Snape had warded his office top to bottom. The door that led to the secret tunnel was now completely sealed off. It would cause him a slight inconvenience but it would secure his safety.

He'd turned into his rooms then, warding the door possibly stronger than Gringotts and made his way towards the fireplace. He rounded the edge of the chair with trepidation. She was just as he had left her, though her tears had long dried.

He took a slow breath coming to sit on the ottoman that'd he'd placed in front of her to make himself level with her slumped form. Her breathing was shallow again. The right side rising higher than the left. He couldn't feel her at all. Her presence was like a void to his heightened senses. He still had time.

He pressed his wand carefully to her side and whispered another numbing spell. He couldn't give her any potions for at least 12 hours. The numbing was temporary but it would help keep her comfortable. He needed her as relaxed as possible when he entered her mind.

Even with nothing left, the barrier between was strong. Years, of repressed feelings, had made it so. He needed a doorway. Something he could use to enter her conscious without fully bringing her around. He wanted to place the removed memories into their proper place before the window closed. Though he had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be possible.

His first priority had been completed, making a bridge between the two halves. He'd keyed it to a phrase that he was sure was so obscure it would never accidentally be spoken. He still needed to test it but a cursory glance into the space inside had given him hope that it had held firm.

"Legilimens." The world spun away into deep fathomless darkness. Nothing but oppressive silence filled the void he had created. He pushed himself further, pressing himself against the wall that kept the two halves apart. It was there he whispered his lie.

You do not fear me.

There was a small flash. A bright light, he could feel her true-self reaching out towards his voice. The window was closing, the wall was coming down.

You trust me, completely.

Just a little more. Snape gritted his teeth pressing in harder.

You are mine.

No...

Another small spark. He could feel her resistance to his words but his time to control her deepest inner thoughts was over. He had to replace the time she'd lost or there would be even worse consequence waiting for him. He pulled back just enough to call for the memories he had taken, once more creating the spinning cinemagraph around her head.

With skill, only he could manage, he pulled his wand away from her temple and called forth the first of many memories. When the wall came crashing down it was like a circus of chaos. His own will was wavering as she struggled to take control. She was strong. Her will, almost unbreakable.

Snape pressed the first in as quickly as he could before she fully regained consciousness. He could already feel her hands twitching against his stomach. He was so close he could smell her breath on his lips.

The mind didn't think linearly but it did have a concept of time. He searched through looking for the void that memory would have left behind. It was like pressing against a water. The more he pressed the harder she pushed. The memory fell into place and when it did the pressure against him relaxed. She had accepted the memory.

On and on he went, the more he replaced the less she struggled. He had to take hold of her jaw to keep her still about halfway through. She was fully aware now. Her head jerked when he'd replaced the memory of them in Malfoy's room. Tears rolled down his fingers but he held her firm. She wanted to see, he knew, but it was a lot to take in at once.

When the last came free from the band, he believed it would be the most distressing of them all. Her kiss, his commands. All the emotions that were tied to the memories had created a most confusing and complex array. Like two sides of a coin, they turned end over end. She struggled to make sense of any of it.

He pulled back slowly, releasing the spell. His head throbbed from the effort he had put forth and he would imagine hers hurt three times as much. He hadn't any strength left in him and slumped forward head down, hands between his knees. His only focus was on breathing and to try and bring some control back over his own thoughts. He'd relived her word, twice now, yet he still could not understand her.

Hermione closed her eyes tight. The room was spinning and everything hurt. It felt like nothing she had ever felt like before. So many questions, not nearly enough answers. The voids of time had been filled but only pain filled her heart. She was strong, but he...he was so much stronger. Everything he had done, everything he had gone through. It was all for her. For her safety. She would never have believed it, even now with the evidence inside her, it was hard to understand. Why... Why would he do any of this? Why would risk himself so completely for another? Someone like her?

Her eyes opened slowly. He looked so broken. He looked, human. That was the last thought before darkness took over her world. Her body could take no more. The pulsing between her temples flared and her eyes fell closed again.

Snape lifted his head, as hers fell down. He had done it. It was time to rest. With what was left of his will, he raised himself to his feet and reached forward. Her body curled heavily into his hold. She was unconscious but she was with him.

His feet dragged as he carried her towards the closet. His arms trembled with her meager weight. His knee buckled when he made to put her on the bed. A sharp hiss passed his lips when the joint popped. He laid her down a bit heavier than intended but she didn't seem to notice. He pulled her up on the pillow he'd made to help her breathe before pulling the blanket haphazardly up over her form.

He wasn't going to make it to his own rooms. That much was certain. He lowered down beside the bed with a heavy sigh. He would just take a moment, collect himself.

oOOo

Cold, everything was cold and numb. A whooping snap and a sharp hiss assaulted Hermione's ears. The world around her was slowly coming into focus. She was laying down on a floor, cold and hard. The air was thick and burned her nose. There was a heavy weight pressing into her side preventing her from taking a full breath.

"I never considered you to be a fool, Severus."

Another crack, a tingle in the air. Her eyes opened just enough to bring the floor into focus. She could just barely make out black clothed knees a few meters in front of her. Long sweeping robes crossed over her vision and a new cold washed over her.

