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Chapter Text

On the Scottish countryside the Hogwarts Express chugs along on its way to school. In a cabin spelled to be undesirable sits The-Boy-Who-Lived, all alone. His sits with his cheek pressed against the window to ease the swelling from the goodbye beating his uncle gave him that morning. His too big muggle clothes only serve to accent how small and skinny he is.
He doesn’t want to go back, but in the end there is no place else to go. When he leaves Hogwarts again at the end of the year the illusion of safety is lost. Since Sirius died last year no one else has wanted him. Dumbledore has told him that mere beatings are not enough to bother him, Remus is too involved with Tonks to take him in, the Weasley’s don’t believe him (Arthur says muggles are too kind to do something like that), and as Dumbledore loves to remind him the blood wards that surround the house keep him ‘safe’.
The boy’s eyes are closed, so he doesn’t notice when the compartment door slides silently open. A whispered spell is all it takes and the wizard world’s savior fall into unconsciousness.
*******
Voldemort looks down on the teen sprawled on the floor in front of him. He’s spent most of his resurrected life trying to kill the child, finally he has him.
“Enervate.”
The boy groans and slowly opens his Avada Kedavra green eyes. Still laying down he unhurriedly looks around him and takes in his surroundings. His eyes finally find Voldemort and he sits up. “So, are you going to kill me now?” he asks nonchalantly
Voldemort raises a nonexistent eyebrow, “Do you really need to ask?”
“Just making sure,” the teen replies and then lies back down on the ground and closes his eyes again, “You never know when someone’s going to go and do something completely out of character. Not to mention the fact that you’re insane and you probably change your mind like the weather.” Voldemort is about to comment as he stops Bellatrix form hexing the boy, but Harry continues talking, “I’m going to assume that this is Riddle manor. It looks a lot better than the last time I saw it, and it’s a lot better than where I stay during the summer, but then again almost everything is better than a cupboard.”
The teen opens his eyes again and locks them with Voldemort’s. Red meets green and Voldemort is surprised to find none of the defiance and hatred he expected. “All I ask is that you make it quick in exchange for your horcruxes,” Voldemort startles, but Harry just continues, “Because contrary to popular belief I don’t really enjoy pain. No matter how many times I find myself in the school infirmary.”
“Wait! My horcruxes?”
“Yea,” Harry pulls out a small package from his pocket and unshrinks it, “I’ve got the ring, the locket and the diadem. Sorry about your diary. I kinda destroyed it second year in the chamber of secrets I would’ve kept it, but it was trying to kill me, and at that point I still valued my life.”
“How do we know you aren’t just trying to trick us Potter,” Bellatrix spat.
“I dunno. Shouldn’t you be able to feel your soul or something,” he asked Voldemort. The Dark Lord blinked. “Okay. I guess not.”
A Death Eater stepped from the circle. “My lord if you would allow me,” a silky voice that Harry identified as Snape’s spoke up and produced a vial from his robes. The Dark Lord nodded, and Snape held the vial out to Harry. “Drink, Potter.”
“How do I know that’s not some potion to cause me incredible pain,” Harry asked eyeing the potion warily.
“Potter this is Veritaserum. Don’t you pay attention in my class at all?”
“No.”
Snape huffed and spelled the potion into the teen’s stomach.
“Use the testing questions.” Voldemort ordered.
“Now,” Snape started, “What is your full name?”
“Harriet Lily Potter.”
All Hell broke loose.

