Cherries

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Story: Cherries
Author: bubblybabs
Email: bubbalilly@gmail.com
Beta: Periculum
Story Consultants: WesleyY7, Sonia
Total Word Count: 16,707
Chapter 33 Edit Date: 06/03/2009
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This chapter is chock full of information, all of which is important to know so you don't become confused in later chapters. Much of this info isn't contained in canon, it is merely my interpretation of how some spells and potions work and why some are permanent and why others are not. I hope it makes sense to you all...
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I shall assume that the last chapter isn't a favorite since it didn't get many reviews... I hope this one exceeds your expectations, I'm pretty sure the next one will....
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apkblack – I cover the stress of Hermione's parents in a later chapter. Their work is their touchstone to reality, and they are relying heavily on it to help them stay focused. Remember, the magical world is worrisome to them (remember how they reacted in PoA when in Diagon Alley) and they need something solid to help them deal with the situation they have unexpectedly found themselves in.
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WeslyY7 – I blamed you so the lynch-party WOULD come after you! I'm not stupid! On the incest issue, it's not my cup of tea so I probably won't go into detail on that in the future... I'm not against it if it's a mutual thing, it's just not for me.. Remember, I said in the beginning that this wasn't a love story. Hermione's reaction to Snape isn't going to be all lovey-dovey. Keep watching, the end of book 5 comes soon in this story... And thanks for the congrats!
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Chapter 33: Damage Control

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Story date: May 13, 1996 (4:46 pm)

Albus looked up from his desk as Bill entered his office. He stood as the young man neared his desk and they shook hands briefly before sitting themselves down.

“Bill? How did it go? What have you found?”

“Good Gods, Albus! I'm amazed the girl is still able to function normally with the number of curses she has upon her!” Bill answered, shaking his head.

His lips pursed, Albus looked over his half-moon glasses at the Curse-breaker, Bill's face reflecting his obvious distress at his findings.

“Will you be able to break them?”

“I've already taken care of the nightmare one as it was the easiest to break. I'm still not sure of the other four I've detected upon her and will have to come back tomorrow for further analysis.” Bill shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I need to go through some of my books and check with a few other people about what I've found so far.”

“Four?” Albus had expected one, perhaps two, curses upon the girl. He was unprepared to find there were a total of five, including the one that caused her nightmares.

“So far, I've definitely found three sex curses, yes.”

“Three sex curses? You stated there were at least four more. Is the last one not sexual?”

“I'm not sure; the fourth one is a spell that I don't recognize at all. I'm not even sure if it's a curse. That's the one I'm feeling most cautious about.”

Albus nodded.

“Merlin, Albus. I've heard of a sex curse or two being inflicted upon a person, but not this many. You sure Bellatrix was the only one who had her? The signatures for the curses feel different.”

“Meaning?”

“When someone curses another, they leave a type of imprint. Most people don't know that. A trained person can feel the differences in these imprints. Ministry officials use these imprints as a way of identifying if a curse was left by a known perpetrator or by someone new. They don't use this information in trials in order to keep it a secret from the populous – an effort to keep someone from modifying their imprint in some way when they commit a crime which would make it harder to keep track of the criminals.”

“I see.”

“So, there was more than just Bellatrix, wasn't there?”

Albus gave a curt nod. “There was.”

Bill nodded absently, already knowing the answer before Albus confirmed his suspicions.

“Will any of these curses, that you can tell, Bill, cause Miss Granger lasting harm if left upon her or removed from her?”

“All can cause harm if removed incorrectly. All can be lived with, though with difficulty, if they are unable to be removed. I'm pretty confident I can remove three of them. The last will be quite the challenge.”

“She will not become disabled by the one if you are unable to remove it?”

“If it is indeed a sex curse, and it follows the usual course of action for such a curse, then no, she won't become disabled by it. But her, uh, interests will shift to another person if she is kept from the originator of the curse. As I said earlier, the longing for the inflictor of the curse will never go away, but the longing will become secondary to the discomfort inflicted by the unfulfilled curse's requirements.”

“Discomfort?”

“Ever have an erection somewhere where it was most inappropriate to take care of? Say an Order meeting. Now imagine being in a constant state of extreme arousal and trying to find someone to help you take care of it no matter the venue.”

“I see.”

“Of course, there's always masturbation, but that's a temporary solution that would never leave the victim feeling, shall we say, satisfied for very long.”

Albus nodded slowly, lips pursed, brow furrowed. “So, she'll be seeking the attention of others in an effort to rid herself of these feelings of arousal. Just like a lust potion.”

“Yes, and no. Initially, the curse's symptoms aren't quite as severe as a potion, but they'll be enough to keep her unfocused. Of course, if the curse's requirements aren't met, the symptoms will escalate as time goes on, as if the person were suffering from forced and prolonged orgasm control and denial.”

“I see.” Albus turned his head and stared at a bookshelf next to his desk as he thought about the symptoms of orgasm denial and what that would mean to Miss Granger. This didn't look good, not at all.

“I thought you might. The situation might be pleasurable if the person wants to dabble in that sort of thing, but when it happens to someone who wants no part of it, the psychological pain can be quite damaging. I don't believe we need to discuss the physical discomfort felt during unrelieved prolonged sexual arousal.”

Albus nodded slowly as he continued to look at the bookshelf, his mind seeing the differing colors but not the titles on the spines of the books.

“Is there any chance that the effects of these curses will become accumulative?”

Bill tugged on his ear as he thought about the question, his fingers absently playing with his earring. “Well, for the most part, sex curses have pretty much the same goal – the victim wanting to have sex with the inflictor – so they can indeed become accumulative in their effects. Sometimes the spells enhance each other without becoming overwhelming. Sometimes the force of their combined spell work will make the victim act like one who has ingested a lust potion. At other times, the spells may actually counteract each other, though that is rare. It depends upon the wording of the spell. It also depends upon how well the person performed the wand movements and tone inflection during the casting of the curse – as with any other spell, if not done properly, the curses effects will be weakened.” Bill took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Hermione didn't act like a lust-crazed nymphomaniac so I'd say the spell work isn't accumulative in her case.”

“That's good to hear. So we'll be cautiously optimistic. Would, per chance, the curses help make the victim acquiescence more readily to torture?”

“Well, it does depend upon the torture, Albus. Nearly anyone will succumb to torture if it's severe enough, in an effort to lessen their pain.” Bill thought a moment, his brows furrowing. “Hermione was tortured?”

“She was.”

Bill looked down at his boots, his fingers absently tracing the decoration on the hide. “I guess that was a stupid question, since I know who Hermione was with.” He looked up again, his eyes questioning. “I'm surprised Hermione was allowed to live for so long. She's in a lot better shape than I expected her to be in.”

“Apparently there was a reason for her being allowed to survive though I have been unable to discover that reason as of yet. I can speculate, but that gets me nowhere without any definite evidence to prove me correct or to guide me.”

Bill nodded, his eyes on his boot again, his thumb slowly rubbing back and forth along the black dragon hide.

“You state the longing for the inflictor of the curse will never go away. She will actually long for the curse-owner, even if she doesn't know who they are?”

“Well, she'll have a longing but, unless she meets up with them again, the longing won't become targeted towards that person. Hence, the shifting of interests, as it were. The body will initially take control to alleviate its discomfort, and the mind will follow – basically in an effort to make sense of what the body is telling them. Most people have a sexual attraction to their mates before they get to know each other so it's actually a fairly natural progression for the curse to follow – even if the person she was fixating on was someone she didn't like, she would eventually harbor positive feelings for them merely due to the psychological impact. In that instance, where she didn't like the person she was with, it would take a while for the progression to infatuation to occur – maybe a few weeks or even a few months.”

“I see.” Albus' eyes drifted downward, not seeing the paperwork sitting on his desk as he thought of what he wanted to ask. “Tell me, Bill, how strong will Miss Granger's interests be in another person, if they were to 'shift', as you call it?”

Bill took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as he thought about what to say. “Because she hasn't fixated, it makes it obvious that she has been with more than one person sexually.” Bill looked up and pointed at Albus. “Don't you dare try to deny it, Albus. I know how this type of curse should work.” Albus gave a small nod and Bill relaxed back into his chair again. “So, since she was with more than one person, her body would respond sexually to their advances, but her mind wasn't able to fixate. The more people the victim is with, the more confused the mind becomes – well, not a true confusion. It's more like a constant shuffling of allegiances towards the people she is with. On a conscious level, Hermione was probably terribly confused as to why she was acting, reacting, and doing things she didn't want to do. To be honest, since we know who she was with, she must have been terribly upset with herself as she responded in ways she thought inappropriate – psychologically, she's going to be a mess with those memories. Luckily, I doubt Bella allowed Hermione to get to the Stage of Nymphomania – that's when the body is in a constant state of arousal and the person actively seeks relief from others. That stage usually takes four or five days of abstinence. More than likely, Hermione had to deal with the constant sexual attentions by Bella's Death Eater friends – I can't imagine her fear or her horror when she responded like a little nymphet to their touching her. Must have been quite degrading.” Bill scratched at his chin while thinking. “Anyway, due to her being with multiple partners, she wasn't able to fixate on one person. Now that she's free, her interests, as I called them, will begin to shift and she'll fixate on one person if allowed to.”

“If allowed to?”

“Albus, it wouldn't be fair to force her to be with more than one man all the time to prevent her from fixating, which is exactly the situation she has been in while held captive. Some sex curses are merely lust curses, used to cause an unnaturally overwhelming sexual appetite. But most are made so that the victim stays with and becomes sexually obsessed with one person – the curse originator. Much like a lust potion, though the symptoms aren't as severe, not unless the victim is denied sexual release for a period of time. Even then, the symptoms will escalate slowly, over a few days, if sex is withheld - unlike a lust potion where the symptoms are sudden, constant, and overpowering.”

