Chapter Text
Chapter 1
A fire was crackling in the fireplace of the drawing room of Malfoy Manor. The soft orange light of the fire along with the flickering lights of a few candles was the only thing to keep the deep shadows in the corners at bay.
Lucius Malfoy slouched in a large leather armchair. He nursed a glass of whiskey in one hand. The amber coloured liquid vibrated in time with the finger that tapped the side of the glass as he gazed in the direction of the large double door on the opposite side of the room. He had thought that inviting Severus Snape to stay in the manor for the week would ensure that he would enjoy his nightcap along with some pretence of intellectual conversation. One where they spared and jabbed at one another, conversations that turned into an endeavour to conquer the arguments presented by the other, no matter the original standpoint on the topic at hand. If not that, he had at least hoped for company. However, the man had disappeared into the corridors of the vast manor after dinner with a statement that he would join Lucius in the drawing room shortly. Lucius glanced up at the grand clock above the fireplace and gritted his teeth, that had been over two hours ago. He could appreciate the fact that Severus was comfortable enough in his home to do what he pleased, but he would have hoped that what pleased him was to keep his host company over a glass or two.
It had become a tradition of sorts, every summer when Narcissa and Draco left England to spend the holiday in one of the Malfoy estates in the south of France, Lucius would invite his old friend over to spend a week or two in the Manor with him. They had developed a social jig over the years which involved an invitation, snarky comments of better things to do, promises of good food, better whiskey and free use of the laboratory and whatever grew in the gardens. This time had been different though, the biting comments had been more deliberate and it had taken a lot more convincing than usual. Severus had, as Lucius knew he would, eventually accepted the invitation, however, for the duration of his stay he had so far been… evasive.
Severus refused to speak of the events that had occurred at the end of the school year, and Lucius knowing it would be futile had not pressed him. Something major must have happened though, something major had happened, Sirius Black had escaped hadn’t he. Lucius' finger circled one of the buttons of the armrest, his brows furrowed as he contemplated that thought. Black a follower of the Dark Lord? It had never seemed fitting - he had known Black as a child, had seen him and his gang strut around Hogwarts, how they dangled Severus in the air along with whoever else grabbed their attention at a particular moment, but murdering muggles? No, that didn’t fit. And if he had been guilty of that crime, why had Dumbledore let him off the hook? What was the old man up to?
Then there was the matter off - he almost glanced down at his left forearm but stopped himself, as if that would somehow make it less real. No, he was not going down that path again - it was nothing, just a disturbing figment of his imagination, a phantom tingling if you will.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let it out to the count of five. He folded the disturbing thought in on itself and hid it in the back of his mind where it would not bother him more this evening. Relaxing his jaw he brought the glass to his mouth and took a sip, he twirled the liquid around his tongue and savoured the richness of the fine liquor.
The fire roared to life in a bright emerald-green flame that chased away the shadows. He lunged to his feet, choking as the whiskey went down the wrong pipe. He coughed and sputtered against the burning in his throat and instinctively raised his arm to shield his eyes.
The fire dimmed as fast as it had sprung to life and the room was yet again plunged into darkness, he blinked rapidly against the bright spots that floated behind his eyelids. Something had come through the floo network… It was now lying on the floor in front of his fireplace. He could hear it making small pathetic noises, like a wounded animal. Lucius was no stranger to death threats and the odd attempt on his life. However, he had to admit, no one had ever tried to kill him by throwing a beast through the floo before.
Not taking his eyes off the silhouetted shape on the floor he placed the glass down on the coffee table, the low thud of glass against wood echoing in the surrounding silence. He stretched out his arm and silently summoned his walking stick, it obediently came soaring into his hand and he clasped it in a white knuckled grip. Sliding the wand out from its sheath he left the walking sick behind and stepped around the armchair. Moving slowly he watched for any sign of movement or reaction between one step and the next as he gradually closed the distance between himself and the creature on the floor.
