The Fortress Within

Severus sat in a corner


Severus sat in a corner, surveying the room. 
Hermione seemed to have taken on a regal bearing now. 
“Why not” She was now royalty among the Deatheaters, they both
were.  They now shared the role of being second to Voldemort. 
They were now above the suspicious speculation and inquiries. 
They now answered only to the Dark Lord himself.
 


Lucius had disappeared with Draco, on the pretext of
tending to his son’s wounds.  Severus
had known the Malfoy family too long, and was sure an attempt at revenge would
not be long in coming.  So Severus
sat, watching over the beautiful woman who roamed the hall, laughing and
dancing.  The obligatory muggles had
arrived a few hours ago and were being toyed with, as usual. 
Hermione observed them with a cold smile; but made no move to join in the
fun. 
 


Severus, knowing the injury she sustained earlier in the
evening, noted that she lost her footing now and again and appeared woozy. 
She covered herself well, and it seemed that no one else was the wiser of
her weakened condition.  Severus was sure that her magic had been weakened as well, as
was usually the case with a head injury.  As
soon as they were able, he had to get her back to the castle and work on her
head.  For now, all he could do was
observe and be ready.
 


 He was so
engrossed in his watch that he didn’t realize that Braden Sloane had walked up
beside him, until the man spoke.  “Severus,
I would like to have a word with you, if you don’t mind.”
 


“What can I do for you Sloane,” Snape growled, already
knowing the answer.
 


The tall, stout man moved in front of Severus, blocking his
view of Hermione.  “I would like
to know how you could allow my son to be expelled from Hogwarts. 
We should be protecting our own.”
 


Severus was seething. 
He didn’t like being questioned by the likes of someone from the Sloane
family.  Even by the Deatheaters
standards, they were rather undesireable.  Rather
than cause a scene that could end up leading to further distraction, Severus met
the problem head on, hoping to end the conversation quickly.
 


“Your foolish son attacked a Hogwarts professor. 
He was observed not only by the Slytherin prefect, but by several
Gryffindors as well.  The Slytherin
came to me of course, the Gryffindors went crying to the Headmaster. 
I’m sure you are aware that Hermione and I are presenting the front of
a heated romance, to allow for the time alone we need to work. 
How was I to defend the boy who sexually assaulted my girlfriend? 
There was no choice; it was him or this operation. 
Now unless you would like to take this discussion to the Dark Lord
himself fis ois opinion as to which would have been the better decision, I
suggest you move on.”
 


“I apologize, I was not aware that he was stupid enough
to do this when there were witnesses.  Of
course, you made the right decision.  I
will see to it personally that he is appropriately punished. 
Thank you, Severus.”
Severus nodded once, hoping to dismiss the man. 
It didn’t work and Braden continued on, “He did tell me that had it
not been for you, Hermione most likely would have succeeded in killing him. 
She’s quite a handful for a mudblood.”
 


Now Severus was furious. 
He advanced on the balding man, his low voice seething with anger. 
“I suggest you watch your tone, Sloane. 
Hermione Granger has the ear of Voldemort, as do I. 
She is also my partner and has earned my respect, which is very hard to
come by.  If I ever hear of you speak of her in such terms again, I
will go straight to the Dark Lord personally and ask for your help with a very
important potions experiment. Even a Potions Master such as myself can make a
mistake; potions go wrong all the time”
 


His threat obviously hit home and instantly the man was
groveling.  “I wasn’t implying
anything, Severus.  I am aware that
she has earned the respect of all.  I
only wished to thank you for saving Marcus life. 
I’ll move along now.”  Braden
moved off into the crowd and disappeared.
 


Severus resumed his seat and searched the room for
Hermione.  Everyone was milling
around, making her very hard to spot, now that he had lost sight of her. 
He stood and began making a wide circle around the perimeter of the room,
his dark eyes moving, searching. 
 


In one corner he came across a small group, taking turns
sodomizing a male muggle.  The
bleeding man looked to Severus, pleading silently with pained eyes. 
Normally, Severus would have stepped in and claimed the man for himself. 
Taken him somewhere private under the ruse of having him; then ended his
suffering quickly and painlessly.  There
was no time for euthanasia now.  He
had to find Hermione, her weakened state troubled him greatly and he was in fear
of her life.  Severus continued on,
leaving the man to his fate.
 


