Their appearance at the gates of the manor was immediately noticed. Two large thick headed looking snatchers were guarding the gates and were raising their wands to them. Snape merely released the buttons on his sleeve and revealed his dark mark. The men sneered before looking to Granger. Snape said nothing simply lifting her chin with his hand. His brand appeared slowly over her neck and the brutes opened the gates.

"Pets go in the cellar. Those who bear the Dark Lord's mark are to go to the drawing room."

Snape nodded his head to the information before taking her by the arm again. One of the men grinned as they passed, his eyes running down Hermione's body. Most certainly forgetting what his duties were.

"Lucky bastard."

Snape pushed them out of his mental field and tried to keep his focus. The grounds were crawling with low-level grunts making their rounds. His choice of clothing for the girl had had the desired effect.

As he made it into the main hall he felt her steps growing slower. Her fear was becoming more paralyzing than he had anticipated. She had been tortured here. In this very house. He was sure he wouldn't have to worry about her reverting back any time soon. It helped relieve a some of the weight he'd been carrying but he couldn't let his guard down.

"Walk." She had completely stopped by the time they had turned down the hall leading to the drawing room. His command forced her to obey but he could hear screams inside her mind. He glanced down into her eyes but found no images inside. Just dislocated voices and untold screams of pain. He pursed his lips tighter, breaking the connection.

Greyback was standing near the entrance to the cellar, a proud cocky smile on his face. Apparently, he was proud to used as a sentinel. Snape didn't want to release the girl, especially not the way Greyback was licking his fangs when he looked down his nose at her.

"Nice piece of meat you got there."

"And I want all of it back, understood?"

Greyback chuckled deeply but took her into his fierce grip. Granger tried to hold onto Snape but the wolf snapped her back into his chest, making her release a breathy whine.

"Even the hairs on her chinny chin chin." The werewolf chuckled darkly at his own joke and turned down the steps. He held the girl so tight her feet barely touched the floor. Snape's heart wrenched tighter from the absolute terror in her eyes as she watched him grow smaller.

The door to the cellar slammed shut and he truly wondered if this was the last time he was to see the girl. It had been only days in her continued presence but he had grown somewhat attached. He shook his head to clear the ridiculous thought away and turned up to take the stairs to the drawing room.

"Got another one." Greyback kicked the door closed before his oversensitive nose wrinkled to the smell of the room.

A deep groan of pleasure sounded just beyond the archway that led further into the cellar and he instantly knew where the jailor had gone off to, "Couldn't keep it in your pants, huh?" The wolf chuckled as Scabior came around the archway adjusting himself.

"Just a little pre-party before the main event." He looked up after setting his belt right and grinned widely. "Hello, beautiful."

Scabior never forgot a face, it was one of his many special attributes. It made him exceptionally good at seeing through glamours too. He adjusted himself again before moving closer. He recognized her instantly, the little chit had led him on quite an interesting little chase if he remembered correctly.

"Think this one's spoken for though." Greyback looked down at the pathetic creature in his hold. Her neck looked so delicious, he was itching to take a bite.

"That's alright." Scabior grinned, running his fingers up her jaw to raise her head, "I won't leave a mark." His thumb traced the cut along her cheek and he smirked to himself. Oh, yes. She was very beautiful.

Greyback grinned and he released her. "Have fun." The large beast of a man turned and headed back towards the stairs but not before barring his teeth at some muggle children cowering in the corner in one of the cages. He relished in their terror before slipping back upstairs.

Hermione felt sick to her stomach. She knew she had to listen to what the Professor had said but he was gone now. She closed her eyes tight when the lightest of touches ran up the skin on her chest. Her body shivering from revoltion.

"Let's put you someplace a little more comfortable shall we?" Scabior ran his hand along her waist and up her back, pulling her in tight to his side. She had to be someone's slave. There was no way this girl would be so docile. He liked it when they fought but it was even better when they gave up. He couldn't smell that alluring perfume on her anymore. She smelled of another.