He tightened the grip around his wand and cast a silent Lumos, the bright light contrasting sharply to the surrounding darkness. The creature on the floor was a young woman given her slender build and long messy hair. His stomach turned uncomfortably as he took in her bloodied face, one eye swollen shut, the other barely visible. Her lips were cracked and there seemed to be something disturbing with the way she held her jaw. His nose wrinkled at the sweet iron smell of blood and he saw that she cradled a knife stuck in her lower abdomen. The blood pumped from the wound, thick and as dark as the Merlot he had with his dinner. It dripped into a growing pool on the stone floor beneath her, he clenched his jaw and swallowed hard as his stomach threatened to overturn completely. For a moment it seemed time stood still, he stared at the pool of blood glistening in the firelight and listened to the girl's whimper… he blinked once, twice and threw himself onto his knees, tossing his wand to the side.
“Severus!” he roared and swatted her hands away to replace them with his own. He instinctively tried to contain the blood flow. The girl seemed to be conscious, if only barely so. He looked up at her face, her lips moved wordlessly, the one visible eye searched for something to hold on to and landed on him.
“Severus!” he shouted again, his heart had climbed from his chest and settled somewhere in the base of his throat and threatened to choke him, “Damn him. Diddy!”
With a low crack his house elf appeared beside him, “Yes Mast-,” her big eyes grew huge and her ears stiffened to sharp points as she took in the sight of the girl.
“Get Severus here now! Tell him I need medical assistance. Quickly!” She instantly disappeared with another small crack. The girl looked at him with that swollen and watering eye, he didn't know what to do, what the hell was he supposed to do? His hands now covered in blood slipped and she let out a moan that made him want to rip out his own heart, he looked back to his hands again intent to keep them steady, she would not have to suffer further because of his clumsiness. He had healed small cuts and even had to fix Dracos’ broken nose once but this was beyond him, she needed Severus, and she needed him now. Lucius heard every tick of the clock on the mantelpiece above them, it beat against his ear drums and every tick marked the passage of a lifetime.
“What happened?” Severus drawled as he sauntered into the room. His feet were bare, his white shirt untucked with the first few buttons undone and he was carrying a small box in the crook of his arm. His steps faltered.
“What. Happened?” he asked again as he closed the distance in a few long strides and crouched down next to Lucius. “Who is this?”
“I don’t know, she… fell out of the floo.”
Severus' raised his eyebrows but didn’t respond and didn’t waste any time, a sweep of his wand lit every light in the room and Lucius squinted against the unforgiving brightness. He heard the clinking sound of glass against glass as Severus rummaged through the box he had brought with him. He stared down at his blood covered hands, it was not the same colour as his wine after all… in the new light it was a bright vibrant red, like the colour of his roses that lined the path to greenhouses. Narcissa had wanted them cut down one summer when Draco was four, he had fallen into the bushes and a thorn had nearly taken his eye out. Lucius had refused, naturally, they were as much part of the estate as he himself -
“Lucius!”
“What?” he snapped his eyes to Severus who supported the girl's head in one hand and had a vial pressed to her lips, she coughed and sputtered but Severus relentlessly tilted the vial further back.
“I said, press down harder.” Lucius did and winced at the responding cry erupting from the girl.
Severus lay her head down on a white embroidered sofa cushion Lucius had not noticed he had summoned, then moved over to Lucius and adjusted his hands slightly to get a better view of the wound. The furrow in his brow deepened as he raised his wand and circled it above the knife. He muttered a series of incantations, some of which Lucius was sure he had never heard of before.
“The knife is cursed, I need you to switch places with me.” Severus moved shoulder to shoulder with Lucius and placed one hand, fingers spread round the knife, intending to replace Lucius' two hands with one of his own while holding his wand in the other. The sound of the girl’s painful moans cut through Lucius when Severus placed his hand on top of his.
“When I say, remove your hands and stay by her head. Keep her conscious and get a blood replenisher in her,” - he turned his head and gave Lucius a hard look, - “force it down her throat if you need to.”
“Yes, sir.” Lucius answered through gritted teeth. Lucius felt more than saw Severus shake his head at him.
“Now.” Severus said clipped, Lucius removed his hands while Severus pressed his downwards keeping blade of the knife between his index and middle finger. Blood oozed forth and the girl cried out as Severus pressed down harder. He circled the wound with his wand again and hummed a half sung chant.
Lucius shuffled over the floor and placed himself next to the girl's head, he dug into the box filled with enough potions to stock an infirmary but seemingly not the only one he needed. There! He snatched it out of the box and turned back to the girl. He supported the girl's head in the palm of his hand and uncorked the vial with his teeth and brought it to her lips.
