Where Your Loyalties Lie

TITLE: Where Your Loyalties Lie

FANDOM: Harry Potter

AUTHOR: Tater Chip Girl

CHAPTER: 4/?

RATING: NC-17

PAIRINGS: Snape/Hermione, Harry/Ron, Dumbledore/?

WARNINGS: Consensual M/F sex with female age 16 or over; consensual M/M sex with both males age 16 or over; some strong language.

SUMMARY: The unintentional use of an ancient and powerful spell reveals an unexpected connection between Severus Snape and Hermione Granger. It\'s only a matter of time before Lord Voldemort\'s curiosity drives him to uncover their secret and turn it to his own advantage. Will Snape\'s resistance spell Hermione\'s doom, or will love win out?

In this chapter: Snape discovers how Hermione obtained the secret knowledge she used to defend him from Voldemort\'s attack, and the true nature of Snape\'s mystical connection to her begins to come clear.

DISCLAIMER: The Harry Potter universe and its characters belong to J.K. Rowling (A statement by Rowling regarding fan fiction based on her work can be found here: http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/author/transcript2.htm). No profit is being made from this story and any copyright infringement is completely unintended. Other characters created for this story are mine and should not be used in other materials or at other websites without my permission.

ARCHIVE: Yes, but please ask first so I can format properly for your site, and also link to you.

FEEDBACK: taterchipgirl@ev1.net
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Where Your Loyalties Lie
by Tater Chip Girl

Chapter 4: Lumos Cardia
 
 
 
 
Snape opened his eyes to almost total darkness, pulled gradually towards consciousness by the savory aroma of a hot meal. From just outside the curtains surrounding Hermione\'s bed came the sound of quick, light footsteps. He sat up and blinked as they parted to admit a small figure bearing a lamp in one hand and guiding a filled and floating dinner tray with the other.

"Sir is awake. Very good. Dobby has brought him a big dinner."

The house elf guided the tray to hover before Snape and set the lamp on the small table at the foot of the bed. He wore his usual mad mixture of garments, this time sporting a cast-off pair of Quidditch trousers, which were tightly belted and rolled up several times to reveal his garish, mismatched socks.

"Professor Dumbledore says you must eat, sir. Dobby must stay until you\'ve finished."

Snape rubbed his eyes as they grew accustomed to the glow of the lamp. He started to say that he wasn\'t hungry, thank you, and ask Dobby to take away the food, but realized suddenly that he was actually ravenous. His stomach rumbled loudly as he picked up the the fork and, without a word, dug into his dinner as though he hadn\'t eaten in a week.

Dobby moved to the opposite side of Hermione\'s bed and climbed up to kneel beside her, his face full of concern. With a long, tentative finger, he touched her between the eyes, then gasped and drew back his hand as if bitten.

"A bad wizard, a Dark wizard hurt the young miss, sir," he said, shaking his head mournfully. "Dobby knows. Dobby feels things."

Snape swallowed a bite of food and washed it down with a swig of pumpkin juice. "You\'re to say nothing, do you understand? No one is to know about this."

"Of course, sir. Dobby has been told by Professor Dumbledore. Dobby keeps his master\'s secrets." The tiny house elf slid off the bed and stood watching the sleeping girl. "Dobby is hoping miss will be better soon."

"She will." Snape shoved a forkful of food into his mouth and gazed at her too. She hadn\'t moved at all. The only sign of life was the regular rise and fall of her chest.

"Hermione Granger is Dobby\'s friend," the little creature continued softly, his huge eyes still on her face. "Sh wan wanting to do good things for house elves, but house elves are not wanting to change things. They are not wanting paying like Dobby." He gave a sad little sigh. "But house elves are liking Hermione Granger. She teaches them new things to cook."

Snape shot the house elf a quizzical look. "She teaches you to cook?" he mumbled between bites of his dinner.

"Oh, yes sir!" Dobby nodded excitedly. "She is very much enjoying cooking with us. House elves are learning many new recipes from Hermione Granger, and she is also learning from them."

"I see." Snape wondered if what he was eating was one of those recipes, but at the moment it didn\'t really matter. All he could think about was getting it inside him. Dumbledore had been right to insist that he eat. He couldn\'t remember ever being this hungry before, and in short order he had emptied the tray of every edible thing it contained, as well as drained an entire pitcher of iced pumpkin juice. When he\'d finished, Dobby came to stand beside him and examine the tray.

"Very good, sir. Professor Dumbledore says you are needing your strength to help the young miss get well." Dobby guided the floating tray away from Snape and picked up the lamp. "Dobby is going now, sir. Is sir wanting anything else?"

"No, thank you." Snape sat back and ran his fingers through his hair. "What time is it?"

"Eight o\'clock, sir."

Snape yawned and rubbed his eyes again. He had the feeling he needed to do something, but what was it? Ah, yes - that awful, smelly mess in his office. It had to be dealt with before the odor seeped into the Potions classroom.