Chapter Text

A lot of things happened at once. Bellatrix screeched, Voldemort gaped, and Snape dropped the potions vial its shattering not heard over the protests coming from the Death Eaters.
“YOU LIE,” Bellatrix screeched.
“Impossible,” Lucius Malfoy breathed.
“But Lily said…” Snape whispered.
“That’s a pretty ugly girl then,” Rabastan Lestrange snickered.
“ENOUGH,” Voldemort roared over his Death Eaters.
“Um… Can you kill me now?” Harry said in a small voice.
Everyone just turned and looked at the girl, eyes wide.
“Oh, can’t you just go off and Avada Kedavra yourself, widdle Potter?” Bellatrix sneered.
“I can’t,” the girl answered truthfully, “I’ve already tried.” The already quiet room became even more so. In the uneasy silence Death Eaters looked back and forth from the teen to each other with horrified glances.
Voldemort was the first to regain composure, “Why does the world think you’re a boy?”
“Because Dumbles thought that people would believe a girl was too delicate to fight the war, because he thought I was a boy the first time we met since I was wearing my cousins hand-me-downs and he had already paid Ron Weasely to watch me and pretend to be my friend, because if I died while fighting you as a girl people would revolt, but if I was male they’d think it was a noble sacrifice, because he could blackmail me later on and continue to use me as his pawn,” Harry answered and then scowled at herself for giving so much information.
Snape turned to look at Harry, “Why do you want to die?”
Harry shot a glare at him and attempted to keep her mouth shut, but once again the truth serum got the better of her, “Because all the people who cared about me are gone, because I want the abuse to stop, and because people expect me to beat the most scared and feared dark lord since Salazar Slytherin himself while I’m only sixteen years old. I never asked for any of this.”
“Then die!” Bellatrix hissed.
Voldemort shot Bella a look and she looked at the ground. “Why have you brought my horcruxes to back?”
Harry sighed as the truth serum forced her to answer again, “I’d like to stab Dumbledore in the back. You’d probably be less insane too if you had some more of your soul back.”
Voldemort’s face molded into anger and Harry just rolled her eyes, “Don’t look like that you know it’s true. You’re just too insane to do anything about it.” Rabastan hid a smile behind his hand and Harry raised an eyebrow at him.
“Are you trying to make me kill you?” Voldemort asked coldly.
“If you’d been listening the past ten minutes you would know that the answer is ‘yes’,” the teen sighed and rolled over on her stomach and rested her head on her hands. “Is it working?” This time Rabastan snorted out a laugh.
“Rodolphus! Control your brother,” The Dark Lord ordered.
“How do you look like a boy?” Lucius worked up the courage to ask.
“Glamors and the fact that I’m spelled not to tell anyone. Though I guess Veritaserum overrides that spell, and I can’t drop the glamors myself another person has to do it.”
“Who all knows?” Lucius asked again and Harry was surprised that no one had been Crucioed for speaking out and asking questions. She was sure that Rabastan would’ve been on the floor by now.
“My relatives, Dumbledore, Hermione Granger, please don’t ask why, and all of you now.”
“The mudblood?”
“Her parents are squibs thank you very much,” Harry countered.
Voldemort studied the teen on the ground in front of him. He didn’t really want to kill her anymore. She had been right about the fact that he would be more sane if put his soul back together. Earlier that summer he had absorbed his soul form Helga Hufflepuff’s cup and was more reasonable than when he had been resurrected. But he wasn’t sure what to do. If he kept Harry, then he could turn her and if the wizarding world lost their savior to the dark side then many would follow. That would work quite well.
“Everyone leave, but my inner circle,” Voldemort ordered. He waited for all the Death Eaters to disapperate, besides Lucius, Severus, Bellatrix, and both the Lestrange brothers. “Severus,” he ordered, “Give her the antidote.” Then Voldemort raised his wand and Harry prepared herself for death, but instead she felt the glamor being dismantled and looked up in wonder. Voldemort sucked in a breath at the view before him. The teen looked almost the same except her features were softer and more feminine. Her lips were fuller and redder, and even through her oversize clothes he could tell she had a curvy feminine body. Said oversize clothes were also gaping open by her chest to reveal the tops of two well-shaped breasts. In a word, she looked beautiful. Not that she hadn’t looked good before it’s just that he wasn’t into guys.
Voldemort turned from Harry and faced his inner circle, “Lucius make sure no one knows where Miss Potter is, Severus quietly and discretely inform Dumbledore and the order of her whereabouts but make sure that they know she isn’t here willingly, Bellatrix find some clothes that for Miss Potter, Rodolphus make sure Bella doesn’t charm them with any ill intent, Rabastan follow me.” The Death Eaters bowed and left the room, Rodolphus pulling a disgruntled Bellatrix behind him.
Voldemort snapped his fingers and summoned a house elf. He whispered to the elf and it nodded its head and popped out of existence. He then left his throne accioing the horcruxes along the way, “Follow me Potter, you as well Rabastan.”
“So you’re keeping me?” Harry asked. “What makes you think I won’t attack you?”
Voldemort cut his eyes the teen by his side which was a bad idea as she was looking up with her big green eyes and her hanging of her shoulder. Voldemort snatched his eyes away from the teen; it wouldn’t do for the dark lord to grow hard in the presence of a Death Eater. “I’m not keeping you,” he corrected, “I’m allowing you to stay. And in answer to your second question I’ll quote Dumbledore ‘Because you just asked me that, dear child’.”
Harry snorted, “You think I can help you win the war?”
“I know so. You’re very powerful you know?”
Harry looked at him innocently again, “No actually. Dumbledore always told me I was an average witch and would need a lot of luck and training to defeat you.” The she added more to herself than anyone else, “Though he never did provide that training. Did he?” She looked deep in thought for a while then turned to him again. “Um, if you’re going to keep me here can I request something?” she asked shyly.
“Depends on what you want.”
“Could you have Snape bring Hermione. Dumbledore doesn’t trust her and he’s liable to punish her and blame her for me going missing. I know Ron would help him.”
Voldemort though for a second, “I’ll send Rabastan once we find a way into the castle. I’d rather not risk Snape’s cover.”
Harry smiled, “Actually I can help with that. Did you guys take my trunk when you took me.”
He blinked and stopped in front of a room in the hallway and opened the door, “This is your room. It should be in there.”
“Great! Give me a second,” she ordered and hopped over to her trunk and rummaged around procuring a piece of old parchment, “Perfect!” She turned back to an interested Voldemort and Rabastan. “Here. This is a map of the entire school. It shows where people are and every entrance, doorway, and password. All you have to do it tap it with your wand,” she demonstrated, “and say “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. There are a couple ways in, but the one I usually use is this one it comes out at the cellar of Honeydukes. You should be able to find it with the ‘Point Me’ charm.”
Both Voldemort and Rabastan blinked at the girl. Well she was just full of surprises. The looked from the girl to the powerful magical object in their hands and back again.
“Where did you get this,” Voldemort asked.
“My father, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Petigrew made it back in their school years, but I got it from the twins who nabbed it from Filtch,” she looked at the Dark Lord with a mischievous look on her face, “You should ask Wormtail. This IS where he got the name from.”
Voldemort raised his nonexistent eyebrows, he really needed hair raising ones eyebrows lost the effect when no one could see them, “I’ll be sure to ask.”
“You should probably send a patronus to tell Hermione to meet you somewhere so she doesn’t think you’re kidnapping her,” Harry told Rabastan. Both Voldemort and Rabastan looked at her blankly, again she was full of surprises. “Okay I guess I’ll send her a patronus.”
Harry looked up at both men and blushed, uncomfortable with the undivided attention she being given. “Um… I’m going to need my wand she prompted.”
If Voldemort could have blushed he probably would have due to the fact that he had been staring at the teen. Rabastan on the other hand did blush, while his lord promptly pulled her wand from his robe and handed it over to the teen.
“Thanks. Now then, ‘Expecto Patronus’,” a white misty stag appeared from her wand, “Hermione, a person is coming to take you to me. He will have the Marauder’s map. Go with him.” Harry sent the stag off and smiled shyly at the two men. “That should do it. OH! I almost forgot. When you’re done tap the map again and say ‘Mischief Managed’ otherwise anyone can read it,” she quoted the twins.
“Rabastan, be off now,” Voldemort ordered. Rabastan nodded and took off down the hallway still looking slightly flabbergasted. Voldemort then turned his attention back to Harry rather awkwardly, “You do realize you just gave me the perfect way to invade Hogwarts right?”
“If you wanted to you could always apparate into Hogwarts herself. You are an heir,” Harry countered.
He stared at her thoughtfully, “ I suppose you are right.The en suite bathroom is through that door. If you need anything snap your fingers and call Missy.” He demonstrated and a house elf dressed in green blazer with the Slytherin symbol embroidered on it and grey skirt popped into existence.
“What can Missy do for Master Snake?” she asked.
“Missy anything Harry asks for I want you to get it. Understand.”
The house elf bobbed her head up in down enthusiastically, though not as enthusiastically as Dobby, “Yes Master Snake! Missy understands to take care of Madame Harry.”
“Good that’ll be all,” Voldemort replied and the house elf popped out of existence again. Voldemort looked at Harry, “Anything you need call Missy. She will wake you up tomorrow for breakfast. Your friend should be here around then.” He turned to walk out the door.
“Wait,” Harry Piped up, “One more question.”
“Yes?”
“Are you sure you’re not going to torture and kill me?”
Voldemort smiled reassuringly only to stop when he saw her flinch, “Positive. Now get some sleep Harry. It has been a long day.” And with that he shut her door.
Outside in the hallway he made his way to his personal rooms and poured a glass of firewhiskey. Suddenly Voldemort had an idea. Why not put his newfound lust to good use. He needed an heir and Harry was very powerful and not to mention very womanly. The only problem would be his looks. He would have a lot better chance if he had his old looks back. He had seen the way she flinched when he smiled. It couldn’t be that bad right? He walked toward a mirror and smiled into it. A scary serpentine face sneered back. Okay. Even to him that was creepy. He was now honestly surprised that she hadn’t cried. He’d need to fix that he thought, but now to relive some stress. “Wormtail!,” he called. He made his way back to his chair and poured some more firewhiskey.
“Ye-ye-yes master,” Wormtail stuttered.
Voldemort threw up some silencing barriers and turned to Wormtail, “Now Wormtail, why did you never tell me about the Marauders’ map?” Wormtail stuttered and before he could make a coherent sentence Voldemort sneered, “Crucio.” Wormtails screams filled the room. Ah yes, very relaxing.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Back in Harry’s room she walked around exploring. The room was, as most of the rooms where, green, black and silver: Slytherin colors. All the wood was black and all the upholstery was green with silver walls to put it simply it was gorgeous. Harry grabbed her best fitting pajamas and went to the bathroom to change. She looked in the mirror and discovered her glamor over her bruise was still in place and disillusioned it. She poked it and flinched. Fuck that was still tender. Too bad she didn’t have any pain potions. Wait, she was at Lord Voldemort’s manor he probably had pain potions and he did say if she needed anything to ask. She snapped her fingers and the house elf appeared.
“What can Missy do for Madame Harry?” the elf asked.
“Um Missy do you mind getting me a pain potion,” she pointed to the scar.
The elf’s eyes softened as she looked at the girl, “One second Madame,” and the popped out of the room.
A second later she returned later with two vials. The elf held out the pain potion to Harry who drank it greedily. When she was finished the elf held out a second vial which Harry recognized as ‘Dreamless Sleep’. Harry raised an eyebrow at the elf in question.
“Missy heard what Madame was saying in the throne room and thought that Madame might need it,” the elf offered, “Missy didn’t mean to assume.”
“No, it’s okay Missy,” Harry assured the elf, “Thank you.” The elf blushed and popped away.
Harry changed and drank the ‘Dreamless Sleep’ leaving it on the bedside table and snuggled under the lush covers on the four-poster bed. She tucked her wand under the pillow and closed her eyes. ‘It will be okay,’ she promised herself, ‘It has to.’

