Storing Up Trouble

Disclaimer: Do I really need to do this anymore? Not mine, but Jo is a wonderful author in letting us play with them.

SorceressFujin: The Yumminess will come. Soon!

angel: Yes, they do... but then we know that already, it's a pity Jo doesn't get it.

pinkwands: Bella is great, leave that wonderful woman alone! But, yeah, someone had to stir Hermione into action.

beeky63: It is beautiful... and yes Bellatrix is a slapper.

Citten: Wait for it, after all good things come to those who wait, and if you want lots of whipped cream I suggest you try my other hotter fic as well...

Hermione’s Christmas Surprise

Severus decided to give Hermione a tour of his cottage. He was quite shocked when he discovered that she liked it. He showed her the kitchen first of all, and she clapped her hands with glee when she opened a door to discover a walk in larder.

“My gran had one of these,” she said. “Oh, it’s delightful. A proper butter dish and everything, oh it’s charming.”

He stepped up behind her. She felt her breath hitch into her throat, as he stretched a hand out to bring out a bar of chocolate. He handed it to her, and she turned around.

“I do not like this personally, but I do know of its… aphrodisiac like quality’s.” Hermione blushed. He then pointed out a ladder. “Does this remind you of somewhere?” He asked, in his mischievous tone.

Hermione was reminded of the Potion’s Store cupboard, it was even cramped like the store cupboard. Hermione felt her body blush. She then turned around, and he stepped aside, and then they both walked out of the ladder and he took her hand and led her out of the kitchen. She was pleased that he had plenty of food.

He then re-introduced her to the living room, and then he took her up the stairs. It was a small, compact, neat winding staircase, and Hermione could not help but wonder if this was the reason that he liked the Dungeons so much. They were rather closed, and confined, and dark. Much like his personality really, and she smiled as she realised she had just made a breakthrough in understanding this man.

He opened the door and she stepped in and looked around. She looked at the bed. It was Queen size double bed, heavily quilted. The other furniture in the bedroom consisted of a beauty desk situated in an alcove under one of the windows, and a bookshelf in the wall opposite the head of the bed. Next to the bookshelf there was a fireplace with a coal bucket full of coal, and a shovel.

“Er,” she began hesitantly, “where will I be sleeping?”

“We will be sleeping here, Hermione,” he answered.

She blinked at him, and he then took her out of the room and led her down the hallway. He opened another door. This was obviously a nursery. Either he was being too arrogant for his own good, or, he had not got round to changing his nursery.

“This is, er, sweet,” she said.

“It was mine,” he said in a cold distant voice. “And I remember at two playing with my mother’s wand, and tried to get my dad to notice. I thought my dad was what we were you see. He smiled, although, it is only as an adult I realised that it was a forced smile. One borne of false encouragement.”

Hermione cast her eyes around the room and tried to picture Severus Snape as a two-year-old boy, playing with his mother’s wand, and a slow smile crept along her lips. Who would have thought that the most feared Potions Master was actually vulnerable? He took her hand and shut the door tight. He opened a door the opposite side. It was a toilet and sink. He then walked down the hallway and he opened the last door, it was the bathroom.

“Hot water?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, although you have to wait for the tap to run a bit, but if you’re anything like me, and you can’t wait for that, then a simple warming charm on the tap would suffice.”

Hermione nodded.

“This is a very cosy place,” she said. She heard a snort of derision coming from her host.

“I’ve heard it being described as so many things before in the past, Hermione, and cosy is not one of them.”

She smiled winsomely and shook her head.

“Right,” she said. “Now, I could do with a cup of tea, and then I’ll unpack my things, and then perhaps I’ll think about finishing what we started of when I arrived here?”

Severus smirked, as he strolled up to her and placed his arms around her waist.

“I don’t see why we can’t finish it off now, and then have the cup of tea, and then do the unpacking?”
Hermione shifted a little uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Her blush rose from her neck, up towards her face and he touched her cheek. She looked at his eyes glowing with desire and warmth. He was about to lean in for a kiss when he felt a pain in his arm.

