A Crown of Thorns

**DISCLAIMER** All characters etc. belong to J.K. Rowling and I am making no money from this. Don’t sue because I’m sure that I don’t have anything that you’d want anyway. The basic plot for the story was a challenge presented by ArienAstera.





Chapter Seven – The Interrogation



Severus bowed slightly as he had seen Lucius do on previous occasions, “Good evening my Lord.”



“Good evening Lucius,” Voldemort glanced at the blonde wizard with a hint of irritation, “Would you mind explaining to me why it took you so long, you’re usually much more punctual than this.”



Severus hesitated for a moment, “Please forgive me my Lord,” he said, adopting one of Lucius’ trademark smirks, “I was rather…indisposed when you summoned me.”



Obviously aware of Lucius’ hearty sexual appetite, Voldemort gave him an amused look. This caught Severus by surprise a bit, he never imagined the Dark Lord capable of humor.



Voldemort started for the door, “Come Lucius, it’s time to begin the preparations, we have much to do, and little time to do it.”



Severus followed him to an entirely separate wing, and from what he could gather from the glimpses he got of his surroundings, he could tell that it was a very old, very large castle. The exact location he was still unsure of.



Voldemort stopped outside of a large mahogany door, “Now Lucius, I would encourage you to be on your best behavior this evening, there is no need for any unnecessary tension.”



Severus had no idea what Voldemort was talking about so he just nodded, “Of course my Lord.”



Voldemort knocked on the door and waited. A moment later the heavy door swung open and the two men entered a large library. Severus stood in awe for a moment and just took in the lavish room. The ceilings had to be at least twenty feet high, and all four walls were lined from bottom to top with shelves of books. There were a two wing chairs, a desk scattered with parchments and a large leather sofa.



“Yes, my Lord?” said a familiar female voice.



“We need to discuss your party.”



Severus glanced sideways at Voldemort when he heard the hesitation in his voice.



A small figure stood abruptly from one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and whirled around to face them.



Severus’ breath caught in his chest. It was her. It was Hermione.



Voldemort heard the quiet gasp and turned to look at Lucius, who was staring at Hermione in astonishment.



Severus regained his composure quickly and Voldemort turned his attentions back to Hermione.



She marched over to where they stood and eyed Severus with disdain before speaking again, “I have already told you both that it is my birthday and I do not want a party.”



Voldemort gave an exasperated sigh, “Hermione, you are being entirely unreasonable. I didn’t want to tell you this because it was supposed to be a surprise, but this is going to be much, much more than just a birthday party. You are turning seventeen, do you know what that means?”



She fixed them both with an icy glare and put one hand on her hip, “Of course I know, I’m not an idiot. It means that I have come of age. So what?”



Severus couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Hermione Granger was speaking to Lord Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy as though she was talking to two of her stupid classmates. And he was allowing it, and not even getting angry. He was treating her much like one would treat a spoiled child.



“Hermione, this is going to be the most important day of your life. I am planning to present you to our followers.”



Hermione’s eyes grew wide. With wonder or with fear, Severus could not tell which.



Voldemort took her by the hand and led her to the couch where they sat down. Severus noticed that she did not pull her hand away.



“My dear, do you know how long I have waited for this? For two years my loyal servants have sensed that I have been planning something and now it is time. Time for you to take your place beside me and begin to lead your followers, they need to know that when I am gone, they will not be alone.” He patted her hand as he spoke.



Severus watched this exchange closely and tried to gauge Hermione’s reaction but her eyes remained expressionless.



After several minutes she finally spoke, “Well, are they at least going to bring me gifts? And can I have a cake as well?”



After more talk about the party, Voldemort left the two of them alone with instructions for “Lucius” to work with Hermione on her translations.



Hermione went to the desk, cleared away the parchments and pulled out a large text. Conjuring another chair across from her, she sat down and looked at Severus expectantly.



“Well, are you going to just stand there all night? You heard him, you’re supposed to help me with this bloody book.”



Severus walked over to the empty chair and removed his cloak before sitting down. Glancing briefly at the book, he recognized it immediately as an ancient Dark Arts text that was written in an obscure language that hadn’t been spoken or written in over nine hundred years.



Clearing his throat, Severus began, “How much progress have you made?”



“None, we haven’t begun on this one yet.” She looked at him oddly.



Digging up his best Lucius sneer, he glared at her, “I would have thought that an overachiever such as yourself would have the entire book finished by now, slipping a bit are we?”



She glared at him, “Why don’t you just shut up, you overgrown lap dog. We don’t want any more ‘accidents’ do we?”



Severus could feel a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, she was still feisty as ever.



Her eyes narrowed as she hissed at him, “What’s so funny, half-wit? You weren’t laughing when I nearly killed you.”



She had nearly killed Lucius Malfoy? He bit back the laughter that was threatening to erupt. Oh, he would have given his wand to see that one. He better straighten up before she became suspicious.



It was time to do some digging and find out where her head was.



“You’ll be interested to know, Miss Granger, that I saw your ‘boyfriends’ today in Diagon Alley.”



She glanced up at him and he saw a flicker of curiosity flash in her eyes before they became dark again, “What are you talking about Malfoy?” She asked sharply.



“Potter and Weasley. Who else would I be speaking of?” Severus continued baiting the water, “You know, it was a shame what happened at that last Quidditch match of the season, but I think that Potter is going to make a full recovery, unfortunately.”



This time, the concern on her face was genuine, and Severus knew that she was still the old Hermione.



She attempted to mask her fear, “What accident?” She snapped, adding quickly, “Not that I really care. If he was to die in an accident, it would just save me the trouble of killing him later on.” He could hear the strain in her voice as she said those last words.



Severus changed his tone, “But I think that you do care, Hermione.”



Her tone became icy, “What are you playing at Malfoy”



Severus took the final step, “Are you familiar with Polyjuice potion Miss Granger?”



She looked at him, confused, “Excuse me?”



He continued, “You ought to be, seeing as in your second year you stole bicorn horn and boomslang skin from my private stores to brew the potion in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.”



“What are you talking about? How do you know that?” she asked, completely bewildered.



He gave her his best Potions Master sneer and snarled, “Fifty points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger. I would have thought that an insufferable know-it-all such as yourself would have figured it out much quicker than this.”



Hermione stared in disbelief. The only person that had ever spoken to her in that tone had been Professor Snape. But it couldn’t be, could it?



“Professor?” she asked hesitantly.



“Yes, Miss Granger?”



She stood up and took a few steps back



“Please sit down Miss Granger.”



She backed up even further and he could sense her uneasiness. Why should she trust him? He was sitting in front of her as the person who had brought her here in the first place. She had to make sure that it was really him.



“What is the name of my cat?”



“That horrible little beast’s name is Crookshanks.”



“In my fourth year, what cause did I actively pursue?”



He snickered, recalling all to well her peddling those stupid badges, “S.P.E.W.”



“Who was my date for the Yule Ball?”



He rolled his eyes, “Viktor Krum.”



These were too easy, Draco could have easily told fathfather any of this information. She eyed him suspiciously and thought for a moment.



“In my fourth year, who did you shake hands with in the hospital ward after Harry returned from the third task?” She looked at him triumphantly as though she was sure that she had stumped Lucius Malfoy.



“Sirius Black.”



She gasped, “It really is you.”