“Good girl - ” he murmured as she parted her cracked and swollen lips, “- everything is going to be alright. You're safe here.” - he continued as her throat and jaw struggled to swallow. - “there we go, just a little more now.” - He tilted the vial again and searched her face for any trigger of recognition. She was younger than his initial assessment, a child, not much older than Draco. Her eyes were brown… but that was the only defining feature she had left, that and her wild mane of hair. Hot irons poked his insides at the ruthlessness required to turn a child's face into an unrecognisable mess of blood and shattered bones.
He glanced down to where Severus was slowly removing the knife from her abdomen, he wondered at how the girl managed to stay so still and barely make any sounds through that procedure. He felt her shift slightly and moved his eyes back to her face, she was staring at his hair that fell across his face. She lifted an arm and her small bloodied hand reached for him, taking a strand of his hair between her fingers and twirled it softly between them, he held his breath, knowing this moment would follow him for the rest of his life. Then her hand dropped and her eye rolled back into her head, her whole body grew limp.
“Fuck… Severus?” he stupidly waved his free hand around her head, not daring to shake her awake or even touch her given the extent of her injuries.
“Slap her,”
“Are you insane?”
“I need two more minutes, slap her awake if you need to.”
“Miss, I need you to wake up,” Lucius said and tapped her cheek lightly with his hand. He heard Severus scoff, so he gritted his teeth and slapped her. To his relief she woke, but the agonising sound she made when she did almost made him wish she hadn't.
He tried to keep her still when weak shudders ran through her or when her body jerked from the pain inflicted by the knife slowly being withdrawn from her. He muttered nonsense to her and caressed her hair in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.
“Dittany. Top corner to the left -” Severus said as he carefully removed the last centimetre of the knife and tossed it to the side, making it skid across the stone floor, “ - empty that vial on her wound” he said as he shifted up towards her face.
Lucius summoned a pillow and carefully lowered the girl's head down on it before he dug into the box for the dittany. He switched places with Severus again and emptied the vial of dittany over the now semi-closed wound in her belly. It sizzled and the smoke that rose from it reminded him too much of burnt steak.
“Can you do something about the scar? It’s quite ugly.” It really was hideous; long, broad, lumpy and discoloured.
He stopped scrutinising the ugly wound when he heard the girl cough from something Severus was trying to force down her throat. She had managed to raise a hand and held on to Severus' wrist, her one eye seemed unable to focus on anything and threatened to close at any moment. Severus furrowed brows threatened to completely envelop his eyes as he stared intently on the girl's face, perhaps really looking at her for the first time.
“It can’t be…” he muttered, letting his eyes roam over her face and gently holding her chin between his fingers.
“Miss Granger?” - Her head lolled and she hummed softly but offered no other response. - “Hermione?” He called to her, tapping her on her forehead with his fingers. She seemed to respond to the name by weakly turning her head in Severus' direction. Hermione Granger? Where had he heard that name before?
Severus sighed and reached for yet another potion, “I need you to drink this” he said softly and brought it to her mouth. She reached up and grabbed his wrist again, Lucius couldn’t say if she was asking for support or trying to prevent him from simply pouring the liquid down her throat and choking her.
“Don't do that,” Severus told her when she tried to turn her face away and push feebly at his wrist, “Miss Granger, do as I say. Drink it.” She was barely conscious but something in Severus command seemed to strike a chord and she turned towards him again.
“What did you give her?” Lucius asked curiously.
“More blood replenishes,” he answered while examining her face, prodding her lightly with the tips of his fingers. “Don’t try to speak, your jaw is broken,” he told her as her lips began to move.
“Shouldn't she get something for the pain?” If he sounded accusatory he hoped Severus would put it down to exhaustion.
The look on Severus' face told him that there might have been a hint of accusation in his tone after all and that Severus would have none of it. “I would love to educate you regarding the cross-effects between potions. However, right now we need to move her. Her condition is no longer critical but she still needs a lot of healing, and I refuse to keep working while kneeling on your floor.”
Lucius let out a relieved mirthless chuckle and leaned back on his haunches “Knees bothering you?” He grabbed his wand and got up as his friend responded with a low “hmpf”, his own knees protesting slightly as he stood, but he’d never let Severus know that.