Albus nodded silently as he thought about this shifting of interests and fixation problem. 'I can't afford the girl's 'interest' to shift to someone important to the cause, especially if she were to become a distraction to them. Let's face it, a little sex kitten in their bed would be a distraction. Who can I orchestrate to take her on? Remus is too important, due to his alliance with the werewolves, no matter how much he wants her. Harry is far too important to be saddled with her. Young Mr. Weasley? Perhaps. Could he handle her though?' Albus gave an involuntary snort. 'He should be able to – he is a teen-aged boy, after all. But could he handle her on an emotional level? I want her to be respected and not merely a plaything to come home to. Would she become distracting to both Harry and Ronald during the quest to destroy Voldemort? It's very possible, as the fates would have it, that Sirius may be the best solution to this problem after all. The man just might get his wish.' Albus turned his attention back to Bill.

“If her attentions shifted to another and she fixated upon them, what would happen if she met the curse-owner?”

“Her attentions will immediately shift back to the curse-owner. The effect will be instantaneous. And, I might add, very confusing to her since she won't understand her sudden sexual interest moving from one person to another in a heartbeat. But her focus will become the curse-owner and her confusion will be forgotten. I think it would be harder on the person her infatuation has suddenly been directed away from. People have killed each other over situations such as this.”

“Yes, of course.” Albus nodded absently as he recalled what he had read in regards to sex curses while Bill was busy examining Miss Granger. “Bill, I read that sex curses and love curses are different though similar in their symptoms. What if this unidentifiable curse were a love curse?”

“It's possible, and one on my list of possible curses to rule out.”

“The differences, Bill?”

“A sex curse will, obviously, make the person more amorous towards the person they have fixated upon. The person will be the victim's sole focus when it comes to a sexual relationship. Positive feelings towards the person fixated upon may become evident over time, but are not necessary for the curses requirements to be met. So, for instance, if Hermione were in the company of Draco Malfoy, a person we all know she does not like, and her focus shifted to him, she would not be able to stop her sexual attentions towards him even though her mind is screaming at her to stop because she detests him. Eventually, though, her hate would be chipped away as she tried to make the unbearable situation acceptable to her and she would begin to have feelings akin to love for him. It wouldn't be a true love, but a complicated set of protective emotions felt towards him none-the-less. Once fixated upon him – both in mind and body – she won't give a second look to another person sexually. A love curse is different in that the person actually falls madly in love with the person their attentions have shifted to, and the romantic side of the curse follows its own course. Very much like a love potion. She wouldn't know she wasn't really in love with this person and her sole focus will be the person her attentions have shifted to – it won't merely be a sexual attraction.”

“Will Miss Granger be able to resume her studies? Will she become too... distracted, once fixated?”

“It depends upon the curse. I don't think she has the type of curses upon her that would cause her to become out of control like someone who took a lust, or even a love potion, or we'd be seeing the affects of instability already. As a matter of fact, I'm positive she doesn't have that type of curse. So, yes, she should be able to continue her schooling.”

“This 'fixation', as you call it, will only occur if she is actually having sexual relations with one man?”

“Correct.”

“For both types of curse? Both the sexual and love curse?”

Bill nodded.

“How long will it take for her to fixate?”

“Well, that depends upon the curse.” Bill rubbed his ear as he thought about what to say. “Some are immediate, and that seems unlikely in this case since she seems unattached to any one person. Obviously, a curse designed to cause immediate infatuation does not need time for this fixation. I carefully monitored Hermione's reactions to my presence as I worked to diagnose the identity of the curses inflicted upon her and she showed no signs of unusual sexual attraction towards me. She...”

“No signs of unusual sexual attraction?”

Bill blushed as he cleared his throat. “Well, Albus, it has been quite a while since Hermione has seen me, and I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I know I'm not unattractive. She responded as a normal female would towards me. She was polite and treated me as a friend, but I was able to sense her libido responding to my nearness as is normal if one is physically attracted towards another.”

“I see.”

“So, continuing on with what I was saying, Hermione didn't constantly question me about one person and she wasn't obsessed with any one person that I could tell. She did ask me about Remus a few times, and once about Sirius.” Bill paused a moment as he thought about this, considered asking questions about why Hermione would ask about these two men in particular, then decided he didn't really want or need to know, so he continued on with his commentary. “She also asked about Ron, but I was careful with what I said, Albus.” Bill was quick to make the last statement as he saw worry flit across Albus' face.

“I only told her some generalities about him, telling her that she'd see him soon.” He gave Albus a searching look. “I hope that's true, Albus. We both know Ron has been a basket case ever since she disappeared.”

Bill tried to force the anger he felt welling up within him back under control. He sensed something had happened to both Ron and Ginny when he came by Grimmauld Place one night, unknowingly the day after their memories had been charmed away, and had confronted Albus about it. He was appraised of their memories being modified, but could not get any more information out of Albus as to why. His parents were under the impression that Ginny had been Obliviated, possibly to hide a rape, causing her the pregnancy she elected to abort. They knew nothing about Ron's memory being modified. What happened to Ron that he'd have his memory wiped out? Was Ron present for the rape and couldn't handle it? What was Albus hiding from them all?

Bill struggled with himself still, wanting to put his trust in Albus that the reason for the modification was for the best, but desperately wanting to know what had happened to his sister and brother that wiping out their memory of the experience had been deemed necessary. He also wanted to know why this had all been done without the knowledge OR permission of his parents. That his parents weren't included in the decision galled him the most.

Even more disturbing to him was the fact that he felt the weak traces of magic upon his mother and twin brothers, the weakness of the magic's imprinting telling him the spells had been performed several weeks before his visit. He was pretty sure the traces of magic were Obliviates, but they had different imprints than Ron and Ginny's. As with Hermione, had he not been a trained Curse-breaker, he never would have felt the magical signatures. He frowned as he remembered the surprise on Albus' face when he demanded to know what magic was used against his mother, Fred, and George. At first, he thought Albus didn't know about it, but then Albus stated someone else had done the magic upon them and he wasn't sure when it had occurred – or why..

Once he was aware of the magic used on his family, Bill made sure to visit them daily, his senses specifically tuned for new magical signatures used upon them. His father, so far, was the only member of his family, other than Charlie and Percy, since they were away, who had not been subjected to any magic. Since he began his daily visits, he was grateful when he sensed no new magic used upon his family. He felt nothing against Harry, either. Albus, Minerva, Dung, and most of the others who visited Sirius' home seemed to be unaffected as well.

Bill had been alarmed to find unfamiliar magical imprinting upon Sirius, Remus, and Severus. The signatures of the magic on the three seemed similar, yet he couldn't be sure since he wasn't able to do a detailed analysis of them. The magic seemed distorted somehow, and he couldn't pinpoint what was so unusual about it. Naturally, Bill immediately informed Albus about it, and was disturbed to find that Albus wasn't surprised by his report. Albus merely nodded his head slowly as Bill reported his suspicions, the older wizard's lips pursed, his eyes expressionless and yet seemingly overflowing with emotions, as if Bill was confirming something he had been worried about but hoped wasn't true. Albus then promised to look into it, though Bill had the funny feeling the Headmaster was just blowing smoke up his ass.

For the millionth time since he had confronted Albus about the magic used upon his family and friends, he wondered what the hell had been going on in that house owned by Sirius. Hermione disappearing under suspicious circumstances, then returning with multiple sex curses upon her person. Sirius and Remus acting strangely. Remus disappearing for a day, no one able to find him, only to have him come back and state his mother had sent him an unexpected message that she was ill. Bill knew Remus' memory had been modified that day since he was asked to verify the magic both Albus and Severus felt upon the man, he just figured Remus had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and, instead of being killed, had his memory erased. At the time, he thought that pretty unusual, but in this day in age, one never knew what would happen. Unknown magic had been used upon select members of the Order and upon his family while there. He knew something terrible had to have happened to his youngest sister and brother that forced the need of having their memories modified without his parent's knowledge or permission, and apparently performed by Albus himself. He grieved for his sister and brother, wishing he could have had the option to help them through their ordeal – he knew his parents would have wanted to do that as well. What prompted Albus to act without consent?

Bill looked up at Albus as he, once again, quashed his anger and resentment, knowing the man before him did things that he deemed necessary, no matter how unpleasant or unpopular, and not for sport.

“Yes, she'll be meeting Ron and the rest of your family soon.”

“Good, that will put their minds at ease. You know how worried they've been.” Bill sat silently a moment as he thought about the happiness his family would feel once they found out Hermione was safe. “To continue with what I was saying, Hermione didn't ask me about one man ceaselessly, and did not become upset when I had no answers to the questions she did ask. So, these curses put upon her must be the type where it will take time for her to develop her fixation. She would exhibit the need to fulfill the curse's requirements without becoming obsessed with one person. This would be most convenient for a curse-originator who was allowing the victim to be used by multiple people but who wanted to remain in control of them for the long term. That was one reason why I'm sure most of the curses are sex and not love curses.”

“Oh, how so?”

“A love curse, as I said, has the victim fall in love with one person. Period. And that love allows romance to follow a fairly normal course. A sex curse causes a strong physical response that can't be ignored and must be acted upon. Some curses are automatic, while some require a certain amount of contact before the symptoms of lust become apparent. I suspect Hermione has the second type since she responded to my touch in a fairly normal fashion – I touched her hands, her arms, and her face and she did not react overtly sexually towards me. The second type allows more control of the victim because their responses can be orchestrated to a point.”