"Take a message to the Headmaster for me," he said, rising from his chair and stretching. "Tell him I have a small matter to attend to in my office. I should return in half an hour, at most."

"Yes, sir. Dobby will tell him right away."

Snape pushed open the curtains and left the house elf to his duties. He couldn\'t stop thinkiboutbout the sensation that had flooded him when Hermione grabbed his arm during Voldemort\'s attack. He\'d never felt anything remotely like it. Even now, just remembering, his body responded, tiny thrills running through him and dancing over his skin. What the hell *had* she done? Snape seemed to remember her saying something, an incantation, but he couldn\'t remember the words.

So busy was his mind with this task that he was actually startled when he found himself standing absently at the locked door leading into his offices. The smell hit him as soon as he opened it. Good thing he\'d come now, if it was already this bad. The vile pool on his floor had thickened, and the odor in the room was so strong it almost brought up his dinner.

With a flick of his wand and a few quick words, Snape cleaned the floor and sent a fresh fragrance whirling through the air, underneath the door into the classroom (just in case) and into his back rooms. Hermione\'s bag still sat on the floor before his desk, lying on its side with books spilling out of it. She\'d probably knocked it over when she crawled away to throw up.

Snape knelt to gather the books, glancing at the titles as he picked them up. Most were textbooks for her classes, along with reference works from which she\'d gotten her counterspells. The last one one, however, caught Snape by surprise. It was small, and much older than the rest. And judging by its title, clearly from the library\'s Restricted section.

Setting down the stack of books he held, he flipped through the little volume. He knew this book - its contents were meant for advanced defense against the worst kinds of Dark Magic. It was never intended for the eyes of Hogwart\'s students, not even seventh-years. Only full graduates, and rigorously tested ones at that, would ever be allowed to use it, usually after several years of highly specialized post-graduate training. How the hell had she gotten her hands on it?

He leafed through the pages, noting that Hermione had bookmarked several places with small bits of parchment. One of them fell open, and Snape\'s eyes almost leaped out of his head. He read the marked page in disbelief.

No, it can\'t be. It\'s not possible.

He read it through again, just to be sure, then flipped quickly through the rest of the book, stopping here and there as he ran his forefinger down the page, checking the description, effect and requirements of each incantation. Finally, he gave up and sat down heavily on the floor, shaking his head and staring sightlessly at the book he held.

Impossible, impossible, was all he could think.

He raised a trembling hand to his mouth. Now he knew how Hermione had protected him from Voldemort, and he knew what had to be done to complete her recovery. The question was, could he actually do it? In a flash, he was on his feet, still carrying the spellbook. He tucked it into a pocket of his robes and practically ran back through his offices and to the hospital wing.

He tore open the curtains around the bed and closed them roughly behind him. Dobby was long gone, and Hermione lay just as Snape her left her. Almost timidly, he approached the bed, his heart pounding as he clasped his badly trembling hands before him. He was about to do something he\'d never done before; in fact, up to this moment, he hadn\'t had the ability. When he checked her left arm, he found it had lost a great deal of its chill. It felt almost normal again, but the icy spot in the center of her palm hadn\'t gone away.

Please let this work, he begged silently as he le ove over Hermione\'s unconscious form and laid his hands on her head. Snape closed his eyes and concentrated, gathering his strength. After a few slow, deep breaths, he spoke the healing words.

"Lumos Cardia."





When Dumbledore entered his office little less than an hour later, Snape was waiting for him, his face looking quite drawn and paler than usual as he paced the room.

He sat down behind his desk and motioned Snape to take the chair across from him. "I take it Miss Granger has improved?"

"Yes, Headmaster," said Snape. "She\'s sleeping comfortably."

"Good, good." Dumbledore nodded and took a long, thoughtful pause before speaking again.

"Is there anything more you wish to tell me about what happened in your office today?"

Snape went beet red and cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He reached into his robes and produced the small volume of incantations he\'d found among Hermione\'s books. "Her bag was still there. This was in it."

Dumbledore took the little book and flipped through it, pausing to briefly examine each bookmarked page. Finally, he closed it and sat gazing at it for a long time. "You realize, of course, that she is not out of danger."

Snape swallowed hard and tightened his lips. "Yes."

"Voldemort may not fully understand what happened and why, but Miss Granger\'s successful repulsion of his attack has no doubt gotten his attention," he continued. "It\'s only a matter of time until he discovers who she is and what she is capable of. And that, as we know, will make her very appealing to him indeed. He would count himself fortunate to bring such a one to his side. Or failing that ... "

He stopped and gave Snape a serious look. The Potions Master briefly met Dumbledore\'s eyes and nodded his understanding.

"She must be protected at all costs," Dumbledore went on. "I will, of course, do my part, but you must be her primary guardian."

Snape looked up in surprise. "Me?"

"Indeed." Dumbledore nodded gravely. "We both know that you would have survived Voldemort\'s attack, but Miss Granger was unaware of that fact. She risked her life to defend you, and for that you owe her your thanks, at the very least."