During his search, his eyes fell on the Dark Lord, still
watching the celebration.  Voldemort
motioned to him and Severus had no choice but to obey the summons. 
He approached the demon and inclined his head in a sign of submission. 
 


“I would like to have a word with you in private,
Severus.  With both you and
Hermione.  I have some details I
would like to go over with you.  Locate
her and meet me downstairs in the study.”
 


Once again, Severus bowed his head, “Of course, My
Lord.”  He backed away and resumed
his search.  He worked his way
through the crowd, but to no avail.  Hermione
was not in the ballroom.  Severus
made his way to the door, fighting down the urge to run.  His heart beat a panicked tempo beneath his ribs and he
fought to drag breath in.  He
searched the rooms on the second floor and, once again, came up empty. 
 


Severus raced down the stairs, two at a time, not caring by
this point about his demeanor or the sound of his feet running on the stairs. 
Voldemort stepped to the door of the study as he hit the final step.  
Voldemort appeared irritated by the delay, “Severus, I have been
waiting. Where is Hermione?”
 


“My Lord, I apologize; but I do not seem able to locate
her. If you….”  A woman’s
scream came from the library at the other end of the house, only to be cut off
abruptly.  Severus did not issue any
further explanation, but took off down the hallway at a run.
 


In front of the door he stopped and took a deep breath. 
He could not rush headlong into the room. 
Acting in haste could prove to be deadly. 
He pulled his wand and with a whispered spell, the door became
transparent from his side.
 


The scene in the room almost drove him to the floor. 
Hermione was being held down by Draco Malfoy, 
Gregory Goyle, Braden Sloane, and a Deatheater who was unfamiliar to him. 
Crawling from on top of her was Marcus Sloane.  The boy moved aside and another unknown man took his place. 
Watching the scene was Lucius Malfoy and several other of his associates.
 


Hermione seemed to be unconscious.  Severus could see there was blood trickling from the corner
of her mouth and her previously damaged eye was now swollen shut. 
They had obviously beaten her severely. 
Severus could not even be sure she was still alive.
 


Before he could form a quick plan Voldemort stepped up
beside him and viewed the room.  “The
fools.”  With that the door swung
wide and the Dark Lord stormed into the room. 
“Petrificus Totalus.”  Ten
men lay unmoving on the floor with Voldemort’s curse. 
 


“Severus, check on her. 
I will deal with them.” 
 


Severus rushed to her body and checked for a pulse. 
It was weak, but her heart was still breathing. 
Her chest barely rose, but it rose steadily. 
He whispered healing words to her and began to stabilize her condition. 
After several minutes, her eyes fluttered open. 
She gave him a small smile and struggled to speak, “Where were you 15
minutes ago, Snape?”
 


He returned the smile and replied softly, “Looking for
you, Granger.  Quiet now, you
foolish twit, while I try to get you on your feet.” 
He continued to work and was relieved to see her chest rise, drawing air
once again at a normal volume.  “Can
you stand?”
 


She nodded and with an arm behind her back, sat up. 
Hermione swayed against him, obviously overcome with dizziness. 
Severus moved his wand again over her head and spoke more words.  Her eyes stopped rolling. 
“Thank you.  Don’t leave
me though, I don’t think I have any magical capacity right now.”
 


“I’m not going anywhere, Granger.  Now up you come, lean on me.”
 


“Just get me up, Snape, I’ll take it from there. 
Those assholes will not see me fall, I can assure you of that.”
 


Severus bore most of her weight on himself as she rose to
her feet.  Once steady, he released
her.  She managed to raise her chin
and walk to the far side of the room.  The
Dark Lord had moved her attackers into a corner and released the spell. 
They now lay on the floor face down. 
 


Hermione said not one word to Voldemort, just walked right
past him and up to where Lucius Malfoy lie. 
Where she drug the strength from, Severus had no idea; but she delivered
a brutal kick to the side of the blond man’s head.  The force of the blow drove him to his side and before he
could move to protect himself, she delivered another even more forceful kick to
his groin.  With a last attack
against his midsection, she seemed satisfied and moved back to stand beside
Voldemort.  Severus was please to
note that a stream of blood now flowed from Malfoy’s own mouth.
 


