All the way II: And Even Further

"W-what...? I thought you were teaching..."



"I was... an hour ago..."



"A-an hour? We can't have been gone an hour!"



"Well, you have..."



Hermione turned her back on the mirror to face her husband, forgetting about the scratches.



"So... what did you get? ... Apart from them, of course." Severus indicated to her cheek looking positively dangerous with concern.



"Oh... what...? These? Oh... you know, I just... um..." She really didn't want to tell him the truth, but she couldn't get out of it; he always knew when she was lying.



Hermione didn't answer. Instead, she turned back to the mirror and used her wand to heal the red streaks. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Severus' reflection contemplating her with narrowed eyes. When she was finished there were only faint white marks where the red had been. She put her wand back in her pocket and turned to go.



Severus grabbed her by the arm and swung her around to face him.



"So?" he asked quietly.



"Where's Eileen?" She asked.



His face darkened, "Is it that bad?" Hermione nodded slowly, "She's with Molly."



Hermione decided on the truth. She hated lying to him, but some times he was impossible to talk to. She took a deep breath and moved away from him.



"Ok...” She sighed, "Well, I’ve been getting these letters from Azkaban -"



"What!" He already looked like thunder.



"He's his father!" She said quickly, "He wanted to see him! And I couldn't let him go alone! He's a child! And he found one of the letters and wanted to go! I couldn't stop him! So... so I went with him..." She finished meekly.



Severus advanced on her, "Let me get this straight," he growled, "You went to Azkaban... to see Malfoy?"



"No!" She told him quickly, "No! I didn't want to see him! But I couldn't let Lucius go on his own -"



"So... you went to Azkaban and...?" he hissed, stopping a short way from her.



Hermione turned and walked away a bit further, "And... well... Draco was being very nasty and then... um... he didn't know we were looking after Lucius... and Lucius told him... and he got angry because-"



Severus turned on his heel and stormed over to the door. Hermione, realizing what he was doing, ran past him and pressed her back to the door.



"No! It wasn't Lucius' fault!" She pleaded, "It - I... I told Draco..." but Hermione couldn't think of a lie good enough for him to believe.



"And what exactly did you tell him?" Severus sneered.



"I... um... can't remember now... but it was my fault... I mean, if Lucius hadn't of been there, Draco could have done much more damage."



Severus turned and stalked away, then he turned back to her and threw his arms in the air.



"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!"



Hermione jumped, "He wanted to go -"



"So, he could have gone alone!"



"He's a child!"



"EXACTLY!" Severus raged, coming closer again, "A CHILD! NOT YOUR CHILD!"



Tears stung the back of Hermiones eyes, but she refused to give them freedom. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and stood up straighter.



"I will not have this conversation," She said slowly, "Not with Draco Malfoy and certainly not with you. You can say that you hate Lucius all you want, but I love him, and I’m sorry, I really am -"



"THAT CHILD IS DANGEROUS TO BE AROUND!"



"SO ARE YOU!" Hermione shouted, "LOOK WHATS HAPPENED TO ME SINCE I'VE BEEN AROUND YOU! I'VE BEEN IGNORED, SACKED, STABBED, AND KIDNAPPED BY MY BEST FRIEND! BUT I'M STILL HERE! "



Finally, Hermione ran out of steam. Breathing heavily she leaned back against the door. She couldn't remember the last time she had shouted like that and been serious.



She took another breath and carried on, "... But, I’m still here because I love you and I’m not about to leave; just like I’m not about to leave Lucius."



""""""""""""""""""""



Severus turned away. Why had he fallen in love with such a stupid witch? But then again, he reminded himself that they wouldn't be together if it wasn't for her stupidity.



Why did she put herself in danger all the time? Why did she love that Malfoy child? Why did she make him feel so frustrated with concern?



He was angry, so angry, but he couldn't let it out. It was stuck in the pit of his stomach and it wouldn't move up and out of his mouth.



Instead of shouting, he found himself holding her tight with in seconds. He wanted to be angry with her, but he couldn't. He was an idiot.



Severus couldn't lie; he had noticed that bad things had happened to Hermione since he had been around, but, selfishly, he wasn't about to leave.



He could feel her small hands running up and down his back, as he petted her hair gently.



He was going to murder Draco Malfoy.



As if Hermione knew what he was thinking, she pulled away from him.



"And if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, you can stop right there." She told him gently, "It was a couple of scratches and he was... well, sort of provoked -"



"Don't you dare stand up for him!" Severus could feel him temper rising again.



"I'm not," she said quickly, "but how would you like it if you were in there and he told you that he was looking after Eileen?"



"He is going no where near my daughter!"