Snape looked down at his hands, which had unconsciously balled into fists. "Of course." He forced his hands to open and lie flat on his thighs. "And I shall certainly express my gratitude."

"You certainly shall," said Dumbledore, "By keeping her from further harm."

Just then, the book in Dumbledore\'s hands gave a loud pop and burst into a puff of dust, which settled on the desktop along with the bits of parchment Hermione had used as bookmarks. Dumbledore stared at the mess for a few seconds, then carefully brushed the residue from his hands.

"It seems," he said, "That our Miss Granger has used a duplication spell of some sort to make a temporary copy of the book." With a forefinger, he poked through the dust pile. "No doubt she has already made written copies of the bookmarked items." He chuckled and shook his head. "Quite clever, I must say."

The corner of Snape\'s mouth twitched as he suppressed a smile of his own.

Dumbledore sat back and sighed, growing serious once more. "Of course, this means that the Restricted section must be placed under tighter security. We simply cannot have untrained students dabbling in this level of sorcery. It is not to be trifled with."

Snape cleared his throat. "And how is Miss Granger to be - dealt with regarding this matter?"

"We will say nothing," Dumbledore replied. "Our silence will make her believe we found nothing more of the book than the pile of dust we now see. "She will then have no cause for alarm, and we can more easily keep watch on her."

"But what about the spells she\'s copied?" asked Snape. "How do we prevent her from using them?"

Dumbledore nodded and stroked his beard. "A fair question. But one, I think, that need not concern us."

"A memory charm would guarantee - "

"Hear me out, Severus." Dumbledore interrupted, holding up a hand for silence. "Based on what I know of her character, and on her conduct today, I\'m confident that she would never take such power lightly, nor would she misuse it or allow it to fall into the wrong hands. Wouldn\'t you agree?"

Snape thought this over, then nodded slowly. "Yes. I would," he said quietly. "But still - "

"Good. It\'s settled, then." Dumbledore rose and walked around the desk. Snape stood as he approached.

"I have no doubt in your ability to protect her," he said softly, patting Snape\'s shoulder. "She\'s in good hands."

Snape blushed again and opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore interrupted him.

"Go to your quarters, Severus, and get some rest."

"But what about Hermione - Miss Granger?" he corrected himself quickly.

"That was an order - *not* an invitation." Dumbledore fixed him with a stern glare. "Miss Granger will be just fine on her own now. You need time to recover, just as she does. Now go."

After a moment of hesitation, Snape gave a small, respectful nod and moved towards the door.

"Severus."

Snape turned back at the sound of his name.

"You may go and see her in the morning, if you like. She should be awake then."

Snape gave another quick nod and left. His heart leaped crazily as he walked to his rooms, the night\'s events replaying again and again in his head. He shuddered, recalling the glorious light that had pierced his soul, shielding him from Voldemort.

You *know* what that was, his mind nagged at him.

He knew. There was no more fooling himself into believing otherwise.

Alone at last in his rooms, he went absently through the familiar nightly routine - hanging his robes, building up the fire, changing into his nightclothes and dressing gown. He sat before the hearth, watching the dancing flames as they warmed him.

Now, with nothing else to demand his attention, he fell into his thoughts. His mind took him back to that moment of stunning revelation, when he\'d picked up the forbidden spellbook that had spilled from Hermione\'s bag. When the pages had fallen open to one of her bookmarks, a certain extremely powerful incantation.

It was ancient, so old that none now lived who remembered where it came from, or who had been the first to perform it or write it down. Like many of the other spells in that small volume, its successful performance required a very particular set of circumstances. So potent was its power, no Dark Wizard could make a counterspell for it, though many had tried.

The Lumos Cardia, it was, in strength and rarity second only to the Dono Vitae, which required an even more particular set of circumstances, and could be performed only once in a witch or wizard\'s lifetime.

For the Dono Vitae was the Gift of Life, whereby one\'s own life force was willingly relinquished to protect a loved one from a Dark Curse. Such a spell, spoken with his mother\'s final breath, had once saved thee ofe of Harry Potter.

A loud pop from the fireplace yanked Snape out of his reverie. He tried to focus again on the flames, but his vision was blurred by the wetness in his eyes. With a shaking hand, he wiped away the tears, only to have more take their place. The whole night was like a crazy dream - he couldn\'t help imagining that he\'d wake in the morning, and everything would be back to normal.

But I didn\'t imagine any of it.

There was no longer any doubt that Hermione Granger had indeed performed the Lumos Cardia in his defense. Although Snape had withheld certain details of the events in his office, it was clear that Dumbledore had read between the lines and reached the same conclusion.

And from that conclusion logically followed another - that the person performing the spell had in fact met the very particular set of requirements that ensured its success.

Snape leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands, letting the tears come freely now. Never had he imagined that such a thing was possible - but it had long since passed the point of denial, even for him.

She loves me.