Voldemort was the first to speak, “You imbeciles. 
What were you thinking?  She
is the strongest tool that I possess right now and you choose to attack her? 
What if you had killed her?  The
entire plan would have been destroyed.  Look
at you, it took 9 of you to overpower her. 
She is worth ninety of you.  Hermione,
their fate is in your hands now.  Whether
they live or die, it is yours to command.  Cast
the Avada Kedavra if you want, they are of no consequence to me.”
 


Severus knew what her choice would be, but also knew that
she was not capable of delivering it.  She
walked slowly up the line of men, surveying them with a disgusted sneer. 
Finally, she seemed to make her decision and stood once again beside the
demon.
 


“I grant them their lives for the time being. 
The battle will be upon us shortly and their lives may be needed. 
I reserve the right to take their lives at a later time of my choosing. 
If that is acceptable to My Lord, of course.”
 


Voldemort smiled, pleased with her choice to put his battle
above her own desires.  Hermione
had, once again, proven herself to be his most loyal follower.  
“Very well, their lives are yours to claim later. 
Severus, I believe she has had enough for the night. 
Take her back to the castle and see to it that she is put back together
again.”
 


Voldemort raised his wand to his throat and called to the
party upstairs for more Deatheaters to join him.   “I am not finished with you gentlemen,
though.”
 


Hermione laughed deeply at this and turned on her heel. 
“Enjoy, my Lord.”  Severus followed her to the doorway.  They stepped aside as 12 or more followers filed into the
room.  Hermione turned once more at
the words, “Crucio” and smiled to see the figures on the floor screaming and
writhing in agony.
 


With a gentle hand at her waist, Severus steered her out
the door and shut it behind him.  As
soon as the room was closed, he picked her up in his arms and apparated to the
castle gate.  He wasted no time,
speaking to her as he hurried up the path. 
“We’re almost home, Granger, just hang on.”
 


He could feel her body as it began to shake uncontrollably
and realized she was seizing.  He
had no choice but to stop and lay her down on the cold ground. 
He whispered a warming spell as he removed his belt and forced it between
her teeth. 
 


Severus knew the injury to her head was severe and needed
greater treatment than he could provide.  He
sat helplessly while she vibrated, holding her hand and speaking to her in his
low soothing voice, trying to call to the woman within. 
Telling her he was here and that he would see her through this. 
Finally the spell passed, although she remained unconscious. 
 


He took her in his arms once again and sped toward the
front doors of the castle.  Before
him, they swung wide and the Headmaster and Poppy were waiting. “I saw your
approach,” Albus stated simply. Severus moved quickly down the stairs and
through the dungeons to their quarters.  In
their room, he lay her on the bed and moved back as the medi-witch opened her
bag and began to assess her condition. 
 


As a Potions Master he had a vast working knowledge of the
healing arts and assisted her as she worked. 
There was no time for explanations; Poppy directed him and he obeyed. 
Several times, she began to slip away. 
Together he and the mediwitch joined their powers and used some of the
strongest spells to pull her back.  Several
hours passed before Poppy was satisfied with the result of their work. 
 


“Severus, she is stable now.  All that is needed is a few days rest and she should be fine. 
I have some work to do on her other injuries. 
It would be best if you waited outside.” 
Severus started to leave the room and was stopped at the doorway by
Poppy’s voice.  “Severus, I have
to ask.  As the two of you are
involved; do you make the Adversus Conceptio for her?”
 


Severus stopped and grasped the doorframe for support. 
He did not turn around, hiding the emotions he knew were plastered across
his face.  “No, she uses the
spells.”  He gave her no further
clarification, just moved from the room to join Albus.
 


The two Wizards sat on either side of the fireplace. 
Albus spoke quietly,  “What
happened tonight, Severus?”
 