He led her over to the part of the cellar where the personal slaves were kept. The names of their owners hung on metal placards over their tiny cells. Like horses in a stable. Stone half-walls with thick iron bars at the top. None of those held within could be seen but he knew they were there, hiding in the corners. His eyes traveled down to the furthest one, the one that had yet to be filled.

"Snape? " Scabior chuckled, "Guess it makes sense he'd have something for school girls." Scabior looked down at the girl held tight in his hold. She kept her eyes down and her arms had wrapped tightly around her waist. He let his fingers run over the top of her knuckles gauging her reaction. When she jerked and shifted her hand away he just smirked broader. This was going to be fun.

oOo

Ron lowered the invisibility cloak down around himself. It felt odd using it alone. He felt special in a way, important. He was the chosen one now. He was the hero. He turned his eyes back up the long winding entrance path. He could do this alone. He didn't need anyone.

He was coming to save the day. His eyes turned up to the tower that held the headmaster's office. He didn't understand the riddle Gallia had told them but he knew that the best place to start looking was at the top.

If he could get the jump on Snape maybe he could get him to reveal where she was being hidden. The idea of attacking Snape didn't even remotely seem dangerous in his teenage mind. No, he was confident that with the cloak he would be able to sneak up on the bastard before he even knew he was there.

oOo

Scabior leaned back in the old wooden chair. Her cage had been mostly empty just the chair he sat in now. He'd conjured some shackles to come down from the ceiling and cushioned the bands so they wouldn't leave behind a bruise before carefully raising her arms over her head.

It provided him with the most delicious view. Her body was stretched out, her toes just barely on the floor. Her shirt and trousers had shifted in opposite directions, teasing him with a little slip of pale flesh. It was calling out to him. Begging for his touch.

He could stare at her for hours. The tears rolling down her face was the perfect little touch. He wasn't even bothered by the fact that she couldn't make a sound. Her breathy whines and hiccups were enough for him.

He pushed himself up from the chair and slowly came around behind her. Raising his hands up, he dragged them slowly down her arms and along her sides. He pressed his cheek into the back of her shoulders while making a point to press his hips into her rather firm behind.

One hand pulled away from her waist to pull her hair aside while the other, dipped beneath her shirt slowly feeling its way across her fluttering stomach. He grinned when she stepped back away from his hand and into something else much more pleasurable. He knew he'd trapped her and no matter which way she struggled he was going to benefit from it.

oOo

Ron looked out from the edge of the courtyard. The dementors meant to be watching over the grounds were further off, near the Quidditch pitch for some reason. Ron didn't take time to question it. His heart was pounding. He could do this. He could be the hero.

oOo

Scabior was just getting a good rhythm against her still clothed backside when he heard the heavy door at the entrance starting to unlock. He growled and forced himself to release her breast, slipping his hands from beneath her trousers and shirt.

He had been wonderfully surprised to find that she hadn't been wearing anything under her shirt. How could he have resisted? Her skin was so soft, so firm in all the right places. He took a deep inhale near her ear. Her fear smelled so good.

The creak of the heavy door spurred him on. "Until next time, beautiful." He licked his fingers luidly and pushed himself away. Banishing the shackles from around her wrists, he didn't even pause when she crumbled like a house of cards. Merely turning and closing the door behind him, hiding his crime.

"Another?"

"No, the party is beginning. They want us to bring the muggles upstairs." Greyback was nearly salivating at the bloodbath that was about to ensue.

"Wormtail has watch duty over the branded."

Scabior snorted and adjusted himself again, "Fine, where is he anyway?"

"He's going to come down once we've got the lot upstairs."

"Right, let's get on with it then."

Hermione curled herself into the smallest ball she could make. He hadn't removed a single article of clothing but she still felt incredibly dirty. The screams and cries of those outside her cell were deafening. Children screaming, mother's pleading. It made everything she'd just experienced feel like a walk in the park.