Chapter Text

All in all no one really got a good night’s sleep. Voldemort never slept because he’d ‘Crucioed’ Wormtail to the point that all he could do was twitch on the rug, and the house elf’s always refused to touch Wormtail so that meant that the oaf was there until he could remove himself from the room. Furthermore, Voldemort didn’t even consider sleeping in his room while there was filth on his floor so he opted to do some research in the library on how to return his good looks. Sadly his research was fruitless leaving him frustrated and annoyed.

Harry had been having a wonderful fifteen minutes of sleep before she was awoken by Voldemort’s extensive frustration and rage and although the pain potion relived some of the pain the frustration was driving her crazy and making it hard to sleep. Instead of sleep she opted to polish her broomstick until Voldemort finally went to sleep.

Severus got little sleep due to being busy playing a ‘Light Wizard’ for The Order since everyone was in uproar over the missing child. The meeting itself was a mess. Dumbledore, Ron and Shacklebot thought that she’d run off in the castle to cause trouble, while Minerva, Hermione, Molly , and Moody thought that she’d been kidnapped, and Remus and Tonks were far to engrossed in each other to notice that the child was missing. Nothing was accomplished accept one side yelling at the other until around midnight Hermione broke into tears. “We don’t even know if Harry is alive right now! And all you can do is bicker about it. What if Voldemort has captured him?” she sobbed.

“Now my dear, that is highly unlikely. He is probably in the castle somewhere,” Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. Snape held back a sneer knowing the truth about the headmaster’s jolly twinkle: it was a compulsion charm. Judging by the look on Miss. Granger’s face she knew the truth as well. Interesting.

“Even if he is in the school there are too many ways for him to get himself hurt or killed,” she shot back.”

Shacklebot sighed, “That is enough Granger. Perhaps it is far too late for a young woman such as yourself to be up. Severus please escort her back to her quarters.”

Severus sighed and looked around the room. Ron and Dumbledore were whispering, was asleep on her husband, Tonks and Remus had taken to snogging, and Moody looking like he wanted to be in Severus’ position right now. When Hermione opened her mouth to protest he grabbed her arm and pulled her from the chamber, “Come on Miss. Granger.” The teen shot him a look that he chose to ignore and released her arm. “I will escort you back to your dormitory,” he said bordely, although he had to admit this was better than being in close confines with those idiots. Severus sighed again and smoothed nonexistent wrinkles form his robe as the headmaster’s staircase spiraled downward. He stepped off the staircase and almost walked right into Luna Lovegood.

“Good evening Professor,” she greeted sounding dreamy like always (and to be honest possibly high), “and you too Hermione.”

“Miss. Lovegood what are you doing out of bed?” Severus sneered, this child had always creeped him out.

“Oh I have something for Hermione,” she responded airily and produced a large glass jar filled with mist from Merlin knows where inside her robes, “It’s a message from Harry. Oh and Professor your Lord will be pleased if you escort her.” Luna sighed dreamily, “Well I must be going the Humperdinks have stolen my shoes and I need to get them back before my care of magical creatures class tomorrow. Take care Hermione send for me later, please.” And with that she was off. Severus and Hermione watched the young witch skip down the hallway and out of sight.

Hermione stared at the jar, “We should probably take this up to The Order.” She turned back towards the stairs.

Severus doubted that was a good idea seeing as how Potter was currently in the care of the dark lord. “Granger,” he stopped her, “Perhaps that is not the best of ideas.”

She rose and eyebrow and looked at him, “Tell me Professor Snape. Why might that be?”

Severus fumbled he didn’t really have a good excuse and he certainly wasn’t going to tell her the truth without his Lord’s permission. Instead he settled for, “Why don’t you open it right now and if it is of importance we can return to the headmaster’s office.”

Hermione eyed him suspiciously, but acquiesced. She lifted the lid and allowed the mist to form in the shape of a stag. “Hermione,” Harry’s voice said, “a person is coming to take you to me. He will have the Marauder’s map. Go with him.” Hermione stiffened and looked to Snape.