His emotions were frayed. 
Severus knew that Albus had seen him in many vulnerable positions over
the years.  He saw no need to stop
the tears, to still his shaking hands, as he began to relive the night verbally
for the Headmaster.  He stared at
the fire, seeing her bloodied form again in the dancing flame, as he described
the condition he had found her in.  He
could not disguise the pride in his voice as he told Albus the way she had
stayed on her feet by her own sheer will and delivered her own physical assault
on Malfoy.  Severus pressed the
heels of his hands against his forehead, struggling with the visions, as he
played out the seizure again.
 


Albus was quiet for several minutes, allowing his Potions
Master the time to compose himself.  He
finally spoke, “I’m so sorry, Severus. 
So sorry for both of you, that you have to go through this. 
I cannot say anymore than that, and that is not enough. 
The time that this will end is drawing closer, that is the only
comforting words that I can offer you.  That,
and, you will both see this through.  Someday,
with time, she will be whole again and you can both move on.”
 


Severus’ mouth gaped open. 
He struggled to find the words for the fury that was moving through him.
He leapt to his feet, his eyes settling at the clock over the mantle. 
“Time?”  He roared,
“You speak of time?”  The clock
was in his hands, and then was hurled across the room to shatter against the
door to his office.  “There is no
time for either of us and you know it.  There
never has been, not since either one of us became the Ministry’s slaves. 
Don’t speak of time to me.  There
is no future, not really.  Only the
past, that’s the only thing that we will be haunted with for the rest of our
lives.”
 


Poppy spoke quietly from the doorway, having observed his
explosion.  Quietly, she spoke,
pulling him away from his tirade to focus on the woman in his bed. 
“Severus, she is awake and asking for you. 
Her wounds have been healed; she will be as good as new physically. 
I expect she’ll be up and around by the time classes resume on
Monday.”
 


Severus closed his eyes and silently thanked whatever Gods
were watching over her.  Albus and
Poppy moved toward the door.  Before
he entered their room, he turned around and called to the medi-witch,
“Poppy?”
 


“Yes, Severus.”
 


“When she asked for me, did she…  Did she ask for Severus or did she call me Snape?”
 


The Medi-witch was obviously confused by his question,
which told him she was not aware of all that was going on.  “Why, she called you Severus, of course.”
 


He smiled slightly at that. 
“Thank you, Poppy.”
 


Severus moved into the dimly lit room and sat beside her
small form on the bed.  At the
movement, her eyes opened and she smiled.  “Severus,
I’m so sorry.”  Tears began to
make their way down her cheeks.  He
lifted gentle fingers to wipe them away.
 


“You have no reason to be sorry, sweet. 
I failed you tonight.  I
should not have allowed you out of my sight. 
I should have taken you from there when Draco first assaulted you. 
I should…”
 


She lifted a weak hand to his mouth. 
“It’s not your fault.  She
didn’t tell you her powers were weak.  You
can’t blame yourself.”
 


He lifted his own hand to press hers against his lips,
gently pressing a kiss to her fingertips before lowering it. 
“Then neither can you.  Rest
now, we’ll talk more in the morning.”  He
leaned forward and placed a small kiss on her forehead and rose to move to the
bathroom.  He washed up and changed
into a pair of pajama pants and black t-shirt.
 


He moved back into the bedroom and started a fire in the
cold hearth before turning out the lights.   
He had thought that she was sleeping, but at the sound of a stifled sob,
he moved to the bed once again.  She
was lying on her side, her body wracked in silent tears.  Once again, he moved his hand to wipe them from her cheek. 
This time it was her hand that caught his. 
She pulled it around to desperately clutch it to her heart. 
“Stay,” wll sll she whispered.
 


Severus pulled the sheets back with his free hand and
slipped into the bed behind her.  She
scooted her body back closer to him, drawing comfort from him. 
He tucked her head beneath his chin and willed her to find some peace. 
Slowly, the sobs weakened and her breathing grew quiet. 
 


A nforgforgotten verse entered his mind. 
He whispered into her hair, as if trying to force the sentiment into her
sleeping mind.
 


 "Sleep
dwell upon thy eyes, peace in thy breast."


 


She shifted slightly against him and murmured in response,
still half asleep.
 


“Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest.”


 


He smiled against her. 
With a contented sigh, his eyes closed. 
Together, they found their own peace in the night.