You Promised It Would Be Forever - Edit

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 7 ~ Suspicions and Preparations

Voldemort healed Severus' broken arm with a flick of his wand, then scourgified him.

"Take your ex-wife back to her room," he said to the Potions Master.

"Yes, my Lord," Severus said, bowing. He walked over to Hermione, who was still shuddering on the floor, but sitting up. He pulled her to her feet.

This was the first time the Potions Master had touched the witch in over a year. She was lighter than she used to be. He grasped her arm and helped her walk back towards the door that opened on the hallway where her room was located. Just before he entered it, two deatheaters blocked his path.

"We want the mudblood, Severus. She's fair game," one tall, muscular, brown-eyed wizard snarled, his eyes shifting over the small, shuddering witch.

Hermione had her wand in her hand but seemed in no condition to defend herself against them. She was just regaining lucidity. Now would be the perfect time to take her, when she was weak from the curse. Severus looked from one wizard to the other.

"She is recovering from the Cruciatus curse," he said quietly, "she is in no condition to defend herself."

"We know. That's why we want her," the other wizard said.

He was short with green eyes and brown hair. He had a leer on his face and his robes were noticeably tented. Severus' black eyes shifted from wizard to wizard.

"The Dark Lord told me to return her to her room, and that is what I am going to do," he said evenly, "she is under my protection until I complete my Lord's orders."

There. No one could accuse him of protecting the witch. He was following the Dark Lord's directive.

"But if you put her in her room, we can't touch her. Her room is off-limits," the first wizard complained.

"That's not my problem," Severus said rather dangerously, "Now step aside and let me finish my task."

The two deatheaters hesitated, staring at Hermione who looked up at them, her eyes focusing. She had heard everything. Her hand tightened on her wand.

"Let me go, Severus," she said in a raspy voice. She was hoarse from screaming.

"You can barely stand," he said to her in a low voice, looking again at the deatheaters, both who had gone on point. They were about ten feet away in front of the door leading to her room.

"If I fall, then those two will have that much less work to do," she replied trying to pull away from him.

If she fell, then Severus would have to watch the two wizards fuck her. The idea of it made his stomach tighten uncomfortably.

"But Hermione…" he said, "I can take you to your room. They won't stop me. If I let you go they are going to take you down and rape you."

Hermione drew in a deep breath. She looked at him, her eyes narrowed with determination. Severus remembered that look.

"Let me go, Severus. I have to face them or they'll just go for me later," Hermione said, her voice slightly stronger.

The Potions Master let her arm go and stepped away from her. The deatheaters immediately lunged, thinking she could only hex one of them before the other got her down.

But they didn't know Hermione. She was a Spells Mistress.

"Pulsus duo!" Hermione cried pointing her new wand at the charging wizards.

Two white, crackling balls of energy blasted from her wand tip simultaneously and slammed into the wizards, lifting them up and slamming them into the stone wall with terrible force. They were both knocked unconscious.

Hermione blew on the tip of her wand as if blowing out a match, then stuck it in her robe pocket. Severus looked at her, clearly impressed. He had never seen a spell like that.

Hermione headed for the door.

"Where did you learn that spell?" he asked her.

"I made it," she said shortly as she opened the door to the hall and entered. Severus followed her.

"And how did you manage to get a wand?" he asked.

"Voldemort wants me to create spells for him. It's better than having my heels up in the air," she said.

"But Hermione, he will use those spells against the Order," the Potions Master said frowning.

"I've got it covered, Severus," she responded, opening the door to her room and trying to close it before Severus could follow her in. He held the door, scowling at her.

Hermione scowled back at him.

"What do you want, Severus? You made it clear that you weren't going to help me, so I came up with a way to help myself. I don't need you now," she said.

He looked down at her.

"I know that, Hermione. You made it perfectly clear when you divorced me," he replied, "but I need to talk to you. It's concerning Jacob."

