to lose somebody he cares about. ”

Wayne looked at him consideringly, as Dwayne nodded enthusiastically at Draco’s request, looking down at Hermione’s picture again, his wild green eyes glazing over with lust.

“You don’t like them much, do you?” he said.

“No, they are responsible for my father’s death,” Draco snarled vehemently. Wayne looked at him speculatively.

“All right. We’ll take it on,” he said shortly.

“I can’t afford to let anyone find out I’m behind this,” Draco said.

“No worries. We take a Wizard’s Oath of Silence when we take a job. They couldn’t get the information out of us if they gave us a gallon of veritasserum. That’s if they caught us. And we ain’t been caught yet, have we Dwayne?” The green-eyed wizard shook his head.

“Doesn’t he ever talk?” Draco asked looking at the wild-eyed wizard. Dwayne looked at him, his green eyes suddenly going frighteningly cold. Draco could tell this was a man that enjoyed giving pain.

“Only to his victims,” Wayne replied with a little laugh. “He likes to gloat before he rapes or kills them. Only thing worth saying he says.”

Dwayne nodded enthusiastically again, his eyes on Draco this time.

“So, are we in, or not?” Wayne asked the young wizard.

Draco passed Wayne the bag of galleons under the table. The moment he did, he felt a powerful surge of magic around them. The Wizard’s Oath of Silence took hold.

“We’re in,” he said, “When can you do it?”

“Now that depends on how soon we can get at them. It can be as soon as a day or as long as a year, but we’ll get them. Believe that,” Wayne said, hefting the bag a little. “This here will help us along a bit. Sometimes we have to draw them out. That requires galleons. The balance will be our pay.”

“I want photos of them dead,” Draco said.

“No. You’ll get a pensieve of it. You get caught with it, it’s your ass,” Wayne said.

Draco smiled. That would be even better. He’d get to see everything.

“Make sure to really brutalize her. Make her scream,” Draco hissed. “I want her to suffer.”

“No worries. Dwayne here always makes them scream,” Wayne assured him, “We’ll be in contact when the job is done.”

“Excellent,” Draco replied, smiling at the pair evilly. Both rose and left the inn.

Draco sat back in his chair feeling everything would be all right.

Both Severus and Hermione would pay for their crimes against the House of Malfoy, and his father would be avenged.

And best of all, he would be in the clear.

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A/N: Man oh man. Draco is a piece of work, isn’t he? He put a contract out on Severus and Hermione.