“Go get your things,” he told her, “I know where Harry is. Don’t worry I won’t tell the headmaster. My Lord has him.” Hermione gave him a startled look and made to pull out her wand. “Harry is there willingly,” he promised. Well not really, but they’d seemed content when he left, so he doubted that Harry was a prisoner.

Hermione sighed and put her wand away, “It honesty wouldn’t surprise me if he changed sides.” She began walking, “If they have the map they probably got told to use the passageway that comes out on the third floor by the witch.”

“You don’t seem too surprised Granger,” he said. He hadn’t thought she would take it that well. And what was that about a map and hidden passageways?

“To be honest Professor you don’t hide your hate for Dumbledore very well,” she continued walking down the halls at a leisurely pace, like her best friend was not held captive by Voldemort.

“Quiet! The portraits will hear.”

Hermione laughed, “Either everyone in the school is dense, or I’m abnormally smart because I know that the portraits hate the headmaster as much as you and I do.” She stopped suddenly, “You should return to the meeting now and keep them from noticing my disappearance.”

Severus nodded, “Good evening Miss Granger,” and turned on heel cloak and robe billowing out around him as he returned to the meeting. Once there he fueled both sides of the argument and nobody noticed as the wards noted that a student had left the school grounds.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Harry awoke the next morning to bright lights and the even brighter smile of a house elf.

“Master Snake says to become dressed and then Flora will show Madame Harry to breakfast,” the house elf, Flora, spoke.

Harry smiled, she always found house elves adorable, except Kreatcher he was just creepy. “Just give me a moment please,” Harry responded as she got up and rummaged through her trunk in search of clothes. She finally decided on a pair of muggle jeans, a white button-up, and her converse trainers. For some reason she wanted to look nice for the dark lord, but definitely NOT like she was trying to look nice. Plus she had seen Draco wear a similar ensemble and it had looked good on him, so there was really no harm. She washed her face and got dressed, barely remembering to cover her bruises with glamors, and went to get the house elf. “I’m ready now, Flora.”

The house elf was practically bouncing up and down with excitement at its name, “Flora will show Madame Harry to breakfast now.”

They walked through a maze of corridors to the opposite side of the house. Eventually Harry was lead into a bright sunny breakfast room, and if Harry had been drinking anything she would have choked at the sight before her. Inside said breakfast room, looking terribly domestic was the dark lord himself. Just sitting there, drinking tea, and reading the Daily Prophet. And he was wearing muggle clothes no less, just sitting there. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) Flora chose that moment to speak, “Master Snake! Flora brought Madame Harry like requested.”

“Good job Flora,” he said while the elf practically beamed and popped away. The dark lord motioned for Harry to sit down in front of him and then spoke, “You’ll have to excuse her. It’s the twins first day to work with people.”

“Harry sat down and a cup of tea appeared at her elbow. “The Twins?” she asked.

Voldemort nodded not looking up from his paper, “You just saw Flora, her twin is Fauna. When house elves are young they work away from people. It’s a kind of coming of age ceremony for them to get work that involves interlacement with people.”

“Oh.” Was all Harry could say. Apparently she wasn’t important enough to put the damn paper down and talk to like a normal person.

As if sensing her thoughts Voldemort put down the paper to look at her as he continued talking, “Miss Granger and Rabastan will be here shortly.” And then as if he was trying to keep the conversation going, “Did you sleep well?”

She probably should have said yes and been polite, but Harry was still half Gryffindor and tact was not a Gryffindor trait. “Actually I had a hard time with all the frustration and rage I got through the bond,” she motioned up at her scar and took another sip of tea.

Red eyes blinked in surprise, “I didn’t know you could feel…well, feel feelings.”

Well she hadn’t expected that. Harry nodded, “Usually I can only ever feel when you’re really mad, but I suppose the close proximity has something to do with that.” Damn, why had she said that? Now the conversation was going to get weird.

Thankfully a distraction was provided as Rabastan walked through the door with Hermione.

“Mione,” Harry cried getting up from the table and running to hug her friend.

“My Lord,” Rabastan bowed and set the Map on the table.

“Oh Harry! I had the weirdest day yesterday,” Hermione cried as she and Harry took a seat at the table.

Harry laughed, “I bet my day was weirder Mione. You have no idea.” Voldemort smirked and Rabastan snickered at the recollection of the previous day’s events.

Hermione shook her head and her face became serious “No way. My day was weirder,” she paused for dramatic affect and then whispered, “Snape was nice to me. Not just lacking in snark but honest to gods nice. It was weird.”

“Okay your day was weirder.”

Both girls turned to the food that had appeared on the table before them, leaving the males in the room to wonder how in the hell Snape being civil was weirder than what had happened yesterday. Voldemort pondered this development and decided he would never understand teenagers despite his once being one. A house elf popped up at Voldemort’s shoulder and announced the arrival of Rodolphus and Bellatrix. The Dark Lord got up and motioned for Rabastan to stay and walked out of the room to meet his Death Eaters.

“Oh yea!” Harry turned to face his friend, “What happened to Croshankes?”

“Oh dear, I forgot to transfigure him back,” she said taking her fluffy, bright orange scarf off. She taped the scarf with her wand and the scarf molded into a cat.

“I told you that that would be a brilliant idea,” Harry laughed.

Hermione laughed, “I must concede that it was a rather good idea for you.”

Harry gasped and pretended to look offended, “Hermione all my ideas are good ideas.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to her eggs, “Sure Harry. Sure.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Back in Voldemort’s office Bellatrix and Rodolphus stood before the desk with a trunk of clothes. And Bellatrix was pouting. “I grabbed wizarding clothes in all the latest fashions both male and female with the help of Narcissa.”

“Good,” Voldemort switched his gaze form Bellatrix to her husband.

Rodolphus took the prompt and added, “And I made sure that there were no curses or charms on anything.” Bella pouted and Rodolphus shiveredas he remembered the blood sucking leech charm that Bella had put on one of the shirts.

“Very good,” Voldemort stood to leave, “Follow me and Bella be nice Miss Granger is here I hope you can contain yourself.”

“Of course My Lord.”

As they got closer to the breakfast room sounds of arguing could be heard. ‘I left them alone for half an hour and they’ve managed to start fighting,’ Voldemort thought. Upon arrival though, he was surprised to see that it was the two teenagers who were fighting while Rabastan looked on happily.