Hermione's eyes went wide for a moment, then became quickly wet.

"I don't want to talk about him, Severus. It's too painful," she said, her voice quavering.

"It's painful for me too, Hermione. He was my son as well as yours. I feel his loss just as deeply. But…I need to talk to you…in your room," Severus said, his dark eyes meeting hers.

There was something about the way her ex-husband looked that made Hermione let him in. Severus closed the door and warded it with a silencing charm. He turned to find Hermione with her wand pointed at him.

"My room is off-limits, Severus. If you mean to rape me, you have to do it elsewhere…and I'll blast you even faster than I would another deatheater," she snarled.

The Potions Master stared at her in amazement for a moment. Then his eyes narrowed.

"Hermione, at this point in time, I am probably the only deatheater in the stronghold that does not want to fuck you," he said coldly, "So you can put your wand down. The only reason I warded the door was so we would not be heard discussing our child. Others will assume I am fucking you however, so it won't be considered odd the door is warded."

Hermione glared at him for a moment, then lowered her wand.

"I'm sorry Severus. This whole situation has me on edge. I should have known better than to think that. It's just unnerving to know it's just me against an entire horde of randy deatheaters. I don't know how I am going to get out of here…or if I ever am," she said, dropping on the bed dejectedly.

A small shudder went through her…a leftover tremor from the curse.

"Now you said you wanted to discuss something about…about Jacob," she said.

Severus sat down next to her. This was going to be delicate. He didn't want to set the witch off and get her killed by raging into the Dark Lord's throne room. His suspicions could be entirely off the mark and the miscarriage an unfortunate occurrence.

"Hermione, I need something from you. I need a pensieve of the entire twenty-four hour period of the day before your miscarriage," he said.

"Why? We went over everything verbally Severus. I went to Hogsmeade to pick up some things, had lunch at the Three Broomsticks and apparated home. I lost the baby that night," she said, her voice a bit strained as she remembered it.

The sharp pain, the agony, the blood…Severus finding her, rushing her to Hogwarts…losing her child. Her son.

"I still need it, Hermione. And I need to do something else, and I don't want to do it without your knowledge. I am going to exhume Jacob's body," he said softly.

Hermione stared at him for a moment.

"You think something happened, Severus. You think this wasn't an accident," she said, her voice turning shrilly. "You think someone murdered my baby in the womb."

Hermione went silent a moment, her amber eyes moving about in their sockets as they did when she was going over something in her mind.

"It was what Voldemort said about our baby bastardizing your heredity and how he disapproved of my being pregnant. You think he had something to do with it! Did Voldemort kill my baby, Severus? Did he?" Hermione asked, a wild look in her eyes.

Severus grasped both her hands tightly.

"Calm down, Hermione. I don't know if he did or not. That's why I want to exhume Jacob. If the miscarriage was triggered by something magical, traces of it may remain in his tissue. If there is any trace, we can assume someone wanted us to lose our child. But that won't be enough. We have to find out how it was done. The pensieve you give me might be the key. But we can't assume it was Voldemort. I've made enemies over the years, Hermione. Still, we need to find out for certain. If my son was killed, and I find out the means of his death, I will demand blood for blood…even if it means my life," the Potions Master said vehemently. "He will be avenged, I promise you."

Hermione looked up at him, then down at his hands, clasping hers tightly. Severus looked down too, then quickly released them. He rose swiftly.

"Hermione, I need you to maintain objectivity. I don't want you confronting Voldemort or you will tip him that we are investigating our child's death and probably be killed. You have to remain calm. You have a bad temper Hermione. You must contain it," Severus said, frowning down at her.

Hermione looked mutinous for a moment, then the tears began to flow.

"He was my son, Severus. My son," she sobbed, wiping at her eyes.

"No Hermione. He was our son. Mine and yours. We both lost someone precious and irreplaceable. Someone that was created from our love," he said.

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes shining.