“Damn!” He exclaimed. “He always shows impeccable timing.”

Hermione giggled. He looked at her sternly, and his eyes said it all, it weren’t a laughing matter. She immediately stopped and bit her lip.

“Be careful,” she whispered. She tugged him down by the front of his robes, and kissed him passionately, and warmly. She sent shivers down his spine, and (rather unfairly,) also sent shivers downstairs to. She broke the kiss and then he walked down the stairs, and she followed. He picked up his ‘other’ robes and a silver mask.

“Don’t wait up, Hermione,” he said, and there was a strange, empty lilt to it.

“I won’t,” she promised, although as soon as she said it, she knew she lied to him. How could she not wait up for him? She didn’t even know if he was coming back alive. He looked at her, and then walked out of the door. Hermione squared her shoulders and picked up her packing chest, and carried up to her, er, their bedroom, and started unpacking. When everything was arranged to her complete satisfaction, she then went downstairs.

She walked into the kitchen, and walked into the larder, and she picked up a couple of eggs, the pat of butter, and when she set those things down on the counter, she opened a chest freezer and found some sausages. She was going to cook herself something to eat. At least, she thought optimistically, sausages can be eaten cold.


Severus sighed, as he appeared in front of Riddle House, Death Eater HQ for a few years. A few others had joined him; as soon as they arrived they took their masks off to reveal whom else he had called; Fenrir Greyback, and Remus Lupin, Snape raised an eyebrow towards Remus, and Remus nodded his head in acknowledgement. Narcissa and Mrs Jocasta Crabbe then showed up. Severus wrinkled his brow, and Draco then appeared. He ran over to his mother’s side and Narcissa took his hand. Severus rolled his eyes even more. Merlin, the woman just didn’t know when to let go!

Wormtail opened the door and they all walked in, and Bellatrix, it was noted, was already there. She walked towards Remus and looked him up and down. She knew that he could be a good seed for her womb if her husband failed in his task; at least he had the brown eyes and hair of Rodolphus.

“Ah,” a soft voice whispered sibilantly in the darkened room.

“They are all here, Master,” Pettigrew simpered.

“Including the two Werewolves?” Lord Voldemort asked.

“We are here, Master,” both Fenrir and Remus bowed to the floor.

“And Severus?”

“Here, Master,” Severus replied laconically.

“I have something to announce to some of you,” Lord Voldemort said, as he rose from his seat. Like a king, Snape thought, rising from his throne to strike some poor serf. “I think it’s about time some of you need to get your act together, and mate!”

“My Lord,” Narcissa said. “I have a son, and he has dedicated his life to you.”

“Yes Mrs Malfoy, and Mrs Crabbe, you were called to set the shining example to Mrs Lestrange, and Fenrir, and my shyest member, Remus Lupin, and to my most reluctant follower, the one I have been trying to find a mate for, for sixteen years or more,” he paused, and then he walked up to Severus. “What is it about the opposite sex that you don’t like, Severus? Or is it men you favour?”

“No,” Severus replied, “I disfavour humanity in general.”

He was rewarded with a soft chuckle from The Dark Lord. And the others joined in nervously.

“Young Master Malfoy,” Lord Voldemort said, and then glided over to the youngest member. “Have you chosen a suitable mate, yet?”

“I wish to pledge my hand to Pansy Parkinson, Master,” Draco said, as he bowed.

“I wish you well with your marriage, and may you be more fruitful than your parents.”

“Master!” Draco exclaimed extravagantly.

“Fenrir, and Remus,” he said, “what of you two?”

“I want someone young,” Fenrir said in a growl. “Someone fertile and keen.”

“Do you have anyone in mind?”

“No, but I heard that know-it-all friend of Potters is keen to learn things. I could be her teacher!”

“She’s a mudblood, Fenrir,” Voldemort said coolly. “This would be my only objection if I hadn’t had her in mind for someone else.”

