Tainted Love

Tainted Love Chapter 6


Snape muttered the password to the Headmaster’s office, with a sneer upon his penetrating features. ‘Kinda surprise’

Hermione and Draco were following slightly cowed behind him.

Since they weren’t watching where they were heading they did not see the intimidating man come to a halt.

All of a sudden they ran into the back of him and fell over each other in a rather undignified manner.

Hermione was staring into Draco’s eyes; each was suffering from laboured breath as they gazed intently at one another.

Draco brought his hand up to push aside a few loose curls that had swept across her brow.

“GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HER NOW!”

Draco was on his feet in an instant glaring at one very angry Harry Potter.

Draco turned toward Hermione on the floor and spat.

“Watch where you’re going mudblood, it was bad enough I had to endure you presence for twenty four hours.”

Hermione looked as if he had just punched her in the stomach, a choked sob escaped her lips right before she broke down and started heaving heavy sobs, and tears were streaming out of her eyes. She looked as if the world had just ended and in a way it had.

She had not only betrayed her first ever boyfriend and love, she had betrayed him with their enemy. The straw that broke the camels back had been that she had given him a precious gift that she felt he truly didn’t deserve to receive.

Harry was at her side in an instant; scooping her up off the floor he settled Hermione in his lap on one of Dumbledore’s red cushy chairs.

“Hermione.” He cooed softly rocking and cradling her.

“Shhh It’s alright now, your safe I won’t let him near you again, you don’t have to worry I’m here with you.”

The Headmaster had just arrived apparently he had the ability to walk thr wal walls, or so it would seem. He had just come through the exit from his private quarters; he took one look at the scene before him and walked directly to the fireplace.

He summon Madam Pomfrey from the infirmary via floo.

When Madam Pomfrey arrived she began shaking her head and tittering over Hermione instantly.

“Albus I am taking Miss Granger to the hospital wing. I will be keeping her over night I think she maybe suffering from a little shock. The rest will do her good.”

Severus Snape bastard confounded snorted out loud at that remark and thought to himself.

‘You should have seen the shock I had to deal with a few moments ago’

Though they didn’t know why he snorted, they figured it was one of those Gryffindor grudges and sent him a glare for his indiscretion.

“Now Harry.”

The Headmaster started when he saw the young man was about to protest.
Which would be understandable considering all of what the boy has lost from his life.
It was any wonder why the he would insist on keeping his long time friend, new found love within eye site.

“Madam Pomfrey will take good care of her I assure you. She does need some time to recuperate I dare say she is very worn out from this whole experience, you may visit her this evening after dinner though.”

“Yes Headmaster.” Was Harry’s submissive reply. He was just happy to have her back.

He reluctantly released his hold on her and could only watch as she was led, still sniffling softly, by Madam Pomfrey off to the infirmary.

Hermione chanced a quick glance at Draco on her way to the door.

‘Oh Merlin what have I done?’

“Now Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy. I think the two of you can be excused from classes for the rest of the day. I have yet to discover how our potions master managed to locate our missing students.”

He turned toward Severus with an expectant look upon his face.

“Of course Albus, I will be there in just a moment.” He said turning to the two young men present.

“If you ‘boys’ can be trusted to escort yourselves back to your common rooms?”

It was a dismissal more than a question but it didn’t stop him from eyeing the pair suspiciously, as if debating whether or not that truly was a good idea.
“Come Severus they will be fine.” He heard the Headmaster call to him from his private study, with a nod toward Draco and one last sneer at potter he swept off into the other room.

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The two long time rivals waited til they reached the bottom of the stairs and out of ear shot before they came to a head and all hell broke loose.

“You better tell me everything that happened Malfoy.”

Harry drew his wand and took a few steps towards Draco till the tip rested against his chest. He looked every bit the powerful wizard that was destined to bring down the biggest dictator the Wizarding world had seen in centuries.

Draco wore a mask of indifference upon his face, meeting wonder boys flashing green eyes with his cool steely blue ones. Draco’s lips formed a devilish smirk when he thought of everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. What he wouldn’t give to be back in that cabin and taking potter’s girlfriend all over again.

“Are you listening to me Malfoy? You better not have touched her.”

“I didn’t harm her.” He sneered and pushed his chest into Harry’s wand almost daring him to fire of a curse outside the Headmasters office.

“If that’s what you’re asking?”

“Damn it Malfoy you blonde fuck if you so much as touched a hair on her head, I swear to all that’s magic I’ll kill you along with your death eater family and Voldemort.”

Draco’s eyes flashed dangerously, he narrowed his eyes, his lips formed a snarl and he drew his wand placing it right between Harry’s eyes.

“I suggest you shut your filthy Gryffindor mouth potter, you don’t wha what your talking about. I said I didn’t harm her and I suggest you leave it at that.”

“GET YOUR FERRET FACED ASS OUT OF HERE MALFOY.”

“Well, well, well if it isn’t wonder boy’s faithful side kick weasel man.”

Draco drawled, his wand still pointed at Harry not even breaking eye contact.

“I’m nobody’s sidekick Malfoy, I think you should back off now before you can’t.”