“I see.” Albus thought about this new information. He knew about the obsession problem of sex curses and worried about how to deal with it if she were to remain in school.

“My only concern was how she seemed to keep flinching away from me, especially if I touched her unexpectedly – almost as if she expected me to do something unpleasant or distasteful to her.” Bill looked sad, his tone hushed. “I guess being with Bella would condition her to react that way, wouldn't it?”

“Yes, it would.” Albus nodded thoughtfully. “Bill, do you have a time range for this fixation to occur?”

“If she were with one man? Exclusively, none other around her? A week or so would be my guess. If other men are around but she is sexually active with only one, a month or so.”

“Would sexual relations with an elf or other females create a problem with fixation?”

Bill squirmed at the question as he reached up to play with his earring. “Well, ah, there haven't been any studies done with that situation, but I would imagine so. To the body, sex is sex. The mind of the sex cursed victim will follow along for the ride. So, if she were having relations with... an elf, other women, men - her mind would start the process of fixation on the one she was with, then the fixation would be broken when she had relations with the next person. And so on.”

“Ahhhh, the fixation process starts immediately?”

“Yes, but, as I said, when a different person comes into play, the fixation process starts anew. In order for fixation to become permanent, the curse victim must be with one person for a specific period of time determined by the type of curse used.”

“Once she fixates, and the curse-owner does not come into play, she can safely be around other men without worry of her interests shifting?”

“Correct. As long as the curse-owner stays away and the man she fixates upon keeps the curse symptoms at bay, her focus will remain on the one man.”

“And, if she is forced into abstinence?”

“Uh, well, you don't want that is all I can say. As I've mentioned, she'll become unfocused, and become distracting to the male populous in an effort to fulfill the curse's requirements. Even a delayed curse, one where she needs a specific touch to cause the curse to activate, will become increasingly unstable over time and she will actually start to show signs of an immediate release curse. Of course, that's only if she were forced to abstain.”

“Of course.” Albus sat silently a moment. 'The girl will have to be with someone who won't mind frequent sex. Hmmmm, that shouldn't be too hard. She's attractive enough. But the man will have to be young enough and have enough stamina to deal with her.'

“Another piece of information you should be aware of, Albus, is that most people aren't very good at casting these types of curses. This tends to cause the curse, if it worked to begin with, to become unstable over time. However, and it's probably fortunate, but I'm sure Bellatrix is quite good with her curse casting so we may not have to worry about this problem, but I'd still be prepared for it just in case.”

“All right. Yes, I believe that your advice is sound.”

“Also, as I had mentioned earlier, I detected different curse imprints, so we don't know for sure who cast the curses – Bella may not have cast any of them in the first place. And, the people who did cast these upon Hermione may have done a poor job. However, I don't know, being Death Eaters, I'm going to hedge on the probability that their casting of curses is pretty damned good – far better than the average witch or wizard.”

“I see.” Albus thought about the information he had so far. He was trying to gain all the information needed to help him make a decision as to what to do with the girl. He hoped his decision would not be an unpopular one with the members of the Order, but he would have to risk that if he felt it was needed. “These requirements of the curse, exactly what might they be?”

“I'm not sure. The norm should be that she'll want sexual relations, usually penetrative, hence the victim is usually female, with the curse-owner and only the owner – but that's only if she were having relations with them exclusively. Without the curse-owner present, and if she were allowed to fixate upon one man, the curse-owner problem becomes dormant. If she were separated from the one she fixated upon, the curse-owner issue would become a problem once again and her attention will shift to someone else. A potion usually has a predestined person as the object of desire, whether it be a specific person or the first person seen after ingestion. A curse is similar. However, where a potion is far stronger in its effects, the end result of a curse is often more subtle – as long as the requirements are being met.”

Albus nodded. He was discomfited, his hours of reading up on the subject still did not prepare him for all of the information Bill was telling him.

“However, since she was with Bellatrix, and if she were the one who actually cast the spell, I doubt the negative effects of the curse will be subtle.”

“Yes, I fear as much.”

“Albus, I thought you would know all this.”

“I knew some, but not all.” Albus smiled wearily. “After all, most people use love or lust potions since it is the easiest route, therefore I am more schooled upon their use than on curses. The few times we've encountered any such problems within the school, it has always been due to a potion. I, myself, have never known someone with a sex curse upon them.”

“You don't know that, Albus. It's not exactly something people advertise. As I said, once Hermione fixates on someone, she'll be indistinguishable from any other person who gives the outward appearance that she is madly in love with their partner – even if it is a sex and not a love curse. For the most part, she will be able to carry on with her life. The one main distinguishing feature of a cursed individual is that the sexual or emotional infatuation doesn't fade.” Bill sat back in his chair and struggled to remember what he knew of potions.

“From what I understand, and I'm not expert in potions, but a love or lust potion, due to their notorious instability, must be continuously replenished. A curse does not since it actually infuses into the person's magic, which helps contain the curse within the victim's DNA. Potions will wear off as the body's defenses degrade the potion ingredients and destroy them. Of course, the length of time the potion remains in effect depends upon the potion itself – you know as well as I do that some of the more dangerous and harder to brew lust potions can remain active for a few years, requiring an antidote to counteract their devastating effects. Hell, even a lust potion can be devastating to the victim and those around them after just a few hours necessitating an antidote before they drive someone nuts enough to kill them.”

“Mmmm, yes, that does sound right.” Albus made a mental note to ask Severus about the potions information Bill was giving him, wanting to make sure it was accurate. He looked at Bill expectantly. “How sure are you that you will be able to break these curses safely?”

“Three of them, as I said before, I am sure I can break. The fourth I won't be sure about until I do more research.”

“I see.” Albus sighed, not sure what else to ask.

“We may be lucky and I'll be able to rid her of all the curses and your worries will be all for naught. If I can't safely break them, we may be fortunate enough to discover that they are somehow canceling each other out. I'd still have Severus working on reversing the effects of a potion though, just in case, since we know who she was with.”

“Yes, as I said, Severus is looking into it. He's already taken samples of her body fluids, skin scrapings, and hair samples for testing.”

“Good. Severus is brilliant; if she has a potion working on her as well, I'm sure he'll be able to reverse it.”

Albus nodded. “I am confident in Severus' abilities, just as I am in yours. I truly appreciate all you are doing for Miss Granger.”

“Mention nothing of it, Albus. It's my pleasure.”

“About the elfin magic...”

“Yes, I was wondering when you'd bring that up.” Bill shifted in the chair with obvious unease.

“What did you find?” Albus watched Bill closely, already fearing the worst if he was reading the oldest Weasley son's body language correctly.

“Well, elfin magic is tricky to diagnose. And their magic is strong.”

After a moment of silence, Albus nodded. “Go on.”

“I'll be honest when I tell you I wasn't able to figure out what magic was used upon her by an elf. I sensed it, but I wasn't able to work it out. For the most part, they use magic needed to keep up a household so their powers haven't been studied much. Also, elves aren't known for cursing humans, Albus, so I doubt I'm going to find any information on that to guide me. Problem is, I don't really sense anything I would associate with as an elfin curse upon Hermione, but elfin magic has definitely been used.”

“I see.” Albus had expected that Kreacher had put some type of sex curse upon Hermione and was disturbed to find that Bill didn't find any. If the elf didn't curse her, what did he do? “You won't be able to figure out what he did to her?”

Bill sucked in his breath through his teeth, making an odd whistling noise. “I don't know, Albus. I really don't. As I said, elfin magic hasn't been studied much, so my resources are limited. I'll do my best, but I can't promise you anything. I'm sorry.”

They sat in silence for a while, both men wondering where they could find more information on magic performed by elves.

“Oh, by the way.” Bill sat up straight and reached into his pocket, pulling out something red in color. “I removed that collar Hermione had on.”

Albus reached out and took the collar from Bill. “Oh, good, good. Her parents found it most disturbing. Her father, in particular, struggled for quite a while to remove it barehanded. Miss Granger became distraught over his efforts.”

Bill nodded. “I can understand her father's motives, I can only imagine how I'd feel if I found Ginny wearing the same thing. Who the hell would put a collar on her with those words inscribed in French? It was too pretty for something I'd envision Bella using on her. I can see her putting that inscription on Hermione, but not the collar.”

“I know, I know. It was placed by the one who kidnapped her.”

“Oh.” Bill didn't know why, but he blushed as deeply as when he first read the inscription, his eyes darting to Hermione's face as she looked away in shame.

“I've removed the curse that was infused into it. Whoever this person was, they were pretty adamant about keeping her in check – there should be a matching leash somewhere that was used to keep her from running away. Some surprisingly dark magic was used to keep her under control.”

Albus looked at the pearl-encrusted strip of red leather, now charred in a few places. 'He put a red leather pearl-encrusted collar on the girl. How perverted can you possibly be, Sirius?' he asked himself, thinking with discomfort about the symbolism behind the piece of jewelry.

“Tell me more about this leash, Bill. What should we look for?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Story time: 8:00pm

“Kreacher.”

Kreacher turned a hateful eye upon the 'Headmaster of the Brats'. He sensed another person was present and turned his head about, searching the room for them.

“Where's the other wizard?” he hissed. “Kreacher feels them.”

“The 'other wizard' is here as witness to my questioning. You do not need to see them or know their identity.”

Kreacher crossed his arms. “Kreacher won't answer any of your questions!”

“Oh, I believe you will.” Albus held up a flask. “One way or another.”