"Have I not given you all that you desired? All that you deserved?"

The robes made a small circle and Hermione slowly rose her eyes to the bent man at their feet. Her breath shuddered in her chest when the weight along her side shifted.

"You have My Lord. You have been most gracious."

She knew that voice well. Her entire being stilled and her heart thudded heavily. She forced herself not to move, not to scream. Her body shivered with the fear that the witch brought with her.

"I should think my kindness has not been enough for you." Another high arching spell whipped down from on high. Hermione winced when the blow made a hollow sound against his back. The whip held no flame, but the pain it inflicted was evident on Snape's face.

Another, faster, harder. The man she had come to know held strong against the onslaught. His knuckles white, his teeth bared as he took each one with silence.

"Stop it..."

Another crack echoed through the room, drowning out her whispered plea. There was a shift over her waist and she felt a sharp heel of a boot pressing into her rib.

"Stop it...!" Her words came out at the fall of the echo and everything thing in the room went deathly still. Her world turned when the pressure that had been keeping her in place shifted her from her side to her back. Her eyes were wide, but her mind remained firm.

"Oh, My Lord."

Bellatrix's smooth crawling voice rose bile in Hermione's throat. She turned her head away from the insanity looking down over her and towards the man who had come to brace himself on his hands and knees. His breathing was heavy, she could see him through his curtain of sweat-matted hair. He was just as terrified as she at what she'd done.

"I think she wants to take her Master's place. My Lord." Bellatrix grinned darkly.

Voldemort slowly tucked his wand into his sleeve. A smile just as evil slipping over his serpentine face. He approached her slowly, his eyes dangerous slits. She forced herself to look away, her eyes closing tight.

"I suppose...it would do well to complete the lesson."

Snape pushed himself back onto his feet as best he could. His voice was tight as he attempted to spare her idiocy. "My lord, I've just healed her...I... I've made progress into her mind...I.."

"Silence!"

The spell that hit him sent him back a few steps into one of the large decorative columns. His heart raced through his entire body. She hadn't reverted. He'd removed that trigger when he'd been inside her mind. Replaced it with his own. If she were to look directly at Voldemort, their fates were sealed.

"I think it's time to teach your little pet, just who is the Master of all." Voldemort swept back towards the center of the room. He conjured a large stone pillar with two steel shackles at the sides where Snape had just been before. A wave of his fingers spurred Bellatrix into action. She reached down taking a fist full of the girl's hair and wrenched her up onto her uncoordinated feet.

Hermione did her best to try and stand but her body was still weakened. The pain from the hold was surely nothing compared to what awaited her. She tried to look at him, tried to see what was going through his mind but she couldn't see.

She whimpered when her face was shoved into the coarse stone, the surface of which reopening the cut along her cheek that was still in the process of healing. It burned as the scab was pulled away. She did her best not to resist. Something inside of her told her it would be better for her in the long run. When the heavy shackles closed around her wrists she felt an undeniable helplessness sweeping over her.

Snape could do nothing but watch with barbed wire wrapping tightly around his heart as she was placed around the pillar. Her arms were up by her head, halfway around keeping her up on her trembling knees. She hadn't resisted, something he found little relief in. Her knees slid from the fabric of her slacks on the stone floor, forcing her to stretch out further. Bellatrix took little care when she took hold of the end of her hair. She severed it just above her shoulders before tossing the strands to the side. Another flick of her wand removed all layers between her back and the dangerous air crackling around them.

Hermione could see nothing but the skin on her arm. Tears had already started to well in her eyes. Still, she held strong. She felt a small hand running down her spine. She couldn't help but press away from it into the razor-like stone in front of her. Her already irritated skin was surely going to be torn to shreds if she struggled.

"Count for me, Bella."

Hermione could hear the soft whispers of Voldemort's robes as he came behind her. Her hands opened and closed, trying to keep the tingling from becoming too painful. The first crack of braided leather against her back wasn't as harsh as she had anticipated. It came from the side she was faced away from, wrapping around her lower back. It burned but it hadn't cut the skin. Her body pressed reflexively into the stone only making the feeling last.

"One."

Snape could do nothing but watch the smooth expanse of her flawless skin turn red. Each blow centered precisely over the last bringing new pain to the one before it. She stayed silent through the first set of five. Only crying out when the last had torn her reddened skin.

Hermione could hardly think through the pain. It felt as though it was all around her, flooding her ears and drowning out all sound but the whooping crack it made along the stone. When he'd landed a blow on the scar over her rib she had been unable to take a breath. A harsh choking noise catching in her throat.

"Seven." Bellatrix was beside herself with glee. The filthy blood inside the creature before her was starting to run down freely now. She licked her lips watching as the next lash opened the gash between her shoulder blades even further. A metallic smell filled the air, bringing her further pleasure.

"Nine."

Whoosh crack.

"Ten."

Whoosh crack. A small cry.

"Eleven." Bellatrix was bouncing on her toes now. Just a little more. She wanted to hear the filthy mudblood scream.

"Twelve."