Her hands curled tight around her head as she tried to shut everything out. There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. Her entire body tightened like a wound spring, the blood rushing through her ears dampening the horrific sounds around her.

oOo

Ron swallowed thickly as he crept up the main entrance steps. His adrenaline was keeping him moving. There wasn't a soul around. The grounds had been eerily quiet. It felt dangerous, extremely dangerous. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was happening. Something was wrong.

He silenced his steps and slipped through the small door beside the main entrance. The inner hall was just as quiet, just as eerie. The castle had always felt alive when he'd been there for classes. Now, there was a sort of depressive air to everything.

He turned away down the main hall that would lead him towards the headmaster's tower. He couldn't wait to see her face when he rescued her. She would be so grateful, so happy to see him. She'd probably yell at him for taking so long. He smiled woefully to that thought.

oOo

"Now marks a new era. It is time my brothers and sisters to cleanse the world and come forth as the master race we are. All those who stand in our way will tremble before us!"

A loud chorus of shouts of affirmation made the room shake with their power. Snape looked down from the table over the room. He was one of the 'honored' to be allowed to sit at the Dark Lord's back.

"Enjoy yourselves tonight my brothers and sisters. For the day of our rise is coming soon!"

Snape felt the air in the room shift as those new and old started to mix together. His jaw twitched when Bellatrix slithered her way down from the table to attach herself to the madman's hip.

He took note that there were a few more slaves moving about the crowd then he originally believed existed. They moved in an out like house-elves offering drinks and food.

It was surreal. Like an old-time mixer. He didn't fall for any of it. He knew it was all a show for the younger recruits that had taken the mark. He knew them all, not just seventh year Slytherins, but Ravenclaws and even a Gryffindor sixth year. All too young to fully comprehend what they were signing up for.

He knew the darker activities were going to begin in the east wing. He had noticed that Bellatrix was nearly vibrating with excitement as she followed beside Voldemort.

He made a point of blending into the crowd before he slipped out of the main ballroom. The private meeting that had been in the drawing room had been insightful. He now knew for certain that Voldemort was planning on making Bellatrix the bearer of his heir and that he was now in possession of the elder wand.

Snape slipped from the hall without attracting any attention but the screams that were going on just behind the drawing room door were enough to chill him to the core. He forced himself to turn away, towards the cellar. Scabior and Greyback had looked well over pleased with themselves when they had slipped into the back of the room. It made his stomach turn with the possibilities of what he would find.

Wormtail grinned and lowered his head down as Snape stepped through the door, "Severus, a pleasure to see you."

Snape's eyes snapped down to the man and had to resist the urge not to kill him on sight. Two toddlers, barely over the age of 3 laid inside a cage the rodent was standing in. They appeared to have been twins. A boy and a girl. Deep honey blond hair and wide blue eyes. He held one up by the ankle as though it was nothing more than a slaughtered animal. He knew they'd been long dead.

"Where is she?"

"Just around the corner. Last stall, it's got your name on it." Wormtail grinned watching him closely. "Lucius has given you a room on the third floor, said you may want the privacy."

Snape kept the snarl off his lips turning his focus down over each of the stalls. He noted that all but the very last door were open. He noted the plaque above the door holding his name.

He looked through the door unsurprised to find her curled up into a ball in the center of the room. Her body was shaking with deep sobs that made her chest rattle. She had her arms completely wrapped around her head no doubt trying to keep the screams that drifted from above from reaching her ears.

His heart broke right then. He felt the coldness that he'd held so tightly shatter into a thousand pieces. It hurt to watch her. It hurt to see her that way. He couldn't explain it. He didn't even try. He just knew he had to get her out of there and someplace quiet.

War was never meant for children.

He unlocked the door and approached her cautiously. Kneeling down beside her, he very lightly touched her arm. She let out a small noise and curled herself up even tighter. Her fingers clawed into her hair pulling it out of place.