Kreacher eyed the flask in Albus' hand, wondering what concoction it held. “What makes you think Kreacher will drink that?” He pointed at the flask defiantly.

“My dear Kreacher, do you honestly underestimate my abilities to make you do things you don't want to do?”

Kreacher looked into Albus' eyes, then looked away quickly. “No.”

“Then why utter such ridiculous nonsense?”

“Kreacher won't, because you...” Kreacher's voice faded away. He didn't know what to say.

Albus conjured a soft, poofy chair, unhurriedly sitting down, unconsciously adjusting the folds of his robe. He glanced behind him, knowing Severus was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as was customary for him. He turned back around, giving Kreacher a stern look meant to convey his lack of patience.

“Kreacher, I am prepared to use any method I need in order to get the information I want.” Albus lowered his head slightly. “Any method, whether it be magical or Muggle, painful or not. Do I make myself clear?”

Kreacher stared malevolently at Albus, his lips pursed.

“Where's Kreacher's Mudblood?”

“I see we wish to talk about the same topic.” Albus smiled. “That will make things go along smoothly.”

“Where is she?”

“She is safe and is being kept from harm.” Albus crossed a leg over the other as he made himself comfortable in his chair.

Kreacher tapped his foot. “Who is she with?”

“I don't believe you need to know that information.” Albus' tone was light.

Kreacher's brows furrowed. “Is she with Master?”

“As I said, I don't believe you need to know who Miss Granger is with or where she is being kept.”

“Kreacher wants his Mudblood back.”

“I find it interesting that you would want her at all, Kreacher. Being a 'Mudblood', as you call her, should repel you, should it not?”

Kreacher stared at Albus hatefully, but did not respond.

“Tell me, why do you want her?”

“She belongs to Kreacher,” Kreacher snarled, stamping his foot.

“She is not an object to own, Kreacher. She is a human being.”

“Humans own elves. Kreacher owns the Mudblood. She belongs to Kreacher.” Kreacher's voice rose in anger as he spoke, slamming a fist into the flat of his hand.

Albus uncrossed, then recrossed his legs and took in a deep breath as he tried to understand the elf's thinking. Scratching his wiry beard briefly, Albus debated upon continuing his current line of questioning to try to ascertain why the elf wanted the girl, or whether he should start down a different path.

“Kreacher, tell me why you wanted the girl in the first place.”

“She belongs to Kreacher.”

“Yes, we've established that you feel you own her. That she belongs to you. Why don't you help me understand why you believe that?”

“Master wanted her, and Kreacher helped him take her. But she belongs to Kreacher, not to him. She was given to Kreacher first.” Kreacher swiftly swung his fist in the air before him, from above his head down to waist level.

Albus raised a brow, cocking his head to the side slightly. “Really? By whom?”

Kreacher turned his back to Albus and mumbled to himself. “He plans to take her away from Kreacher, he thinks Kreacher shouldn't own her, but the Mudblood was Kreacher's reward. She was promised to Kreacher. Oh, yes, she was.”

“Kreacher? I hear you talking to yourself but I don't understand you. Kindly turn around and discuss this with me directly.”

“How many times must Kreacher tell you that the Mudblood belongs to Kreacher?” Kreacher spun around, yelling at Albus defiantly, his hand coming up to punish the man for taking his sex slave away from him, for daring to question him about her. Albus made no move to protect himself, watching with amusement as the elf jabbed his hand towards him several times.

“What have you done to Kreacher's magic?” came the hushed and horrified words of the elf.

“You may not harm anyone while in this room, Kreacher. All elfin magic has been dampened.” Albus adjusted himself in the chair. “You do realize that elfin magic has its own signature, do you not? It's quite easy to use wizarding magic against elfin when one needs to.” Albus steepled his fingers. “You are also aware of the old spells used to make house elves obedient more than a thousand years ago, are you not?”

Kreacher's jaw dropped. Yes, he was aware of those spells, all elves were aware of them. But the elves knew humans had forgotten most of them over time as, with the acceptance by the elves of their role as slave to the wizarding race, the spells were needed with less frequency. Slowly, the need to serve had been ingrained into the house elf populous over several generations until the need to please and serve a master was paramount to the needs of the elves themselves. Even Kreacher struggled with this need when his Master Sirius was around.

“I see you are aware of these spells.” Albus nodded. “Good, that will save us time. Kreacher, I would like for you to answer my questions so we may get on with things or we'll all wind up having a very long night and you will wind up in very great distress – emotionally, magically, and physically. Do I make myself clear?”

Kreacher nodded slowly as he tried to think of a way to get out of the room he was being held captive in. It did not contain a door that he could see and he had no idea how the men before him were able to enter – he just looked up and they were there, but without the sounds of Apparition. The walls, ceiling, and floor of his new prison were made of solid stone in a circular pattern. The room itself contained several chairs, a tiny wooden table, a sink and loo, and a bunk for him to sleep on. He eyed the bunk, already missing the space under the boiler that he had used as his bedroom for many years. His relatively short period of sleeping beside his Mudblood had been unnatural for him, and it had taken the passing of many nights before he was able to sleep soundly in the bed. His near constant boner didn't help his sleep-state either as he slowly adjusted to having the girl next to him.

'How could he place these spells upon Kreacher? He isn't Kreacher's Master so he shouldn't have been able to perform these spells. Did Master Sirius use these spells against Kreacher? He must have! He did it so he can keep Kreacher away from her! How dare he! Kreacher will make him pay for this! Oh, yes, Kreacher will!'

“So, Kreacher, tell me, why did you help Sirius take the girl if she was given to you, as you say?”

Kreacher looked at Albus warily, continuing to debase Sirius in his mind. “Because Kreacher desired her. Kreacher wanted her. Kreacher was pleased when the Mudblood became his – Kreacher finally owned a Mudblood. Kreacher owned his very own sex slave. Oh, yes, Kreacher did. But, it was easier to have Master believe he was the one in charge of her, to be the one to take her so everyone blamed him.”

“I see.”

“She belongs to Kreacher. And only to Kreacher.” Kreacher jabbed his thumb into his chest. Albus raised his eyebrows at the very human body language Kreacher was exhibiting.

Albus steepled his fingers in his lap. “Is it not unusual for a house elf to desire a witch?”

Kreacher hesitated before responding, his eyes going down to the ground. “Yes.”

“And yet, you desired Miss Granger.”

Kreacher's eyes shot up and he stared at Albus defiantly.

“How old was Miss Granger when you first approached her?”

“Kreacher did not take the Mudblood until after Master had her first.”

“I see. I have taken note of how you redirected the conversation in an effort to keep from directly answering my question, Kreacher.” Albus shot the elf a stern look as he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So, you waited until Sirius had her? In other words, you waited until after Sirius raped her, correct? She did not object to your touching her?”

“The Mudblood fought at first. Then she began to respond as she had been taught.”

“Taught?” Albus cocked his head to the side as he leaned forward slightly. “Please elaborate.”

“The Mudblood was Kreacher's pupil. Kreacher taught her to respond to Master long before he came to her. And, Kreacher taught her to accept him as well.”

“You state she was your pupil? Did you have many pupils?”

“Not many, no.”

“I see. How long have you been 'teaching'?”

“Not long.”

“Give me a time-frame.”

Kreacher closed his eyes as he thought. “A year.”

“I see. You did not do any teaching before you taught Miss Granger?”

“No. Kreacher did not need to do any teaching before the Mudblood. Kreacher's Mistress needed no teaching, Kreacher's Mistress was perfect. Mistress taught Kreacher many things. Oh, yes, she did.”

“Your Mistress?”

“Mistress Black.”

“What gave you the idea to 'teach' Miss Granger?”

“Mistress taught Kreacher. Kreacher taught the Mudblood. Kreacher learned of ancient teaching methods using his magic. Kreacher used it to teach his Mudblood.”

“Ancient elfin magic? What did you do with this magic?”

“Kreacher taught his pupils.”

“So you said. And, what, pray tell, was the curriculum?”

“Kreacher's Mudblood learned to accept his touch. And Master's.”

“And, where is this teaching performed? I hardly believe you had a classroom.”

Kreacher laughed. “No, no classroom. Kreacher taught in the best place possible.”

“And that would be?”

“The bed.”

Albus worked very hard to keep the disgust off his face, schooling it to look as if interested. “You taught Miss Granger while in her bed?”

“Kreacher teaches when the pupils are asleep.”

A piece of the puzzle fell neatly in place.

“Elves do not normally 'teach', is that correct?”

“No.”

“Yet, you did. And you taught Miss Granger in her sleep?”

Kreacher looked down guiltily, his hands going behind him like a bad little boy as he toed the stone floor. “Kreacher desired the Mudblood. Kreacher's Mistress Black would not be happy with Kreacher for wanting the Mudblood. Oh, no, she wouldn't. Kreacher was a bad elf.”

“Yes, Kreacher, you were a bad elf. And you haven't been punished from what I can see.”

“Kreacher has been punished most severely! Mistress used the Mudblood to discipline Kreacher with every night! Kreacher had a lesson to learn and Mistress made sure Kreacher was punished!”

“Mistress? You keep referring to a Mistress of yours. Yet your Mistress is long dead.”

Kreacher clamped his mouth shut and covered it with his hands.

“Are you referring to the portrait of Mrs. Black?”

Kreacher kept his hands over his mouth and stared at Albus, not wanting to give away his secret.

Albus sighed deeply. “Kreacher, to be with what you desire is far from being punished.”

Kreacher glared at Albus as he lowered his arms, crossing them over his chest. Gone was the guilty little boy look.