Hermione could hardly bring enough air into her lungs to cry out. Everything was on fire. Her front was sticky with the blood that had been grated from her flesh. Her back felt like a river of molten lava was pouring down it.

Her head lowered down further when a fresh stripe was made over the tops of her shoulders. The pain that was mind-numbingly painful reared up again. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction of her scream. She bit her cheek hard enough to draw blood. She wouldn't do it.

"Fifteen." Bellatrix was vibrating with need. She wanted so desperately to hear the girl scream. She wanted to curse her, to make it so. Her eyes snapped to Voldemort as he banished away the whip. Surely he wasn't done. She needed more. "Please..." Her voice was nothing more than a wanton pant. She pressed her body into his side whispering something into his ear.

Snape knew as soon as Voldemort turned his head what he wanted him to do. He was breathing nearly as hard as she was. His face was stone cold but everything inside him ached with the restraint. Every muscle had wound tight with each lash. His own beating hadn't been as severe, his coat has protected him. He was sure his beating had been a mere reminder and not an actual desire to harm him as before. That he wasn't completely blamed for letting Potter into the castle.

"I don't like odd numbers, Severus..."

His chest was rising and falling heavily, there was no way to hide it from them. He hoped that it would look like desire, but he wasn't sure he was insane enough to pull it off. Thankfully, Bellatrix was occupying most of the serpent man's attentions.

He pulled his wand from his sleeve as slowly as he could. He didn't want to, of all the things that had been asked of him. He had just gotten her right, he'd just healed what had been broken. He could have let her go, helped her escape.

The silence over the room felt infinitely louder than it was. Hermione was sure that her torture had come to an end and had just barely adjusted her head over the ridge of her arm. She could see him, just beyond the thick tresses of her mangled curls. Her eyes lowered to the wand he was turning slowly in his palm. Her eyes looked at him as he came closer, she understood. Could he do it? Could she trust him to do it?

Snape took his 'Master's' place. His eyes turning down to the lines in the stone floor that were steadily turning red. Where could he possibly strike her? At least 6 large gashes had already been made. All in the same direction, from the top of her neck down to her hip. Large, deep, red gashes. His eyes turned to hers— he could see her watching him. His brow twitched when she closed her eyes. Had she...had she given him her permission?

"What are you waiting for? Do it!"

Bellatrix's shrill voice caused both of them to jerk. Severus turned his eyes down, not wanting to reveal his confliction. Even he, could not hide the pain that was falling over his features. He raised his arm high, the tip of his wand expanding out. The bullwhip smacked heavily on the ground as he pulled it back. It felt as though it weighed a thousand tons.

The smack of leather as it wrapped around her side and into the pillar was nearly deafening. She jumped and pressed herself even further into the stone. He'd hit a bare spot, but most of the force had been absorbed when it wrapped around the stone.

"Sixteen." Voldemort took over counting, turning his head away to whisper something into Bellatrix's ear.

"Seventeen."

Snape had missed her back that time, hitting the top of her clothed thigh making her cry out weakly. Her leg jerked tighter around the pillar and he took a moment to line himself back up.

"Eighteen."

Hermione was starting to shake now. Why couldn't she pass out? Had he done something to her? Another sharp cry passed her lips and she pressed her face tighter into her arm. How much more could they want?!

"Nineteen."

His hand rose one last time, his eyes meeting hers. She gave him the most imperceivable nod, before closing her eyes tight. Why was she doing this? Why wasn't she screaming? Had he messed something inside her mind? Had he rewired her irrevocably? It was then he realized, she trusted him, completely.

"Twenty. Well done, Severus." Voldemort came close to his ear to whisper his words, Bellatrix was tucked onto his arm nearly gyrating her body against him, "Clean up your mess and get out of my sight."

"Yes...My Lord." He kept his head down, waiting for the door to the room to slam shut before letting out a shaky breath. He was shaking. More than he'd ever shaken before in his life. "Miss...Granger?"

Hermione slowly and jerkingly raised her head, "H-Her-Hermione..."

Snape shook his head not understanding. His legs took a rather long time to respond, when they did, he found himself knelt down beside her. His eyes were glistening with tears that hadn't been shed, "What...?"

"Hermione..." Her body shook terribly, "My...name..."

Why on earth was she telling him this now? He shook his head, nothing made sense anymore. For once in his life, he was truly and completely at a loss. His hands started moving on their own, slowly unbuttoning his coat. He had no idea where Bellatrix had banished her clothes, but she had more than suffered enough for one night.

He slipped it from his shoulders and very hesitantly brought it up to her own. He winced when she did and cast a new numbing spell to help ease the pain. It wasn't full proof but hopefully it would dull it enough for him to get her back to Hogwarts.

He slowly waved his hand releasing her cut wrist from the pillar. He gently guided it down inside the sleeve before letting it rest alongside her trembling leg. After which, he reached up to push aside the hair that was matted to her cheek. Her skin was rough and lightly bleeding in places as if she'd scrubbed herself with a pumice stone.

When his fingers brushed along her neck, a soft black smoke rose up from underneath. His eyes went wide as he watched the faded grey letter of her servitude disappear before his eyes.

******

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