“Hard Work!” Harry growled.

“It tastes better with love,” Hermione countered.

“Hard work.”

“Love.”

“What are they bickering about?” Voldemort asked Rabastan.

The man just smiled, “Well it started off with them wanting cookies, but when the house elf named of cookies they realized that wizards don’t know what snickerdoodles are, whatever they are, and offered to right down a recipe. It was fine until their recipes differed and each decided that their recipe was better. That one,” he pointed to Hermione, “Says that her recipe is better because her and her mum made it with love, and Harry says hers is better because she grew up with people who wouldn’t accept less than perfect.” He looked at turned and looked at his lord, “I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

All the wizards and one witch turned back to the argument when Harry slammed her cup down, “Damnit Hermione. When are you going to realize all my ideas are good ones.” Voldemort smirked he could see where Rabastan was coming from.

Hermione raised her eyebrows and looked at Harry dangerously, “Really? Every idea you have is good?” Harry nodded. Hermione smirked, “Because I don’t see how getting drunk and trying to ride a dragon after the triwizard tournament was a good idea. Especially when you barely made it out alive.” Rabastan snorted and slammed his head back against his chair. Even Bella smiled.

Harry groaned, “Okay maybe not all of them, but MOST of them. Like my Hufflepuff theory.”

“And what is your ‘Hufflepuff Theory’?” Voldemort asked smirking when both witches jumped. Obviously only just realizing he was there.

Hermione groaned and face palmed, having heard this one too many times. Harry smiled at her friend, “So I have this theory,” she paused a little and Rodolphus motioned her on. “That all Hufflepuffs are high,” she finished. This time Rabastan didn’t try to stop himself and began to laugh uncontrollably. Rodolphus chuckled and Bella choked on her tea which caused both brothers to laugh more. “First things first,” Harry went on seriously, “Their head of house is the herbology teacher.” She held up two fingers, “Secondly there common room is right next to the kitchens. Probably for when they have the munchies.” Rodolphus was now laughing like his brother. “Plus, the name ‘Hufflepuff’,” she made like she was smoking a joint, “and the fact that they’re so chill all the time, and finally Cedric Digory.”

“The Hogwarts champion?” Voldemort asked.

Hermione brought her hand off her face, “Sadly yes.”

“What about him?” Bella asked, slightly intrigued.

“So the clue for the second task was an egg. And Cedric came up to me one night and was like ‘I was just in the girl’s prefect bathroom taking a bath and I put the egg underwater and heard the clue’ like what sort of sober person decides that they needed to take their clue to the GIRLS bathroom and then put into underwater?”

Voldemort laughed making Hermione jump, but the rest of the company smile. “I concede that is a good argument.”

“In your face Hermione!”

“Actually I agree with Miss Granger,” Voldemort said. Harry pouted which, Voldemort thought, was surprisingly cute. “Now let’s take a tour of the manor.”

Chapter Text

Harry sighed as she tried to reach the book she wanted. Hermione had decided that since they weren’t going to be at school that they’d have to do an independent study using Voldemort’s library. It had been three weeks since Harry and Hermione had been ‘kidnapped’ and Harry had gotten used to life at Riddle Manor. Three week of talking to Voldemort and the Death Eaters and perhaps a little teasing and a whole lot of emotion sharing through the bond. The day that Voldemort had taken them on a tour of the manor he had laid out all the rooms that they could use, which happened to be all the rooms except the offices and the dungeon. He had then presented them with the trunk of clothes that Bellatrix had brought. Hermione had died of laughter at the outdated all-covering dresses that Narcissa had picked out. While they were fashionable they were not in any way modern. This lead Hermione to pick out clothes for Harry from a mail order catalogue. Harry had then been dubbed Barbie-Harry and forced to try on ridiculous amounts of clothes and be dressed by Hermione every morning. Hermione’s favorite of Harry’s outfits was the one she was currently wearing. A knee length black skirt, with a cute ruffle blouse, a pair of Maryjane heels and a wizards robe that was left open to reveal the outfit. So far Harry had refused to let her best friend magically lengthen her hair or put make up on her.

Harry whooped as she found the book she was looking for. It was a potions book that had some potions that Hermione wanted to try. It also had a potion that was supposed to turn a person into the animal that they were most like in personality, which was really the potion that she was looking for, so that she could bake it into a cookie and have a house elf leave them on Ron’s bed. The idiot would probably eat them and proceed to turn into a pig (what else would his spirit animal be?) and amuse the girls. Harry smiled to herself. Ron as a pig? Now that would be a sight to see.

Hearing a rustling noise she turned around stumbling slightly in her heels. “Hermione I found the book-” She stopped. Leaning next to a bookshelf was in fact not Hermione but Bellatrix.

Bellatrix gave a mock apologetic look, “Oops sorry, no mudblood’s here.” She stepped forward, twirling her twisted wand in her fingers, “Just you and me widdle Potter. Here to finish the job.” She cackled and raised her wand level with Harry’s head. “I don’t know why my lord keeps you around. You’re just a useless waste of space. Just like my worthless cousin Sirius. You should’ve died with him last spring the world would be better off without you.” Bella tapped her lips with her want pretending to look deep in though, “I wonder how loud you’ll scream under the Cruciatis.”

“What was that?” Harry asked voice dangerously low.

“How loud will you scream under a Crucio?”

“No,” Harry said as she tilted her neck to crack it, “What did you just say about my godfather?”

Bellatrix smirked, “OH! What did I say about the mangy mutt? The worthless waste of space? The currently DEAD Sirius Black?” Harry’s eyes glinted dangerously and her face molded in to anger as her magic swirled around her. Bella giggled, “Widdle Potter, it looks like you want to fight.”

Harry sighed and blinked slowly. Her face went blank and became a carefully crafted mask where no emotion could show. The only evidence of her anger and hatred was her magic swirling and darkening around her. “Just because you’ve stayed out of my way and smiled at my jokes doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven or forgotten.”

The old witch only laughed. Her features contorted in insane glee. “Let us fight then baby Potter.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hermione had gone to Voldemort’s study to ask if Harry and herself could borrow Snape anytime soon for a lesson. Yes he was a slimy git, but he was still the best potion’s master they knew plus he hadn’t been as mean since Harry had been found out as a girl. She smiled to herself as she thought of the past couple of weeks. Harry had been happier than she had seen her in a long time, and what was up with that blush that appeared when Voldemort walked into the room. It was all very, very interesting. Hermione shook her head, it was none of her business if Harry wanted a relationship with a terrifying psychopath that was her deal Hermione wasn’t going to get involved and risk the wrath of their host.