“Why are you telling me all of this so freely, Kreacher? It seems to me that you would want to hide all of this information from me.”

“You will forcefully take the information from me otherwise.” Kreacher looked pointedly at the flask. “Kreacher sees no reason to fight you on this.”

“I see.” Albus contemplated Kreacher for a long moment, not believing the elf's reasoning.

“Moving on with my questioning, Kreacher. Why did you desire Miss Granger?”

“The girl is a Succubus! She trapped Kreacher into desiring her! Kreacher knew his Mistress would be angry with him for wanting her! So Kreacher had to punish the Mudblood for making him want her. Oh, yes, he did.”

“You had to punish her? What of your Master? Didn't he try to stop you?”

“Master Sirius was good to Kreacher at first, he shared the Mudblood with Kreacher. And Kreacher taught Master how to punish the Mudblood properly. Master took to punishing the Mudblood at first. Oh, yes he did. But, Master began speaking of 'love' and worries over hurting the Mudblood. The Mudblood had to be punished or Kreacher couldn't keep her. So, Kreacher took her away from Master and Master was unable do anything to stop Kreacher from enjoying the Mudblood all he wanted. Master couldn't stop Kreacher from punishing the Mudblood so he could keep her.” Kreacher rubbed his erection unconsciously, both wizards' eyes following his hand down, then quickly looking away in disgust. “Yes, the Mudblood was a good slave to Kreacher. Oh, yes, she was.”

Again, Albus forced himself to wipe the disgust off his face as he swallowed his bile and cleared his throat. “You say you took Miss Granger away from Sirius?”

“Yes.”

“How so?”

“Kreacher claimed her for his own.”

“In what way?”

“Master is unable to go down to the slave room without Kreacher, the magic to the door to the slave room was altered so it would not open for him. Kreacher controlled his access to the Mudblood. He could not have her unless Kreacher permitted it. Kreacher took her places that Master did not want her taken to. Places that Kreacher liked. Places Kreacher could enjoy the Mudblood.”

“But, that is not allowed by house elves, to disobey their Masters.”

“Mistress Bella told Kreacher he could take her for his own. All Kreacher had to do was punish himself for being a bad elf to his Master. Then Mistress Bella gave Kreacher punishments to do with the Mudblood each night to remind Kreacher of his transgressions. She knew Kreacher enjoyed his punishments. Oh, yes, he did.”

“Mistress Bella? You mean Bellatrix Lestrange?”

Again, Kreacher covered his mouth with his hands, his eyes big with fear, then nodded. Suddenly, he punched himself in the face and head several times, making his eyes water with the pain.

“Bellatrix told you that you could take Miss Granger for yourself? Sirius did not take her to Bella?” Albus was monumentally relieved to hear this. “Did you stop allowing Sirius from seeing Miss Granger?”

“No, he was allowed to be with her so she would not fall completely into despair. Kreacher knew that Master Sirius was the Mudblood's only happiness. Until the Werewolf came, that is.”

“You mean Remus?”

“Yes, the Wolf.”

“Are you implying he ruined things between your Master and Miss Granger?”

“Master wanted to share the Mudblood with the Potions Master and the Wolf. He was especially obsessed with the thought of sharing her with the Potions Master, hoping he would brutally rape her while Master watched. But Master never had a chance to lure the Potions Master down to use the girl. Oh, no, he didn't. Only the Wolf was brought down and Master didn't expect the Mudblood to become attached to the Wolf like she did. Of course, once the brats were born, the Wolf went to visit more than Master did. The Wolf helped with the brats, Master only wanted to fuck and eat.”

Albus had heard Severus stand up straight when he was mentioned and held his hand up to stop Severus from reacting against the elf. If was important that Kreacher not know who had accompanied him down for the questioning, just in case the elf somehow freed himself. Albus was well aware that the magic used to hold Kreacher was weak since he did not own the elf, and he had to protect the discovery of Severus' true allegiance at all costs.

“To eat?” Albus looked confused. There was plenty of food in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. Severus rolled his eyes, even he knew what the blasted elf meant.

“Tittie milk.”

“Oh, yes, of course.” Albus blushed as he recalled a remark Hermione had made to him when she thought he was angry with her for feeding the twins together. He now recalled Remus stating that Sirius insisted she feed Ronald's child with bottled formula since he felt there would be more milk for him. He shook his head, his dislike for the man mounting each passing day. He found it increasingly more difficult to use the excuse that Sirius was a victim even though he knew he was.

“Did you teach that to Sirius? To drink from Miss Granger?”

“No, Master wanted it. But Kreacher did strengthen the need Master felt for the Mudblood's milk.”

“Why would you do that?”

“For Kreacher's amusement.”

“I see.” Albus took in a deep breath as he thought about what the elf had told him so far. “Kreacher, you state Sirius wanted to share Miss Granger with the Potions Master? Do you mean Severus?”

“Yes.”

“And he wanted Severus to 'brutally rape' Miss Granger? I thought your Master loved the girl.”

“He did, but some of his tastes were the same as Kreacher's. Kreacher was very happy to hear Master talk of having the Mudblood raped. Oh, yes, he was.”

Severus stood, his back straight as an arrow as his heart thumped painfully in his chest. 'Fucking Black is going to get a surprise visit from me, the bastard! Wanting me to rape the girl? Gods, he and Bella are more similar than he'd like to admit, now aren't they? Worthless fucking shit.'

Albus struggled to keep his surprise off his face. He couldn't believe Sirius wanted Severus to rape Miss Granger. Why would he want to hurt her like that when he supposedly loved her? He shook his head sadly.

“Please, tell me again about this ancient teaching method you used.”

“As Kreacher said, he taught his pupils while they were asleep.”

“While they slept? When they are most defenseless?” This sounded very familiar to what was currently happening with Harry. Albus looked at Kreacher, wondering if the elf was aware of the parallel occurrences.

“Yes. They are more open to suggestion at that time.”

“Did you, perhaps, extend any of this teaching to your Master?”

Kreacher smiled. “Master Sirius? Of course.”

“Is this normal behavior for a house elf?”

Kreacher's head hung as he toed the floor. “Kreacher already told you 'no'.”

“Then why did you begin teaching your Master?”

“So Kreacher could have the Mudblood.”

“Yes, of course. Tell me again, how is this teaching done?”

“Kreacher told you, he taught his pupils while they slept.”

“Elfin magic was used as well, correct?”

“Of course. Kreacher told you that. The pupils will wake up and the teaching won't hold if our magic isn't used.”

“I see.” Albus sat forward in his chair. “And you did teach Miss Granger?”

“Kreacher already said he did.” Kreacher smiled as he rubbed himself again, a lustful expression on his face. “She was very responsive. Kreacher liked teaching the Mudblood very much. Oh, yes, he did.”

“Did you teach Remus?”

Kreacher chuckled. “The Wolf? Of course.”

“Did you,” Albus cleared his throat, “do any teaching with Severus in his sleep while he was at Grimmauld Place?”

Kreacher laughed. “The Potions Master? Yes, Kreacher did.” Kreacher laughed again. “The Potions Master isn't as well endowed as the Wolf, but he is a fine specimen to work with.”

Severus gave out a strangled, “Fuck!” under his breath as he stood straight and began to raise his wand.

“Keep yourself under control.” Albus spoke his command lowly so that only Severus would hear it. “Do not lose control.”

Severus looked at the back of Albus' head, then at the man's upraised hand before closing his eyes tightly, perspiration dripping from his chin due to the effort needed to remain under control. Slowly, he lowered his wand and pushed himself against the wall as he rolled his head back and forth in his anger. 'I swear by the Gods I will kill that fucking elf with my bare hands! I'll wrench that ugly little head off while I listen to his screams!'

“This teaching, do you know if it was successful?”

“Of the Potions Master? No, Kreacher does not know. Not for sure. Master Sirius was easy, the Buck was also easy, the Wolf was stubborn but he eventually became a star pupil. The Potions Master was the hardest, he was near impossible to teach though Kreacher worked long and hard on him. Kreacher wanted to see him raping the Mudblood. Oh, yes, Kreacher did.” Kreacher remembered the times he had the Potion's Master in his mouth, how the man would raggedly murmur, “Lily” under his breath instead of muttering back the instructions he had been given. His continued murmuring of the name as he neared ejaculation puzzled Kreacher.

Albus turned to look where he knew Severus was, listening to the man's harsh breathing, giving him a stern look that plainly said 'do nothing'.

Severus glared at Albus, then leaned back against the wall as he slowly got himself, and his breathing, under control. He was disturbed by hearing all this because he had been having dreams of raping the girl while Sirius watched, the stupid fuck madly jerking himself off while the girl screamed for his help. He had wondered why he didn't see Bella there; now he knew. The elf's teaching. He hated those dreams because, in them, Sirius would always join him and, together, they would brutally use the girl before they would begin servicing each other - which was something he never would have allowed to happen in real life. Not with any man. But, most definitely, not with Sirius fucking Black. He squirmed when he thought of the dream content, but also the impact it could have had on his life. 'Shit! That elf invaded my subconscious and caused me to dream! Dreams I'm not supposed to have due to my Occlumency. I wondered why I was having them, now I know. Fucker! He has no idea the danger he put me in when I lost control of my dream cycle.'