"Find out, Severus. Find out if it wasn't an accident of Nature. I hope you don't find anything though. To have lost him is bad enough, but if he was purposely taken from us…."

Hermione began crying again. Severus looked down at her helplessly. He had no right to comfort her…he could use a bit of comfort himself. This was the same helpless feeling he had when she had first lost the baby. But there was something he could do this time. He couldn't bring Jacob back, but he could find out why he left them. Find out if it were nature or murder. Then there could be closure…or revenge.

Severus walked to the door, then turned back to Hermione

"I am going to return to Hogwarts and let Albus know of my suspicions. Then I will retrieve Jacob from his resting place on the school grounds. Tomorrow I will bring you a small pensieve and you will deposit your memories in it. I will take the pensieve back to Hogwarts with me and go over it minute by minute and see if I can discover anything or anyone out of place. If I do…"

He scowled blackly, not finishing the sentence. He unwarded the door.

"Ward this back," he said to Hermione, then exited without saying goodbye.

Hermione thought her ex-husband sounded a bit protective, but then again it could just be the natural command in his voice.

Hermione re-warded the door, then removed her robes and lay down in the bed.

Someone may have killed their baby. Her eyes narrowed murderously.

If they had, that someone would pay and pay dearly.


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"Severus, are you sure you want to do this? Perhaps someone else…" Albus said, a sober look on his face.

"Jacob was my son, Albus. I have a great knowledge of potions and powders. I doubt any one else could do the examination and tests with as much thoroughness as I can. I have a vested interest in this. It is best I am the one to exhume and examine my son," Severus stated flatly.

Albus knew that tone. The subject was closed as far as the Potions Master was concerned.

"At least take Hagrid with you," Albus pleaded with the dark wizard.

"I don't need Hagrid, Headmaster. All I need is a shovel and light," Severus replied, "I would like to request a couple of days off. We are doing reviews in class now and the lesson plan is completed and simple to follow."

"Of course, Severus, of course," Albus said, "Whatever time you need. But what I am concerned about Severus, is what you will do if you do find out it was foul play?"

Severus rose, and looked at Dumbledore steadily.

"Headmaster, what would you do if someone murdered your unborn child while he was floating safe in his mother's womb? What would you do if that murderer not only cost you your son, but also the love of your life? What would you do, Headmaster?" Severus asked him.

Albus' blue eyes went cold as ice for a moment.

"Do what you need to do Severus…and if you need my help, I expect you to come to me. Do you understand?" the Headmaster said, his eyes still dark with anger. "Especially if the Dark Lord was involved. It is bad enough he slaughters wizards and witches in the street, but to have his evil reach into the womb to destroy the most innocent of us all is too much, and I will gladly stand by your side if you choose to face him. I mean that Severus. Do not forget me if that situation should arise."

"Thank you Albus. I may have to take you up on that offer," Severus replied, tossing in some floo powder and stepping through the floo.

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An hour later, a lone robed figure walked across the grounds of Hogwarts beneath the half moon's light. A shovel rested on his shoulder, and he carried a lantern. He walked until he came to a small garden, and a tiny, white marble marker. He stood there several moments…looking down on the tiny grave. There was no one but the moon and the stars to witness the wetness forming in his coal-black eyes.

Severus set the lantern down where it would shed the best light, swallowed, then steeled himself.

He began to dig.

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A/N: Severus only had to say a few words before Hermione figured out he thought foul play was involved in Jacob's death. Now he is going to exhume the child's body. How hard is that for a father. Albus is ready to help him seek his revenge if Voldemort was involved in his child's loss. And what will Hermione do? Ooh…there's trouble ahead. Please review.

A/A/N: Telephone update on daughter: The doctor broke Chi-chi's water and was completely drenched by the flood. Chi-chi is in labor and is going to get an epidural. I told her all she needed was a hard biscuit to bite down on and she'd be fine. I am currently banned from the hospital. Will keep ya'll updated. :)