"Shh... I'm here now..." He kept his voice low, not wanting his kindness to be overheard. He wrapped his arm under her the best he could before pulling her up. He pried her fingers from her hair and wrapped her arms around his neck. She held on with surprising force hiding her face into his collar. Her tears ran rivers down his neck but he didn't think anything of it. He pulled her curled legs up next wrapping his arm tightly around her back.

His hand moved from her waist to her head when he stood. Her arms held her upper body up sufficiently and he didn't want her to see anything they were about to pass.

He kept his eyes straight ahead trying to ignore the sound of bodies being piled up. The noise overhead was growing and he didn't want to be anywhere near there.

He made his way up the stairs quickly and paid no one lingering in the halls any mind. He knew exactly what room Malfoy had 'offered' to him and headed straight for it. He noticed a few guards standing in the hall and frowned.

Security was tighter than he thought it would have been. He kept his glare in place as he passed by. He watched two of the newer recruits taking to their hormonal desires. They didn't even pay him any attention when they brushed past.

A rather seedy looking snatcher grinned when they approached and he lowered his head, silently unlocking the door for him. Snape stepped into the room, his shoulders so tight that they actually hurt. When the door shut behind him he cast his own wards to keep them safe. A silencing spell and anti-evesdropping wards instantly made him feel loads better. Her hold on him had only grown tighter and his shirt was soaked through to his skin beneath.

"It's alright..." His voice was soft against her ear but his words only made her hold on tighter. He pursed his lips and walked over to the bed sitting down on the edge. He rested her in his lap, pulling his arm from beneath her knees and shifted it up to pull back the hair that was hiding her face.

"Look at me..." He tilted his head down so that she could obey his command. Her eyes were completely bloodshot and it looked like she'd reopened the cut on her cheek. His hand raised up, cupping her cheek in his palm.

He brushed away a large tear with his thumb. He wanted to tell her it was all going to be okay. That all of this was just some twisted nightmare. Even she would never believe him.

His eyes were soft, softer than she had ever seen. His voice too, was so kind and gentle. His breath smelled sweet, like grapes. She felt like she could fall down forever into his dark eyes.

Why had he left her alone? She didn't want to be alone. She couldn't get the screaming out of her head. The crying children. The dreadful screams of a mother losing her child.

Snape could hear it all, he didn't know what to do to help her. He couldn't think beyond the deafening sound himself. His hand shifted and pulled her head back down under his chin. Could he obliviate her in this state? What would that do to her other half?

He couldn't risk it. He needed to calm her down another way. His hand moved into her hair and he started moving his fingers in small circles. Her trembling had slowed just from being in the quiet of the room. His gentle massage was doing its job well enough and he was starting to feel her arms slowly pulling away from his neck.

His chest relaxed as she did, he could feel her mind going quiet. He wanted to take her back but he knew that wasn't an option. The night was young and he was sure to be expected later. He swallowed down the lump growing in his throat.

They couldn't leave this room as they had arrived. He needed to think. Snape closed his eyes and rested his chin on her head. He'd never admit to it but her warmth, her body, pressed against his brought him a comfort he hadn't felt in many, many years.

oOo

"I'm so glad you were able to find me..." Harry crouched down low beside a large statue beside the great hall doors.

He had been turned around in the forest. He hadn't known which way was safe to go only that he had to move away from where he'd been taken. He's circled the area many times expecting Ron to have come as well. When he hadn't he had started to panic.

Luna had found him having a small break down in the base of a hollowed out tree. He had been so excited to see her he'd almost crushed her in his hug. She had helped him become focused again before telling him what Ron had done.

Now they were both following the presumed trail Ron had taken. Both he and Luna had believed they solved the seers' riddle and had planned to head to the headmaster's office. Luna said she knew of a shortcut and Harry believed her wholeheartedly.