The dreams disturbed him for another reason as well. Severus no longer thought of himself as a rapist, such as what he had been when he was a young Death Eater, so eager to please and blend in that he did anything the others did around him without hesitation. If they were raping a girl, he joined in. Forced oral? Sure. Sodomy? Goes without saying. Over the years, he had struggled to put that part of his life behind him, mainly due to his status as a Professor. As Head of House, he had to deal with students who had been raped and he found the whole situation disconcerting. He squirmed to think of it, but he found the emotional issues the victim had to deal with frightening and confusing. He didn't understand why the simple act of rape caused such complex emotional responses in people, but it did. And he wanted no part of it.

Luckily, the Dark Lord knew Severus didn't enjoy rape and rarely insisted he participate when present, mainly due to his being so important as a spy within the walls of Hogwarts. Not only did Severus serve The Dark Lord as spy, but he also had himself his very own Potions Master to brew various potions for his men as well as their victims.

The Dark Lord, of course, did not know that Severus found the act of rape distasteful due to the victim's emotional state afterwards – he only knew of Severus' aversion to sharing a used woman. Every once in a while, to Severus' discomfort, he would be considered as 'first in line', which meant he couldn't refuse with the complaint he didn't like having a woman after she had been used by another man – his 'sloppy second defense' as he thought of it. He hated when he was chosen to be first, especially when so many others were clamoring for that 'honor'.

He knew the Dark Lord allowed the act of rape due to its being a useful scare tactic during war, but he also used it as a reward for his followers hard work. The Dark Lord understood many of his followers when it came to the brutal facts of war, his downfall was believing that all his men needed the 'relief' provided by rape. So, on occasion, Severus was chosen to be first – usually during a 'meeting' and not during raids. During a raid, things often got out of control and Severus could usually count on missing out on the 'fun' with his 'sloppy second' excuse. Group meetings with the Dark Lord, however, were a different story. After the information had been gathered, tactics discussed, and assignments given out, the 'reward phase' of the meeting would often ensue. If chosen to be first, he complied, if not, he was allowed to leave if he so chose. He rarely left right away though, wanting to give the impression that he enjoyed watching the unfortunate victim's suffering, even if it wasn't by his own hands.

With their masks hiding the identities of the Death Eaters, it didn't matter if the victim survived. The Dark Lord actually preferred that the victim survive so they could tell their tale of woe to others, helping spread fear amongst the rest of the wizarding world. Therefore, Severus was called upon with increasing frequency to provide contraceptive potion for use during raids and the ever increasing 'tactical meetings'. Most of the Death Eater victims were Muggle, Muggle-born, or Half-blood, and the last thing the Dark Lord wanted was for his Pure-blooded followers to be producing accidental offspring.

Yes, Severus was very familiar with the brutality of rape, and it irked him to no end that Black had the audacity to fucking daydream about him doing it to the Granger girl. Apparently, if he understood the content of his dreams correctly, once he finished raping the girl, he was then expected to share her with Black. And then have a sexual relationship with HIM? Oh, fuck no. What the fuck was that all about? He didn't think Black was a poofter. Did the elf's magic make him bisexual? Or had Black always been that way and he never noticed? Either way, it gave him the creeps just thinking about it. Especially since he had somehow become involved.

All this time, he thought the dreams were due to the meeting he had with Lucius in his quarters, from when he had agreed to use the girl for Bella's entertainment. 'So, that's why I've been having those fucking dreams. I thought it was because of my worries over what I had agreed to do to the girl for Bella's entertainment, knowing Albus would be angry with me if I used her as intended. And here it was because of some sick perversion of Black's? Fuck, fuck, fuck. That elf is so fucking dead. Oh, yes, he fucking is.'

Severus' musing was interrupted by Albus' voice. He turned his attention back to the present and watched from under Potter's Invisibility Cloak as the elf and the Headmaster continued to converse. Much as he hated using it, the Cloak did come in handy at times.

“The Buck?”

“The red-headed Weasley boy.”

“You call him a Buck?”

“The Weasleys breed like rabbits. He was the Buck, she was the Doe.”

“The Doe? Are you referring to Ronald and Ginevra Weasley?”

Kreacher nodded. “Yes, the Rabbits.” Kreacher chuckled while smiling. “Kreacher had his own little zoo for a while, and Kreacher was the Zoo Keeper.”

Albus sat in silence, shaken by what he was hearing. “A zoo? Please, elaborate.”

“The Doe, the Buck, the Wolf, my Master - the Animagus dog. The Mudblood was Master's kitten and Kreacher's pet...”

Albus cut him off. “And, you enjoyed being Master of your 'Zoo', as you call it?”

“Of course.” Kreacher rubbed himself suggestively while giving Albus a pointed look. “Kreacher's Zoo was a 'hands on' Zoo.”

Albus swallowed and sat back uncomfortably. Remus had eluded to this, that Kreacher seemed to orchestrate some of what went on in the room where Miss Granger was held captive, but he had no idea Kreacher felt himself a 'Zoo Keeper'. Idly, he wondered if Remus knew this. Albus cleared his throat and sat forward once again as he tried to make himself look interested in what Kreacher had to say.

“You taught Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, Ronald Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape in their sleep?”

“Kreacher did.”

“Any others?”

“The Twins.”

“Fred and George Weasley?” Albus felt a pang of sadness mixed with a healthy dose of fury shoot through him when Kreacher verified what he had seen in Sirius' memories from when he used Legilimency upon him before going down to see Miss. Granger for the first time.

“Yes.”

“Any others?” Albus was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his features expressionless. His anger was bubbling just under the surface and it was taking a great deal of control to keep still and ask his questions with a light tone that did not bespeak of his true feelings.

“No more males, no.”

“Did you teach the girls?”

“Yes, Kreacher told you, the Mudblood and the Doe.”

“Any others?”

“No.”

“Interesting.” Albus brought a hand up and pulled at his mustache, rolling the ends in his fingers as he did so. “Why did you not try to teach Nymphadora Tonks or Molly Weasley?”

“The Metamorphmagus was too old for proper teaching, same with the Weasley Bitch. Woman are different than men when it comes to nighttime teaching.”

“I see.”

Kreacher glared at Albus, now becoming quite annoyed with the 'Headmaster of the Brats' commentary.

“Why, Kreacher, did you not teach Harry Potter or Arthur Weasley?”

“Because Master Sirius did not wish to share the Mudblood with them.”

“Mmmmmm.” Albus nodded his head slowly. “You only taught those that Sirius wanted to share Miss Granger with?”

“Yes.”

Albus put his head back slightly and closed his eyes as he contemplated his next line of questioning. He found it odd that an elf who wanted a witch would go through such pains to teach so many people to use and abuse her. It didn't add up. He wanted the girl, yet, interestingly, he felt the need to be penalized for desiring her. His supposed punishments were a farce – the girl suffered far more than the elf did, almost as if she were taking on his punishments for him. He claimed the girl was his, yet he worked hard to create situations, all using the girl in one way or another, that would please his Master. No, it definitely did not add up. There was more, far more, to this than met the eye.

“Remus tells me of an unusual type of magic you used against him with your hands. Please, tell me about that magic. I've never seen an elf do what Remus tells me you did.”

“You mean the time Kreacher forced the Mudblood against him while he sat and Kreacher sodomized the Mudblood with his magic and not his dick?” Kreacher waited until Albus' nodded hesitantly. The elf frowned. “Kreacher was tired of the Wolf's excuses for not using the Mudblood. Kreacher wanted some action! After the brats were born, the only action Kreacher saw was when Master went for a visit, and even then, Master wasn't like he used to be.” Kreacher laughed merrily. “The Wolf thought Kreacher left after he agreed to use the Mudblood, but Kreacher merely hid and watched them in the shower. Kreacher was pleased with the Wolf, he provided much action. Oh, yes he did.”

Albus closed his eyes as his hand shot up in the air to warn off Severus, not wanting to hear of one friend's sexual interlude with a student while disguised as another man he also considered a friend.

“I see. But please tell me about this magic you used. I'm intrigued.”

“It was simple elfin magic. Kreacher practiced with Mistress, learning to make his magic stronger.”

“Mistress? Do you mean Bella?”

Kreacher bit his lip until he bled before nodding. “Kreacher is in so much trouble, he keeps telling on his Mistress. Kreacher needs to punish himself.” With that comment, Kreacher turned and ran his head into the wall, backed up, and prepared to ram his head into the wall again before he floated back to where he had been. When he turned around in surprise, he saw Albus sitting with his wand in the air.

“That will be enough of punishing yourself while in my presence, Kreacher.”

Kreacher glared at Albus but said nothing.

“So, you state you practiced making your magic stronger with Bella. How does she know the intricacies of elfin magic?”

“Kreacher does not know. Kreacher just knows that Mistress helped him make his magic stronger while making his hand movements smaller.”

“I see. So, you began using this 'new and improved' magic on Remus and Miss Granger that day?”

The elf nodded enthusiastically. “Kreacher had to concentrate so he could keep them within his magical grasp, but it worked.”

“Interesting, very interesting. Tell me, Kreacher, why did Bella not kill Miss Granger when she had the chance?”

“The Mudblood has many uses. She is more useful alive than dead.”

“And these uses are?”

Kreacher hesitated, not wanting to tell all but worried over what would happen if the powerful wizard sensed he was holding back information. He could not risk the contents of the flask being used against him. He would just have to punish himself after his unwanted visitors left.

“The Mudblood was used to please Mistress Bella's husband.”

“She was?”

Kreacher nodded. “They both enjoyed the Mudblood immensely.”

“And? What else was she 'used' for?”

“Mistress Bella used the Mudblood to please her Death Eater friends.”

“They enjoyed her, as you say, in what way?”

“Oh, yes, they enjoyed her. She was their sex slave. She was perfect for them, in many creative ways.”

“And she did this due to your teaching? Or out of fear?”