She stopped outside of Voldemort’s study and steeled herself and knocked. Three weeks at the manor and she still had to suppress a shudder when she saw his face. “Enter.” She walked in and was surprised to see Rodolphus and Rabastan sitting in from of the large desk that the dark side was run from. “How can I help you Miss. Granger?” Voldemort asked. He was still calling her Granger while he had already starting calling Harry by her first name a week ago.

“I apologize for interrupting, but Harry and I wanted to try a certain potion and I was wondering if there was anytime Snape could spare after a meeting to help us?”

Voldemort nodded he had long ago forgone attempts at friendly smiles as they just seemed to scare the teen more, “I will alert him that you need his assistance.” He froze. Feelings were racing through the bond: anger, hate, amusement, pain, and something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He stood up quickly jostling the desk as he did. Ink spilt over the documents he had been writing on, but he paid no mind. “Where is Harry?”

Hermione just blinked for a second at the frenzied look in his eyes. He repeated the question. “I-in the library.” He rushed from the room knocking her into Rabastan. The brothers and the teen shared a confused look then raced after the dark lord.

“That’s where Bella is,” Rodolphus said grimly.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

To say that the foursome was surprised when they threw open the library doors was an understatement. Bellatrix was writhing on the floor screaming. Dark green tendrils of magic oozed over her body hissing as flesh burned. Voldemort briefly wondered what Harry was using since he hadn’t seen Bella scream this much even with a Crucio.

Harry was sitting with her legs crossed on a desk smiling hatefully down upon her victim. “Maybe that will teach you to insult the people I love. Hmm.” The woman on the ground continued to scream and blood began to burble from her mouth. Harry’s eyes glittered and she crossed her legs the other direction. “I can’t hear you. You filthy shrew.

Voldemort stood dumbly looking at the girl who months ago he would have considered weak, and until now firmly seated in the light ways. She looked, well, she looked beautiful. The wicked gleam in her eyes only accented how green they were, and he hated to admit it but watching her torture Bellatrix in a vicious display of power was turning him on.

“Merlin’s Beard,” Rabastan breathed.

“Not again.” All three men turned to face the young teen that had come in with them. Hermione stood watching her friend with a pained look on her face.

“Care to explain,” Rodolphus asked, hoping to prompt her before his lord had to ask.

Hermione kept her eyes glued to the scene in front of her, “She went off like this after the Ministry fiasco. After Sirius’ death and all of you left she just… kinda snapped. Destroyed half the ministry. Did more damage than the actually fight did.”

“What can we do?” Rabastan asked, watching his sister-in-law scream and writhe. He decided that she probably had it coming to her.

“We wait for her to calm down and hope that Bellatrix is still alive when it’s over.”

Voldemort frowned. He didn’t like that. Somehow he knew that once Harry came out of the trance she was in she’d feel bad about killing someone, even if it was Bellatrix. (Not that that did anything to lessen his hardening erection.) He could feel all the emotions coming through the bond. Pain and sadness were the main two. If he could feel her emotions and she could feel his maybe he could stop this by sending some calming emotions over. The dark lord took a deep breath and closed his eyes focusing on the bond and pushed calming emotions through it.

When he opened his eyes again Harry was back to normal and the tendrils of magic were receding from the body on the ground. He did not miss the grateful look in Harry’s eyes.

Chapter Text

Harry and Hermione leaned against a wall inside a spare bedroom that Narcissa and Snape had been treating Bellatrix in. Voldemort had asked her to apologize to the witch. ‘Merlin knows why he favors that insane witch,’ she thought. Said insane witch was now awake and sitting against the headboard of the bed, eyes narrowed at Harry, as her sister and the resident potion’s master talked about her condition. “Why is the Potter brat in here?” Bella screeched.

Hermione gripped Harry’s hand tight in her own. “I’m here to apologize,” Harry started as she stared at the witch defiantly, “Not for torturing you, of course, but for losing control and almost killing you if Narcissa’s diagnosis is anything to go by.” Hermione let out the breath she’d been holding and hoped that Bellatrix didn’t say anything that would set Harry off again. Bella sneered and tried to get off the bed only to have Snape push her back down. Harry rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the wall, “Well, that’s all I’ll be leaving now.”

“COME BACK! You half-blood whore!” Bella screeched and shrieked. The teen rolled her eyes and continued to the door. She wasn’t going to stick around and wait for Voldemort to Crucio Bella for disrespecting half-bloods, seeing that he was one. She reached the door, but before she could open it it was opened from the outside. ‘Speak of the devil,’ she thought as Voldemort blocked her way out.

“What is all the noise about?” he asked surveying the scene even though he looked unconcerned. Maybe it was the lack of eyebrows…?

Harry jerked her thumb back at Bella who was still shrieking , “Who do you think? Anyway I said my apology may I go.” She went to move, but the man stood firm. ‘Merlin can’t I get a break today?’ she sighed to herself, ‘Guess I’ll just have to push him.’

Bella grabbed for her wand and before anyone could stop her she whispered, “Crucio.”

Harry was about to physically remove Voldemort from the doorway, so she could get out of Bella’s room, when the spell hit her. “That fucking hurt, bitch!!” she raged as she turned and drew her wand. Four shocked faces looked back at her. “What?” she snarled angrily. Couldn’t she just go back to having her peace and quiet she’d gotten used to during her life at the manor?

“Harry,” Hermione started gently, “That was a Crucio. You shouldn’t be… well… you shouldn’t be okay.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Voldemort’s eyes widened as Granger spoke. He quickly looked down to Harry who had gone dangerously pale. She turned and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Dumbledore’ and pushed him out of the way and took off down the hallway. If he was confused the rest of the room’s occupancy was even more so, though he suspected that Bella was confused that he hadn’t Crucioed Harry for touching him.

When Granger moved to follow her friend into the hallway he stopped her, “I’ll get her,” he decided and turned on heel and walked after her. ‘I must be going soft,’ he thought, ‘The longer she stays here to harder I find it that I ever wanted to kill her. What is wrong with me? I am a Dark Lord. Dark Lord’s do NOT form emotional attachments.’

He rounded a corner and found her halfway down the hall, his long legs making it easier to catch up with her. “Potter,” he called out, but she kept on going. He sighed and went to reach out to her, but stopped last moment. Every other time that he touched her it hurt and he didn’t want to cause her pain. ‘When did I want to stop hurting her?’ he asked himself. He called out again, “Harry.”