"I should hope not! I compassionate, Severus, not stupid!"



"You could have fooled me!"



"Fine!" Hermione opened the door, "Fine! You be like that, but I have a teenager who just went to place where no one should go. So if you'll excuse me," Severus was about to say something, but she carried on, "If you'll excuse me -and you will! - I will see you when you've calmed down!"



She disappeared through the door. Severus grabbed a bottle of ink from the table beside him and threw it against the wall. It shattered, leaving black beads rolling down the stone wall, the glass landing on the floor in sharp shards.



Stupid, idiotic, thick skinned, compassionate, trusting woman!



She was so naive! Why couldn't she see that any Malfoy was dangerous? It may have only been a few scratches, but why couldn't she see that in his eyes it was worse? Why couldn't she see that in his eyes Malfoy had hurt one of the only two people he loved (the other being his daughter)?



He needed some fresh air; Severus left the dungeons.



""""""""""""""""""""



Hermione closed the door; she heard the sound of shattering glass. Gathering herself together, Hermione started up the corridor to the Slytherin common room.



She knew Severus thought of her as naive and innocent, but she thought it was better to be thought of as dumb, than open her mouth and remove all doubt.



""""""""""""""""""""



As soon as he was sure Hermione was on her way to her rooms, Lucius left the common room.



He wasn't a Malfoy. He knew he wasn't a Malfoy. Every one knew he wasn't a Malfoy. Except his father.



No.



Except Draco.



He didn't have a father.



""""""""""""""""""""



Annie was bored again. Well, there wasn't much else to be in Binns's class. The old ghost was drowning on and on...



Then something caught Annie's eye. Through the window in the door of the classroom, Annie saw a blonde streak passed. As the ghost turned to the black board, Annie slipped from her chair and left the classroom; it was handy sitting at the back of the class. Pat, being asleep, didn't notice.



Once she was out of the room, Annie looked down the corridor. Lucius had nearly rounded the corner.



"Oi!" She yelled. He turned, startled.



"What do you want!"



"I want to know where you're going." Annie stated as she ran up to him.



He looked thoughtful, "Can you apperate?"



"Yeah," Annie said smugly, "I passed my test, unlike somebody - Hey! What are you doing?"



Lucius had grabbed her arm and was dragging her along the corridor.



"Get off!" Annie yelled, "I mean it! I hate you! Get off me!"



Annie stooped struggling and with, great difficulty, sunk to the ground. Lucius growled in frustration and bent down, scooped her up and carried on walking.



"Put me down!" Annie continued to screech as they left the castle. Lucius took her down the path and out of the school grounds.



Just outside the gates, he put her down and closed his eyes, concentrating hard. Annie tried to pull her arm from him, but it was too late. He had used her as a guide so he could apperate.



""""""""""""""""""""



Hermione realized too late what had happened and saw from the stone steps as the two students disappeared.



She flew down the path, through the grounds and out of the gates.



""""""""""""""""""""



Severus followed Hermione through the castle and watched as she apperated, before bolting after her and following.



""""""""""""""""""""



Lucius dragged Annie passed the sleeping guard and down the same corridor that he and Hermione had taken that morning. He stopped in font of the bars of the same cell as this morning. The same hateful man looked up.



"Back again?" he drawled.



"Is that -?" Annie gasped.



"Lucius!" Draco snapped, "What are you doing with filth like a Weasley!"



"You can't tell me who to see!" Lucius snapped back.



"She's not worthy to even look at you! ... Lucius! Stop it! STOP IT!"



Draco continued to scream as Lucius continued to crush Annie’s lips to his. Annie struggled, but Lucius held her firm. When he finally did let go, she stepped back a few times.



"There!" Lucius said defiantly. Then some one was tugging on his arm.



"What are you doing here!" Hermione screeched. Lucius turned to her, but before he could speak, another dark shadow was approaching them. Hermione seemed to notice his look and spun around, "And what are you doing here!" she screamed at her husband.



"Looking after you!"



"I don't need looking after!"



"Home! Now!"



Hermione looked angrier than Lucius had ever seen her in his life. She glared at her husband and then usher him and Annie out of the prison.



""""""""""""""""""""



Severus watched the three people down the corridor. Then he looked at Draco. Azkaban had not been kind to him. Draco got up on shaky legs and tried to saunter over to the bars, but his saunter was more like a proud shuffle.



"She loves that boy..." He said quietly. Severus snarled at him. "She would do anything for him... I wouldn't like your chances if she had to choose between the two of you... She loves him... And you know what he is, don't you... he's a piece of me... and you know what that means, don't you... She loves a piece of me..."