“Fear was a part of it, as Kreacher said before, yes. But the Mudblood's body responded as it had been taught and she was perfect for them. She could not resist once she began to respond.”

“Her 'body responded as it had been taught'?”

Again, Severus rolled his eyes. Surely the Headmaster wasn't as dense as he fucking sounded, was he?

“Yes.”

“Elaborate, please.”

“My nighttime teachings. Kreacher taught her to respond sexually to certain touches and specific individuals. If Master wanted her and touched her breasts, she would arch her back and become wet and moan for him. Kreacher taught her much, and she was a good pupil. Oh, yes, she was.”

“I see.” Albus pursed his lips and furrowed his brow as he thought about this teaching. “You did this with suggestion combined with elfin magic?”

“Oh, no. Touch is important as well.”

“Touch?”

“The erotic caress, of both sexes, is important and creates an automatic response of the body when they are awake. The pupil's body will respond favorably and without hesitation even if the mind does not desire the response.”

“Erotic caress?”

Kreacher smiled as he rubbed himself. “Of course.”

“You touched all of the people you taught, while in their sleep, in an erotic or sexual manner?”

“Yes, the better they respond to Kreacher's touch, the more inclined the pupil is to take on the teaching.”

“All pupils?”

“Yes.”

“So, in brief, you touched Miss Granger sexually, and she responded as you taught her to while being kept asleep using your elfin magic?”

“Precisely.”

“Just to clarify, I ask again - you do this to all your pupils?”

“An elf must touch while directing, yes.”

Albus heard a low growl behind him and the hairs on the back of his neck prickled.

“And would this teaching make themselves known to the pupil during their dreams?”

“Yes. The more they dream, the deeper the teaching implants itself within the pupil.”

“I see.”

Kreacher frowned, wondering if the old man really did 'see'.

“They dream of what Kreacher tells them.”

“Erotic dreams?”

“Of course, v-e-r-y erotic.”

“And, per chance, do your pupils hear you talking in the background?”

“Of course. Eventually, they will also have Kreacher join in when they have accepted Kreacher's teaching to a higher level. They must accept having the elf in their dreams before they will accept the elf when awake. As Kreacher's Mudblood did.”

“I see.” Albus was shaken. He remembered Remus stating that he could hear Kreacher talking to him in the background, directing him to do things with Miss Granger. He heard Severus' breathing become ragged again and listened to make sure he didn't hear him moving, worried that Severus would react to these revelations.

“Going back to the Death Eaters using Miss Granger.”

“Yes?”

“Did they hurt her?”

“All hurts were healed with potions.”

“She was used while gravid?”

“Of course! They liked using her while so juicy and round!”

Albus closed his eyes briefly as he struggled with his emotions. “Was the girl 'taught' to accept this behavior?”

“In part. Her body responded as it had been taught, but it was also her fear that made her a good slave to Mistress Bella's Death Eater friends. Both her responses from her teaching and her fear made her an exceptional sex slave. Oh, yes, it did.”

“Were spells used on Miss Granger?”

“Spells?”

“Spells, yes. Any spells or curses?”

“Of course. Mistress liked to play 'Guess the Hex'.”

“'Guess the Hex'?”

“The Mudblood had to stand still and allow Mistress and her friends to hex her. Then she had to guess what hex was used.” Kreacher smiled. “The Mudblood was blindfolded so she couldn't see the color of the magic used against her, or the pattern used of the wand hand. Kreacher was allowed to do things to her when she was wrong. Mistresses friends liked when the Mudblood guessed wrong.” Kreacher smiled widely.

Albus shut his eyes, not wanting to know what Kreacher did to Miss Granger when she guessed wrong. Behind him, Severus' tight, disciplined breathing could be heard. He had a feeling he would have to get Severus out of there soon before he did lose control. He wondered how Severus could be so stoic when in the company of his fellow Death Eaters, but not when with him. He supposed that it was a compliment that the dark man felt comfortable enough with him to let his guard down when in his presence, but it didn't help in times such as this.

“Kreacher, if you would, tell me a little more about this teaching. The outcome of the teaching sounds similar to a sex curse that a Wizard would cast upon another.”

“Yes.”

Albus waited a moment, hoping Kreacher would elaborate. “Is this teaching a type of curse?”

“It is magic used upon another.”

“It is not a curse? Or some type of spell?”

“It is magic.”

Albus scrutinized the elf, wondering if he would get a straight answer out of him about this. “Kreacher, did you cast a spell upon Miss Granger or any of your other pupils?”

“Kreacher used ancient teaching methods with magic.”

“I see. Can this teaching be reversed?”

Kreacher closed his mouth and looked away.

“Do you not want to answer me? Or do you not know the answer?”

Kreacher said nothing.

“Will the magic wear off over time?”

Kreacher said nothing. Albus sat back in his chair a moment, then flicked his wand. Kreacher squeaked and turned to look angrily at Albus while furiously rubbing his arm. He looked down briefly and saw a red welt forming from the stinging hex Albus performed upon him.

“Kreacher, I thought I had made it clear that I expected you to answer my questions.”

Kreacher glared at Albus while gritting his teeth.

“I asked, can the teaching you have done to your 'pupils' be reversed in some way, or will the magic wear off?”

“The magic is ancient and strong.”

“And that means what, exactly?”

“Kreacher does not know for sure. The Mudblood was his first pupil and he knows of no other elves with pupils.”

“I see. So you have no one to 'compare notes' with, as the saying goes.” Albus steepled his fingers in his lap. “If you have no one to discuss this with, then how did you learn of this type of teaching and the magic that goes along with it?”

Kreacher's mouth became a tight line before he closed his eyes and turned his head. A moment later, his eyes sprang open and he turned his head back, his eyes wide as they wandered from Albus' wand hand to the flask that sat on the small table next to Albus' chair and back again.

“Kreacher?”

“Mistress! Mistress taught it to Kreacher!” Kreacher yelled out the words, then ran screaming to the wall and began pounding his head against it as hard as he could. Almost instantly, he was pulled away until he stood before Albus. Kreacher fought Albus' magic as he screamed and cursed, throwing himself down onto the floor where he began to beat his head against the stone floor. This time, he floated in the air until he calmed down.

“I told you once, Kreacher, that you will not punish yourself in my presence. Is that understood?”

Kreacher closed his eyes and said nothing. Suddenly, he was shaken hard while floating in the air until he screeched, “Yes! Yes, Kreacher understands!”

Slowly, Albus lowered Kreacher until he stood on his own two feet and showed no signs of trying to run or drop to the ground. “Good.”

Kreacher found that his feet were glued to the floor and his legs locked so he couldn't bend his knees. He looked hatefully at Albus.

Albus looked unconcerned as he settled himself back into his chair. “Now Kreacher, why don't you tell me about Miss Granger's nightmares.”

“Oooo, Kreacher not liking those nightmares! The Mudblood's screaming hurt Kreacher's ears!”

“Do you know why she was having them?”

“No. Kreacher thought they were because of her sadness.”

“So, you were aware of the feelings of Miss Granger?”

“Yes.”

“You did not care about the fact that she was sad?”

“Kreacher cared. Kreacher allowed Master to keep seeing her because he was her only happiness. Master and the Wolf.”

“Why would you do that for her, Kreacher?”

“A sex slave full of despair is not a good sex slave.”

“Even with your teaching and use of magic upon her?”

“Humans are strange. They need more than food and shelter. The Mudblood needed to see Master, then she needed the Wolf. Kreacher made sure she had what she needed.”

“Did she not need her freedom?”

“She would not get her freedom, but she was allowed to have Master and the Wolf.” Kreacher smiled devilishly. “Kreacher wishes she could have gotten the Potions Master as well. Kreacher is sure he would have been more fun to have around.”

“Albus.” Severus' voice came out as a low growl. Albus looked at Kreacher quickly and saw that he had heard Severus, but didn't think the man's sotto voce was loud enough for Kreacher to identify him. Albus knew this conversation would be unsettling to the tall, dark wizard, and that was the true reason he had asked Severus to accompany him for the questioning. He knew Severus needed to hear all of this first hand, otherwise he might not have truly believed how he had been manipulated by a house elf. He just hoped the man would continue to keep himself under tight control until after they left. Albus shot a meaningful glance over his shoulder, his gaze resting for a moment where he knew Severus stood, before turning his attention back to the elf.

“Back to the nightmares. You were unable to care for Miss Granger during them, due to her screams causing you pain, is that correct? You would then get Sirius?”

“Yes. At first Master took care of her during the screams, then the Wolf. Kreacher tried to stay, especially the first night, but he wasn't wanted. Kreacher was too glad to leave as soon as he could. Kreacher would come back when the screams stopped.”

Albus nodded as Kreacher described what Remus had already told him.

“At first, Master tried to keep Kreacher away from his Mudblood for the rest of the night, but then Mistress convinced him to let Kreacher have the Mudblood when the nightmare was done.”

“Your Mistress convinced him? In what way?” Albus worried that Sirius and Bella had spoken with each other, worrying that perhaps Sirius had indeed betrayed the Order in some way.

“Mistress punished the Mudblood, making it so she could barely move. It took Master a few days to nurse her back to health. Kreacher told Master that Mistress said that Kreacher was in control of the Mudblood and if Kreacher wanted to sleep with her, then Master had to obey.”

“I see. So, you were in control of Miss Granger at that point? Complete control?”

“Yes. The Mudblood belonged to Kreacher and not to Master.”

Albus stared at Kreacher for a few minutes as he thought about all that Kreacher had told him. Something nagged at him that there was more to the story than what he knew already.