“Who?” Fenrir asked. His tone was sour and he did not like the idea of someone else having her.

“Severus,” Lord Voldemort said. Severus looked up, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. Could he really have done something so good that he was being rewarded? “I want you and Remus to bring her to me.”

Severus looked back down on the Axminster, and he tried to hide his disappointment from everyone.

“Why us, Master?” Remus asked.

“Because my good dog,” Lord Voldemort said, as he walked over to Remus and patted his head. “I would like to introduce myself to my bride.”

They all gasped, and Bellatrix pouted.

“But she is, as you say, a Mudblood!” she protested.

Lord Voldemort turned around and his red eyes flashed angrily at her.

“She is the brightest Witch of her age, and besides, if I am to get families like the Weasley’s over to my side I have to compromise a little, remember, Bellatrix, what it truly means to be a Slytherin, hmm?”

Bellatrix blushed, but she stuck her chin out defiantly.

“And how would this accomplish our task?” Narcissa asked before her sister could make a huge mistake.

“It will lull those sensitive idiots into a false sense of security, and it might make them think that I am changing. And when I’ve got Potter right where I want him, then I’ll destroy him.”

“Pardon me, Master, but what would happen to your bride?” Severus asked.

“If she’s a good little girl, like I have been led to believe, then I might spare her,” he sighed. “Only, I am mating just to set the example. After all, isn’t that what a good leader is supposed to do, set the example?”

Severus cursed himself. How was he going to have to explain this to her?

“What other reasons have you chosen her for, My Lord?” Remus asked. He was better at this than Severus thought.

“Well,” Lord Voldemort said, as he contemplated his answer. “Aside from the fact that she’s clever, she is also intimate with Harry Potter, and she is someone that he trusts, implicitly, she is more valuable to me alive than dead. So, remember that you two.” Remus and Severus both nodded. “Also, I hear she’s pretty. I used to be the best looking boy in the school, and I demand the best.”

He waved his hand, as if to tell them that they were all dismissed. Fenrir stormed off in a mood. He was rather hoping to make that girl his, normally he’d fight all his worth for her, but he could not fight against his Dark Master. Narcissa and Jocasta were rather smug, as they walked out of the door and to the spot where they appeared. Draco looked pleased with himself too, he had managed to please his Dark Master by his choice. Although, he was slightly worried for Snape, as it appeared Snape was still not in their Master’s good books. Bellatrix was fuming… and Remus ducked behind a gravestone to avoid her.

“Aren’t we a little too old for hide-and-seek, Remus?” Severus asked.

Remus jumped and stood up when Bellatrix was clear out of sight.
“I am a Werewolf, Snape, how can you outwit my senses?”

“Outwitting other people happens to be my speciality,” Severus replied. “I’ve outwitted The Dark Lord, and I am still alive, that just show’s you how good I am.”

“Look, I don’t like doing this anymore,” Remus said.

“Is it because it involves Miss Granger, Lupin?” Severus sneered.

Remus narrowed his eyes at Snape and sniffed the air around him.

“I can scent strawberry shampoo, and peach eau de toilette,” he stopped sniffing. “With a hint of Hermione. What have you been doing, Severus?”

Bloody werewolves, Snape thought to himself.

“All right,” Severus sighed. “Only one other person knows of this. And now she is in danger I suppose it’s good that I tell you, so that you could tell the Order,” Severus stopped to breath a bit before he carried on with his story. “A week or so ago Hermione encountered me, as I was searching for the Bezoar to help Kingsley Shacklebolt. I trapped her in the store cupboard with me, and before I let her go I kissed her, and marked her. I’ve been marking her ever since, and today she marked me.”

“He’s not going to like that,” Remus said.

“Oh no, he’ll love it, I’ve already marked her as a fellow equal. So, that’s something for him done already.”

Remus narrowed his eyes and his brow creased in confusion at what Snape had just said.

“I don’t get that,” he admitted.

“Slytherin protocol,” Snape replied. “Anyway I convinced her to stay with me this Christmas.”