Right then a high-pitched squeal came from the hallway, classes had been let out.
Running footsteps followed it; Draco knew exactly whom it was he rolled his eyes and withdrew his wand. It wouldn’t do to get caught duelling everybody’s hero in the middle of the corridor. Just as he had sheathed his wand up his sleeve he was knocked back a little by Pansy ‘pug face’ Parkinson, who had managed to throw herself straight at Draco’s body.

He managed to keep balance and smoothly remove her off at the same time.

“Draco, Draco oh my god your back. What happened? Where were you? We were told we couldn’t help find you.”

Here she threw a snide glare at the two Gryffindor boys, as she knew to well the they were allowed to go on the search. By now the halls were filling up with more students and quiet a few were walking extremely slowly past the group of four, waiting to see if something worth a tale was about to take place.

Draco noticed this and glared at the said extras before turning a sneer towards his foes and claimed.

“I hno dno desire to continue this little chat you know everything that concerns you.”

Before turning around swiftly and stalking gracefully down the hall, with Pansy just about jogging behind.

“Harry what was all that about? If I hadn’t come along McGonagall would have had you for duelling in the halls. Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing Malfoy taken down a peg or two, cocky git.”

Harry tucked his wand into his arm halter before heading back to the common room with Ron it two. Once seated in their usual cushy chairs by the fire, Harry started to fill Ron in on what had happened.

“It was weird Ron, Dumbledore said that he got a message saying they had been found and were on their way back and so he asked me to wait in the office cause he had something to do. Well I was sitting there waiting thinking of all the horrible conditions Hermione could come back in, since she had been missing with Malfoy.”

Here Ron gave a sympathetic nod and a small grin for him to continue.

“Well Snape walked in the door and I don’t know he looked kind of shocked to see me waiting by myself, he didn’t even look like his normal sneering self which is really odd don’t you think?”

“Yeah, that is kind of strange I’ve never known Snape to be anything but a sneering git.”

“Well that’s what I mean he almost looked guilty of something and really didn’t want me to know about it. Anyway, at the same time Hermione and Malfoy mustn’t have been watching cause they ran straight into the back of him. That’s not even the worst part they fell all over each other.”

“Well I would have paid good money to see Malfoy fall on his ass, but poor Hermione she must have been horrified you know what she’s like when it comes to appearances and stuff, she must have felt like a real klutz.”

Harry nodded agreeing with Ron before he continued.

“But the thing is Ron neither of the moved at first, I mean Malfoy was squashing her obviously, so she couldn’t have done much besides wait for him to move. But Ron he went to touch her right there in front of Snape and me, it was like there was no one else in the room. As soon as I saw him reach for her I knew he was gonna do something awful so I pulled my wand and yelled at him to get away.”

Harry slumped back in his armchair waiting for Ron to digest everything he just said and then he finally asked.

“What was Snape doing while his precious prince of Slytherin was trying to mall our Hermione?”

“Well he didn’t do anything, he was just staring.”

“Typical” Ron snd. “d. “So what happened after that.”

“Well after I told Malfoy to get away from her, he stood up and started abusing ‘Mione about being a mudblood and touching a Malfoy.”

“Slimy git, she’s worth ten of him any day.”

Harry smiled his agreement and then his features changed to serious concern.

“No Ron there’s more there has to be, she totally lost it after that broke down and bawled her eyes out I had to pick her up and rock her in my lap. I know he must have done something to her. There’s no way she would have reacted like that normally, Malfoy always calls her names and it’s never bothered her before and when he went to touch her she was frozen like she was to scared to move.”

“Come on mate, I’m sure if he had of done something really bad to her, she would have said something as soon as she got back in thstlestle. Hermione’s not the sort of person who would let someone get away with doing anything to bad, it was probably just the str straw.”

“You could be right but something doesn’t fit right in all of this and I’m damn well gonna find out what that slimy snake did to her if it’s the last thing I do. I refuse to loose anybody else and I don’t want her suffering if something bad has happened to her.”

Harry stared off into the fire contemplating everything that had happeoverover the last two days. Ron let out a quiet sigh; he could understand where Harry was coming from.

The poor guy had lost his family before he could talk, couldn’t even remember them really. Only to be treated like a burden and a slave at his aunt and uncles house, he finally gets a break and finds out he belongs in a whole new world, which meant a whole new life a second chance at being happy.

Only to come up against the worst kind of evil every single year and if that wasn’t bad enough, he had a chance at starting over with a godfather who would have made a world of difference in his life. Only to have him torn from him as well, he could completely understand why Harry had been so quick tempered and anxious when Hermione went missing. If he lost her love from his life as well he wasn’t sure that Harry would have all his wits about him when the final fight came.

Looking out the window Ron noticed that they had been there for quiet a while he must have missed all his afternoon classes as well as lunch.

“Come on mate, time for dinner I’m sure by the time where finished Hermione would be dying to see you.”

Harry offered a sheepish grin while rising.

“You’re right, the quicker we eat the quicker we can go see ‘Mione.”

The pair set off to the great hall for dinner.