“Kreacher, tell me, was there a reason for your affecting so many people who stayed at Grimmauld Place with the use of Miss Granger? Other than because you wanted her or because Sirius wanted to share her?”

Kreacher smiled.

Sitting forward, Albus looked Kreacher deeply in the eye. “Tell me what the objective was.”

Kreacher suddenly felt powerless and was unable to look away. Images swam before his eyes as the hated white-bearded wizard before him disappeared. He saw himself using the Mudblood with his Master, then the scene switched to him making a sandwich, that scene melted away and he saw himself fighting with the hated Wolf, the room suddenly darkened and he was climbing under his boiler so he could mourn over the heart-shaped locket his Master Regulus had given him, then he was looking up and talking to his Mistress Bella as she gave him instructions, promising him the Mudblood in return for his services, and... Suddenly, his head swam and he found he was back in the stone circular room with the dreaded 'Headmaster of the Brats' before him.

The Headmaster did not look happy, he had an angry expression upon his face as well as a determined one.

Kreacher smiled widely. “The enemy of the Dark Lord now has many problems from within to deal with. They are now distracted by their fighting over a filthy Mudblood.”

Albus sat back in his chair heavily. Behind him, he could hear Severus shifting in surprise as he also took in the meaning of the elf's words.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Story time: 11:22 pm

“Where is she, Albus?”

“Sirius, Miss Granger is protected and will come to no harm in the place she is being kept.”

“When will you let me see her?” Sirius' eyes were wild, his hair unkempt, his clothing rumpled.

“I don't know. I still need to discuss many things with her, one of those things being you.”

“Please, Albus!” Sirius grabbed Albus' arm, tears in his eyes. “I'm fucking begging you! Let me see her! It's killing me to be kept away from her!”

Albus calmly looked at Sirius, taking in the man's ragged, sleep-deprived appearance. He suddenly wondered if a curse had somehow been placed upon him as well and decided he needed Bill to check him before he went back to work at Gringotts.

“Sirius, do you realize you were manipulated by a house elf in an attempt to sabotage the Order from within?”

“What? No! No, I wasn't! I wanted her long before Kreacher started talking to me about her! Long before!”

“Nevertheless, you were manipulated to meet his goal of sabotage.”

“So? I don't give a flying fuck! I want to see Hermione!” Sirius stood with fists at his sides, his body rigid with anger.

“Sirius, listen to reason. Your strong attachment to Miss Granger has been choreographed by the elf. While you may have had strong feelings towards her in the beginning, your feelings towards her were used for an evil purpose and were subjected to elfin magic.”

“And, like I said, 'so'? I want to see Hermione, damn it!” Sirius snarled as he shook a fist at Albus.

Albus hesitated a moment as he circled the kitchen table and sat down. He indicated for Sirius to sit in the chair next to him. Sirius paused for a moment before sitting heavily. Albus stared at him a moment before speaking.

“Sirius, tell me about the collar that Miss Granger wore.”

Surprised by the sudden change in the conversation, Sirius froze, a guarded look on his face. “Her necklace? What about it?”

“You considered it a necklace?”

“Of course.”

“Why was she wearing it?”

“It was her sixteenth birthday present from me.”

Albus stared at Sirius. “The significance of the gem you had placed on the leather is not lost on me, Sirius. Why would you do that to someone you supposedly love?”

“It, it, well, yeah, it was symbolic, okay? Of the first time she and Ron were... Well, no, you don't want to hear about that. But she was mine, and not his, so I gave it to her as a symbol of her belonging to me and not him.

“So, you gave Miss Granger a strip of red leather with hundreds of tiny pearls of various sizes on it with a gold heart indicating she was a sex slave for her sixteenth birthday?”

“I thought it was pretty.”

“Yes, I suppose, in a way, it was.”

“What do you mean by 'it was'?”

“The necklace has been removed.”

Sirius shot up from his seat, his chair falling over and clattering to the floor as he slammed his fist onto the table. “No! No, you can't do that! She's mine! And you took my necklace, that I gave her as a present, off of her? How dare you?”

“The necklace, as you call it, was inappropriate, Sirius. See reason. She is not a sex slave – at least, not any more. The girl is free now, Sirius. Free.”

“She's still mine, Albus.”

“Are you telling me you will try to take her back?”

Sirius stared at Albus, then stuffed his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the floor. “I don't know, Albus. I don't know why you can't let me have her, then I wouldn't have to hide her.”

Albus shook his head sadly as Sirius confirmed one of Albus' fears – that he would try to kidnap Miss Granger and hide her again.

“Sirius, don't force me to put her in hiding from you forever.”

“Forever! You said I could have her back!”

“I've told you repeatedly that she will go back to you if, and only if, she wishes to.”

“Damn it, Albus! Let me see her! I know she'll come back with me tonight if you let me see her!”

“Is there a reason that you must see her tonight?”

Sirius looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“There is no magic upon her that will harm her if she isn't back with you tonight?”

“No. Why would there be? I wouldn't want her hurt, Albus. I just, I want to see her is all.” Sirius leaned forward so his elbows were on the table and looked intently into Albus' eyes. “Why can't I have her, Albus? I won't stop people from visiting. I'll let her finish her education. I don't care, I'll do anything if you just let me have her back. I don't see what's wrong with her being with me.”

“Sirius, don't you think your obsession with the girl is a little unusual?”

“No, no, I don't. She's mine, she belongs with me, Albus! Why can't you see that?”

“I see.” Albus looked down at his hands a moment before looking up again. “Sirius, what made you think that the necklace you gave Miss Granger for her birthday was appropriate for her? To put something on her so symbolic, and then to have that inscription upon it as well is shocking, to say the least.”

“Well, I don't know. I liked it.”

“I'm sure you would.” Albus shot a disapproving glance at the younger man. “Why would you put something on her like that with the spells it contained?”

“What do you mean? I had it made so she couldn't run from me.”

“Then you are aware of the magic the necklace had upon it.”

“Well, yeah, it had magic on it so I could keep track of her while we were out. Like I said, so she couldn't run from me.”

“I thought you didn't like Dark Magic, Sirius.”

“I don't. Well, I admit that I got a thrill with the Imperius and Obliviate, but you're already aware of that. They're definitely useful spells for a fun time.” Sirius coughed when he noticed Albus scowling. “Well, anyway, what does Dark Magic have to do with the necklace?”

“Because, Sirius, the necklace had Dark Magic infused into it.”

“Dark magic? No. No, it didn't.” Sirius looked surprised as he picked up the fallen chair and sat down slowly. He watched as Albus pulled the necklace out of his pocket and laid it on the table between them.

“There was Dark Magic upon this necklace, Sirius. Magic to keep her under your control. To keep her with you. Surely you knew that that type of magic was considered Dark, didn't you?”

“Yeah, well, I didn't think of it like that. Not really. I just wanted to keep her with me, is all.” Sirius took in an irritated deep breath. “Besides, she's not with me now, is she, Albus? Didn't work too well, now did it?” Sirius' spoke with an acid tone as he glared at Albus while reaching for the strip of charred leather.

“I ask again, did you not think that that would be considered Dark Magic?”

“Well, like I said, I didn't really think of it like that. I mean, like I said, I just wanted to keep her with me while we were outside. I just, I didn't want her getting away, but I didn't want to Imperius her each time we went out so I had the necklace made for her.”

“I see. Who made the necklace for you, might I ask?”

“Oh,” Sirius cleared his throat. “Oh, well, I, uh, I went to Knockturn Alley and, uh, found some guy who said he would do it for me.” Sirius waved the charred remains of the necklace at Albus. “You do know this cost me quite a bit of money, don't you? And it's ruined now!”

Albus glanced at the strip of leather being waved in front of him before looking at Sirius again. “Where is the matching leash, Sirius?”

“The leash? How do you know there was a matching leash?” Sirius scratched his chin, he hadn't thought about the leash in a long time. “Well, anyway, I don't know. Kreacher had it last, I think.”

“The leash is the key to the magic of the necklace, Sirius. Whoever had control of the leash, had control of Miss Granger while it was connected to the collar you placed around her neck. She could not escape the person who held the end of the leash, as I am sure you are aware, while it was attached to her collar,” Albus cleared his throat, “or necklace, as you call it. Nor could she be taken from the person who held the leash.”

“So, you're telling me that if I had kept the leash on her at all times, that you couldn't have taken her from me, is that what you're saying?” Sirius played with the gold heart, rereading the inscription on its bent surface as he stroked its filigree edges. “My Kitten would still be with me?”

Albus sighed, realizing he wasn't getting anywhere with Sirius at this time. He continued to play with the thought of allowing Sirius to take Miss Granger back to Grimmauld Place – the man's obsession would make him keep her under tight control so that she didn't interfere with the work of other members of the Order – specifically Remus. He knew the others would fight him on this if he decided upon this course of action, but he had to remember his primary goal. He sighed again, not wanting to subject her to Sirius' twisted love, but also not wanting her to distract key people he needed to help bring down Voldemort.

It looked at if his attempt at damage control was going to be delicate at best.

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Author's notes, you may freely skip:

I hope this chapter answered even more of your questions... However, it doesn't answer all of the stories secrets... Yes, there are more!
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Referring to oneself in the third person, as the house elves tend to do, is called Illeism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illeism
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Various links I used for information for this chapter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succubus
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_necklace_(sexuality)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotto_voce
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_in_Harry_Potter
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Something I thought interesting (nothing to do with the story):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senescence
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetable_oils
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The Trio's Hand/Foot/Wand print ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theater:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjTt7q9Dr_k

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