“Does the Dark Lord know about this?” Remus asked.

“Obviously not,” Severus said. “But now we have a choice, Lupin, we can either do what the Dark Lord say’s now, and hope that Potter manages to rescue her, OR, we find somewhere really remote, away from anyone and place her there.”

“Or,” said a simpering watery voice behind them, “you might as well just give her up!”

Remus almost made a lunge towards his ex-school friend. But Pettigrew stepped back swiftly.

“You wouldn’t dare turn in a sweet, lovely girl like Hermione, Pettigrew?” Remus snarled.

“I don’t know, Lupin, look what he did to Lily,” Snape mused, he too pointed his wand at the useless rat in front of them.

“Oh yes I forgotten about that, and letting an innocent man rot in a prison cell for a crime he didn’t commit,” Remus growled, advancing on Pettigrew.

“Is it true, Lupin, would you and Black have killed him if you weren’t stopped by Potter?” Severus asked.

“Oh yes,” Remus said hungrily. “I would have killed him!”

“I’d say Potter’s too damn noble wouldn’t you, Lupin?”

“Sometimes his nobility gets in the way of a good revenge, yes,” Remus agreed.

Pettigrew flickered his eyes between the two of them, and his eyes glistened with joy.

“Oh, now who’s acting like an old married couple!”

“Shut up,” Severus hissed.

“I’m going to tell our Master exactly where she is, and no, I don’t care about her, as her cat tried to kill me.”

“If her cat is anything like her, you can be sure that he’ll succeed one day,” Remus replied, his lips curling into a snarling growl.

Pettigrew then transformed into his rat form and scurried back inside the house.

“Well, my dear Wormtail, what is their plan for capturing her?” Lord Voldemort asked, as he swirled a glass of red wine.

“Snape’s already got her, at his house, Spinner’s End.”

“Good,” Lord Voldemort murmured. He got up and walked to the mirror. “Yes,” he hissed. “Yes, I am right for a meeting with my new bride.”

He Apparated from the inside of his house, being the only person able to do so, and then re-appeared outside Spinner’s End. He swept a disdainful gaze at his follower’s house, and then he sighed.

He walked up to the door, and just opened it up with his wand. He heard a soft voice singing a song, something like; Everything I do, I do it for you. He liked the lyrics that he heard. It was something to do with loyalty. About love, he slithered softly up to where the voice came from, and it was the living room, the door was closed.

He opened the door and he saw her curled up on a window seat, she was reading a book, and then she yawned, and she stretched her arms, and put the book down. She rubbed her eyes, and looked at her watch, and got up.

“Time for a bath, and then bed,” she said.

Lord Voldemort decided to make his presence known. He walked into the room.

“Surely not whilst you have visitors, Miss Granger, that would be rude.”

Hermione gasped, and made a grab for her wand. Normally this annoyed him, but tonight, it made him chuckle.

“Stay away from me,” she said.

“Tut-tut,” he said. “Is that really the best way to greet your future husband?”

Hermione dropped her wand on the floor, and it made a soft clatter, as it rolled towards his feet. He bent down and picked it up and looked at it.

“Can I have it back, please?” she asked.

He rolled it between his hands, and examined it thoroughly. Vine wood, it must mean she was born in the 10th month of the Celtic Moon, *the land animal associated with this was the snake… how highly appropriate.

He looked back up at her, and smiled.

“Of course, you may,” he said. He held out her wand, but as soon as her fingers touched it, he pulled her close to him. “After you be a good little girl, and marry me. Think of it as a belated Christmas Present.”

Hermione tried to struggle out of his arms, but he held tight, who would have thought that he was this physically strong? He smiled a smug, proud smile, as he led her over to the fireplace.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“To where you belong!” He exclaimed.

A/N The vine wood information I got from this site, if I am wrong please tell me so. http://www.dutchie.org/Tracy/tree.html#vine. Trust me it's all there... I think it say's a lot about Hermione.