She suddenly stopped and he almost ran into her. He could see her back visibly tensing as if she was steeling herself for the conversation. “What?” she demanded in a tone he hadn’t heard since the battle in the Department of Mysteries, it was full of defiance and hatred.

Voldemort reared back as if slapped. What had he done to deserve such a cold tone? He schooled his features, what little there were, into concern. “Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?” She asked “I just realized that I’m living with the man who killed my parents and has tried to kill me more times I can count and whose Death Eaters killed the only other family I really had. And if that wasn’t enough whenever I start to wonder why I’m here I get reminded of all the shit Dumbledore did to me. I didn’t ask for this. I never asked to be the chosen one or The-Boy-Who-Lived. All I ever wanted to be was Harry.” She hugged her arms around her middle and pulled her robe closer around her. “Do you see how fucked up my life is?”

He stared at her for a minute trying to figure out what to say. He was a dark lord for Merlin’s sake! He was not equipped to deal with emotional teenage outbursts. Before her could formulate a good response Harry spoke. “You know what? Just forget it, she turned to continue down the hallway.

“Wait!” he called, “Why does Dumbledore have to do with the Crucio.”

Harry stopped he path and turned around. “Do you remember your resurrection when I was Crucioed?” He winced and nodded. “Well I told Dumbledore and he gave me special training to make sure that I’d never be ‘caught off guard again’.” She air quoted the last couple words and then turned back to her path and walked off.

Voldemort cursed and realized that if he wanted her to be his consort he had a lot to make up for, but first he needed his looks back he’d talk to Severus about it.

Chapter Text

“That half-blood whore did something to me,” Bellatrix screeched, “No one is able to resist my Cruciatus.”

Hermione watched as the insane witch continued to rant about her best friend. Finally she’d had enough, “SHUT UP! You’re sitting here blaming everything on Harry when I have no doubt she had every right to do whatever she did to you. And you’re completely ignoring the fact that she might be hurting as well from this. Shouldn’t this ring some warning bells? Especially with you two,” She motioned to Narcissa and Snape. When the two gave her blank looks she threw her hands up in frustration and stormed out of the room.

Snape dismissed the teen’s outburst as a regular teenage tantrum and turned back to run another diagnosis on Bellatrix. That is, until Hermione stormed out of the room mumbling about Dumbledore being a ‘Meddling mother fucker’. That, he decided, was probably something he needed to look into. After all if Dumbledore had taught Potter how to resist the Cruciatus, then he might have taught it to other order members and his lord would need to know.

He followed the teen out of the room and grabbed her upper arm, “Follow me Granger.” Hermione turned and attempted to wrench his hand off her arm to no avail. Snape swept through the hallways, his robes billowing behind him, he led her into a drawing room and proceeded to push her into a chair. “Now Granger, what was that about Dumbledore being involved with Potter’s little display.”

Hermione sat up rigidly, “What do you mean he was involved with that? Of course he was involved with it and I bet you knew about it to. You’re and integral part of the order you know what Dumbledore did to her, don’t you lie to me!”

Snape glanced at her as he settled into his own chair. “Granger, despite what most people think the old coot does not trust me that much. He merely retains the appearance that we are close so no one will realize how much control he has over me.”

Hermione gave him a tired look. “In all honesty whose side are you even on? I know you hate Dumbledore, but that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t still ally yourself with the light. And please call me Hermione. Every time you call me ‘Granger’ I feel like I’m back at Hogwarts.”

He studied the teen in front of him. The tired look on her face made her look older that she actually was. He supposed that it was a side effect of living through a war, and being a key person in said war. Or maybe it was simply that she was that mature. No matter what, if she wasn’t going to act like a child then he wasn’t going to treat her like one. “I’ll make a deal with you Hermione. If you answer my original question, then I will answer yours,” he proposed.

Hermione barely thought about it, “Deal.” He nodded at her to go on. “When Harry first encountered Voldemort, not Quirrell or his first horcrux, in the graveyard he put her under the Cruciatus. When Harry told Dumbledore what had happened he decided that she would have done better if she hadn’t fallen to the Crucio, so he gave her some ‘special training’ in order to increase her resistance to it.”

“And the special training, as you so put it, was?”

Hermione bit her lip as she struggled to tell the next part, “He would put her under the Cruciatus for intervals at a time in order for her to build up immunity to them and then force her to return to classes the next day and pretend that nothing was wrong. That coupled with the blood poisoning form Umbridge’s blood quill nearly killed her.”

Snape sat stunned at the girl’s admittance. He knew the old coot was crazy (or at least her thought so) but he never realized how crazy until that point in time. If Potter had not been such and exceptional witch she would have gone insane. That being said, did he just admit that Potter was an exceptional witch?

“Your turn,” the witch in front of him prompted.

Snape leaned back in his chair, “I am on the winning side, and please call me Severus if you insist I call you Hermione.”

Hermione watched him suspiciously. “And which side would that be, Snape?” She asked, purposefully addressing him by his surname, and attempted to adopt a look of cold resoluteness.

Snape raised an eyebrow at the witch, but did not respond to the bait, “Well obviously the dark sides now since both of the key players are on the same team.”

She tilted her head back to look down her nose at him, “And before?”

He smirked as he watched her try and maintain her cold composure. She wasn’t very good at it he realized and was quite adorable to watch her attempt to mask her emotions. Wait. Did he just think adorable? Dear Merlin, no! He was a death eater, a snarky potions professor; he was the dungeon bat for Merlin’s sake. He did not think things were adorable. Especially when said adorable thing was a student of his who sat all bothered and flustered in front of him. Almost as if… No, that was not where his thoughts needed to be going.

He pulled himself out of his very inappropriate thoughts and answered, “Before it would have been a tie. It would have taken time to see which side would come out on top, but now there is no going back for Miss. Potter.”

Hermione snorted, she’d given up on trying to appear cold and indifferent upon seeing Snape’s face which had depicted amusement, “Oh, yes your lord’s recent, uh, interest in Harry.” It was Snape’s turn to display his emotions as a shocked expression leaked onto his face. She leaned back looking satisfied. “Well he isn’t being very subtle about it. He’s been calling her Harry for weeks now. Plus I’ve seen the looks he gives her and even if I hadn’t I would have known by the noticeable bulge in his pants when Harry was torturing Bellatrix. It kinda makes sense the dark lord would have a thing for torture.”

He regained his senses and schooled his features once again, “You are very perceptive, Hermione.”