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Severus had settled himself in a wing bacair air in front of the fire; Albus was floating a tray of tea over that came to rest between the two on a small coffee table.
Severus helped himself and sat back in the chair contemplating the hypnotic dance of the flames. Albus cleared his throat.

“So how did you manage it Severus? Or must I play a guessing game with you?”

Severus sighed. “Very well Albus, you remember I have been studying the chamber of secrets since Potter rid us of that nasty beast.”

The headmaster’s eyes twinkled as he recalled Harry’s second year. “Yes, yes go on.”

“Well I found a rather cosy private chamber down there, which is where I ended up setting up all my findings and research material, might I add that even though Salazar was an evil son of a Hippogriff he had rather fine taste when it came to personal comforts.”

He took another sip of his tea.

“Anyway, I noticed something odd about a bookcase against one of the walls, well not so much the bookcase per-se but it was the portrait on the wall right next to it. It just looked so out of place, it was low on the wall and reached to the floor. It was a picture of a little cabin with an extensive potions garden around it; on closer inspection I noticed what it was. It is a portrait of the cabin the founders occupied before building Hogwarts.”

Albus sat forward in his chair a little eager to hear more, he knew from experience not interrupt his potions master when he was explaining something, it would only irritate him and make him reluctant to explain everything but Albus possessed a lot of patience.

“I had forgotten all about it really, since no one had been able to find it seeing as it was unplotable. I couldn’t figure out why Salazar would have such a picture on the wall in his hidden chambers, but then I figured he would have had to have started making the chamber from the time they began construction. That’s when I realized it must have been his secret passage way to and from each place.”

Severus paused to drink more tea, smirking inwardly he knew he had the headmaster’s full attention and he liked the fact that he had discovered Salazar’s secret.

Severus snorted before he resumed his report.

“Apparently Salazar wasn’t very creative as his password for the painting was ‘pure blood’, anyway I followed the tunnel behind it for around half an hour then it started to rise. I came to a small ladder carved in stone and when I got to the top there was a circular seal with a raised carving of a serpent on it. I wasn’t quiet sure what to make of it but when I ran my fingers over it, it started to glow so I pushed up on it and the seal vanished.”

The headmaster was getting a little excited now and slightly miffed as he watched Severus sip his tea again, he knew he was drawing his tale out and thoroughly enjoying it too.

“So I started going up through the new found hole and once I was out I was standing in what was most definitely Salazar’s room in the little cabin.”

Here he paused and looked at the headmaster contemplating if he should reveal exactly what he encountered when he went in search of his students.

“Severus?”

“Albus. When I went in search of young Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger I.. I.”

“Yes Severus?”

He had never seen his potions master at a loss for words, so what ever he had discovered must have been pretty big.”

“Albus, I walked out of the room and into the hallway as I was going I heard noises.”

“Surely that is not out of the ordinary Severus? There were two students occupying the place.”
Severus placed his cup down rose from his chair and started to pace in front of the fireplace. All of a sudden he came to a halt as if finally coming to a decision, His endless black eyes bore into the headmasters.

“Albus. They were in the middle of having relations.”

Severus feeling absolutely defeated slumped uncharacteristically back into his chair.
He looked over to his mentor to gauge his reaction and found him nodding to himself as if he had expected him to reveal exactly what he had just said.

“Albus.” Severus stated testily.

“If you would be so kind as to let me in on what it is you seem to know.”

Albus knew he would have to tell Severus why this news didn’t come as a surprise to him. So with a heavy sigh he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes before divulging what he knew.

“Severus, two months after Harry survived Voldemort there was another prophesy made.”

The potions master sat up straight and fixed his intense stare upon the headmaster, letting him know that he had his full attention.
Albus cleared his throat before continuing.

“The one who survived will be betrayed by the Raven and Serpent heir.
They must be one to tell what they’ve done.
He must forgive or none will live to see the light of dawn.
For these two must fight by his side.
This will happen, upon his final night.”

Severus was turning this new information over in his head.

“I hardly believe that Granger is the Ravenclaw heir, she’s a muggle born for a start and she’s in Gryffindor.”

“I must confess it puzzles me too Severus, I was sure it was going to happen with young Miss Chang her being in Ravenclaw. But you can’t discount Miss Granger she most definitely has the smarts to be a Ravenclaw, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to do a little research.”

‘That would be right.’ Severus thought. ‘Potter’s caused me nothing but extra work.’

“Of course Albus, I do believe it is late and I would like to have dinner and enjoy what is left of the day.”

“Of course Severus, I will organise another meeting with you soon and we will discuss everything in depth then.”

Severus gave the headmaster a curt nod before sweeping of to the great hall, leaving a very tired headmaster to pull himself together before heading down to join his colleagues.

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REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEEEASE.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit of a filler but it needed to be written I promise the next chapter will have a lot more happening in it, some Harry and Hermione, Draco’s thoughts, Hermione and Draco interaction and an announcement from the headmaster.

I would like to thank Lynsey for her insistent “Encouragement” I wouldn’t get anything done without her. I would also like to thank all of my other reviewers you give the boost I need to continue.