“I would have thought you would have noticed by now, Snape.”

“Surely you can call me by my name, Hermione?”

Hermione huffed, “Honestly you’re just as bad as Harry when it comes to formalities. We aren’t that intimate,” she started and began to rant.

Snape admired the site in front of him. She was flushed from frustration and her passion could be seen in the magic that subtly swirled around her moving her curly hair making it seem alive, and the hair itself which seemed to curl and frizz even more as she became increasingly agitated. She looked beautiful. No. No she didn’t she looked… Oh bother. Snape stood up and stalked up to her. She was so ingrossed in her rant she didn’t notice him until he grabbed her chin and pulled it up towards his own for a kiss. It was supposed to be a chaste kiss, well actually it wasn’t supposed to happen if Snape was honest, but she had gasped in surprise and her mouth had opened and well what was he to do but plunder the hot cavern given to him.

When he finally pulled away her eyes were shut and her cheeks were flushed. “I think you can call me Severus now, yes?” he asked. She nodded dazed. He placed another single chaste kiss to her lips and left the room smirking.

Hermione sat for long while staring off into the room lazily, until her senses finally came back to her.

“Bloody Hell!”

Chapter Text

Hermione rushed out of the room looking for Hari. ‘Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it,’ she thought, ‘you’ve got more important things to do than think about why Severus bloody Snape just kissed you.’ ‘Holy Shit! Severus kissed me! Holy Shit! I’m calling him Severus. No. Stop! Wrong track. Think about Hari. We are finding Hari. And totally not thinking about how I was kissed by a man old enough to be my father! Any enjoyed it no less. Ah! There we go again!’

She was so engrossed in her own thoughts she almost passed Hari’s room and probably would have kept going if not for Hedwig’s incessant hooting inside. Hermione slapped her face a couple times to try and dislodge he current train of thought and then knocked.

“Hari? Can I come in?” she asked. There was no answer, so she tried again. No answer a second time. ‘Well, she didn’t say no so she obviously means yes,’ she though and opened the door. Hari sat with her back up against the bed on the ground, head in her hands. Hermione took her place on the floor beside her, “Hey Har-Bear.”

“Mione,” came the muffled reply.

“You wanna talk about it,” Hermione coaxed, rubbing circles on her friends back.

“Ung.”

“Was that a ‘yes’ grunt or a ‘no’ grunt?” A watery chuckle escaped Hari’s hands. “Because it usually does some good to talk about whatever’s bugging you.” Silence. “If you tell me your problems, then I’ll tell you about the weirdest thing that just happened and it will totally make you forget about yours for a little while.” Hari stuck a hand in the air and Hermione reached over and pinky promised with it.

Hari sat up and scrubbed at her eyes with her hands. “Everything’s wrong,” she proclaimed. “I can’t control my magic, I just screamed at Voldemort, and now everyone knows Dumbledore used me as a lab rat.”

“You just have more magic than others. Of course that is going to hard to control, and nothing Dumbledore said or did to you makes you any less of a person. In fact it shows everyone how strong you are. If Dumbledore had done that to anyone else they would have gone crazy and become like Bellatrix, but you adapted and was able to overcome it. That should prove to you right there that you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

“I realize that a pep talk like that would work well on anyone else, but I’m just not feeling it right now. Tell me your thing maybe it will help.”

‘Here it comes,’ thought Hermione, ‘This is going to end badly.’ “I kissed Snape.”

Silence, and then “You know if you were anyone else I would say that you made that up to cheer me up, but you’re not. What the hell were you doing kissing Snape?” Hari exclaimed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean for it to happen we were arguing and then he sorta just kissed me,” Hermione sighed.

“No, don’t get me wrong I’m not mad at you I just honestly thought you were after Rabastan! Like honestly there was soooo much chemistry there!” Hermione just shot Hari a dry look. “I mean even Rodolphus thought so. We made bets on when you guys would get together.”

“What were you and Rodolphus doing talking about my love life?”

“The same reason you talked with Snape about me and Voldemort.”

“How did you know about that?”

Hari snorted, “You think too loud.”

“Merlin Hari, and you still think that you’re not a strong witch.” Hari just shrugged. “You know I bet there is a very confused wizard who doesn’t know anything about social interaction out there right now.”

“I don’t think Voldemort would appreciate being called that.”

“Go find him.” Hari shook her head. “Go find him before he finds you , because I kinda told Snape what happened and now he’s probably going to tell Voldemort.”

Hermione waited. Hari was still for a second while it finally sunk in. “You FUCKING DID WHAT?”

“I thought that he knew!!!”

“That’s it, Hedwig, we’re leaving” the white owl looked lazily at her owner and remained on her perch.

“Even your bird knows you’ve gotta talk to him.” Hari glared at her. “And maybe even more than talk.” Hermione dodged a vase.

“He killed my parents!”

“We all know you don’t really care.”

“He still knows it though.”

“Knowing him, he probably gets off on it.”

“That is NOT the kind of relationship advice I want or need!”

“Just saying.” An inhuman groan followed.

“I mean besides his terrible personality and his current snake face you guys would make a good couple.”

“So besides his entire being?”

“Just imagine him as Tom Riddle.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Severus Snape was a man with a mission. First find his lord and help him figure out social ques. Second find Miss Granger and hopefully continue their previous interaction. Polite society may not look kindly upon their age gap, but the dark side had no such qualms. Really, they had absolutely no morals. Luckily a snake moving down the corridor provided a guide to his lord.

He followed Nagini to his lord’s study and found him staring into the fire. “My lord?” Nothing. “My lord,” he tried again this time successfully startling Voldemort out of his stupor.

“Severus,” he started “I got screamed at by Hari, and I don’t know why.” If Severus had been a lesser man he would have been laughing at the lost look in his lord’s eyes. Thankfully though, his facial expressions were trained to be monotonous at all times.

“I believe, my lord, that it is because she has remembered a very traumatic experience. Hermione has told me that the old man was not as kind to her as we were lead to believe.” Severus cursed himself for using the girl’s name. Normally he only referred to the girls by their last names. However, Voldemort was to out of it to notice.

“What? What did he do to her?”

Severus steadied himself for his lord’s reaction. “He used the Cruciatus on her until she developed immunity to it.” The onslaught of magic was enough to force him to his knees.

The suffocating magic held him in place for a while before Voldemort stalked over to him and took his chin in his hand. “Did you know of this?”

“No my lord” was barely gotten out.

The swell of magic ceased. “Come Severus, we have a visit to make.”