He walked back to the coffee table, grabbed the glass he had left behind and chugged the contents before transfiguring the coffee table into something resembling a workbench.
Severus followed him, levitating the girl, no; Hermione, in front of him and gently put her down on the transfigured coffee table. Calling for Diddy, he asked her to bring blankets, towels and a bucket of water, which she delivered in such haste water spilled everywhere and soaked Lucius fine slippers and the better part of his lower legs. Lucius clenched his jaw and managed to keep his mouth shut and not let out his frustration on the elf who quivered and wrung her hands in barely contained panic.
They removed her clothes as carefully as they could, choosing to cut rather than pull. She looked like she had stepped right out of a werewolves nest, not an inch of her untouched by the cruelty inflicted upon her.
“What kind of monster would do this?” Lucius muttered to himself as he sliced open her ridiculously tight pants to reveal a bruised thigh with a long yet thankfully shallow cut across.
“None of us are strangers to the cruelty some are willing to inflict upon others” Severus answered him, he sounded tired but when Lucius glanced up at him his jaw was clenched in anger.
They kept her undergarments on and covered her chest and middle area with towels as they proceeded to tend to the rest of her wounds, Severus took care of the cuts inflicted by the knife. He chanted in a low murmur while Lucius washed away the blood with a cloth and applied healing balms and bandaging where needed, which seemed to be on most of her exposed flesh. She winced and cried out pitifully when Severus finally mended her jaw with a horribly loud cracking sound.
With her face, now all but the one eye, bundled up in bandages that kept the healing and bruising balms in place, they got her turned on her belly and continued with the same procedure on her backside. A deep and long cut from her shoulder blade down her back needed Severus' attention while Lucius busied himself with the minor cuts and deep purple bruises. Not even the pain seemed to be enough to keep the girl awake anymore, Hermione dozed off in intervals and jerked awake again with pained moans as they tended to a particular sore spot.
It was nearly two o'clock in the morning when they decided they had done all they could for now. Lucius swept her up in a blanket and carried her upstairs, her head rested on his shoulder and her breath tickled his neck. Severus followed a few steps behind them. They put her to bed in one of the guestrooms, a few doors down from the master suite. After Severus made her drink a dreamless sleep potion and added a little more balm around her swollen but visible eye, they left her to her much needed sleep.
Out in the corridor Lucius exhaled deeply and turned to Severus, the man looked like a mess with blood stained clothes and red rimmed eyes. He supposed his own appearance was just as bad, if not worse.
“Drink?” he asked him,
Severus raked a hand through his hair and nodded, “several if you can spare them.”
They went down to Lucius' study, neither of them felt like stepping foot in the drawing room again tonight.
“So…” - Lucius said after pouring himself and Severus a generous serving of scotch - “ Who is she?”
“Hermione Granger,” Severus answered, a sly look of amusement on his face that made Lucius very uncomfortable given the circumstances. Taking a slow sip of his drink and raising one eyebrow he continued “She is a classmate of Draco and…” leaving the sentence open for Lucius to complete.
He searched his memory, Hermione Granger , why was that familiar. A classmate of Dracos… Lucius took a large mouthful of his drink and stared down into the glass when it finally clicked. “... Harry Potter.” he pursed his lips, “she is the ‘annoying’ one right? The muggleborn?” he looked back up at Severus, who was actually smiling and raised his glass in a mock salute.
“Indeed she is. So… care to explain how the Gryffindor Golden Girl ended up a literal ‘bloody’ mess on your floor?” Severus said and brought the glass to his lips.
Lucius narrowed his eyes, “Your intel on the matter is as good as mine.”
“I’m not accusing you,” Severus sighed and waved his hand disarmingly, “I am curious and more than a little worried. What just occurred -” he waved his hand in the general direction of the drawing room “- should be impossible.”
Lucius looked in the direction Severus' fingers were implying, “could she have been sent?”
“Possibly. There are still many who believe you got off too easily.”
Lucius scoffed and looked into his glass, “Pinning a dead muggleborn on me would be a sure way to get their wish.”
Severus nodded silently and dragged a hand over his face, “I need to go… but I’ll be back by morning to check on her.” He made no move to leave his chair though.
“I assume the old man still gets his reports?” Lucius said with a curl of his lips.
“Mhm, something like that,” Severus sighed again, tapping his hand on the armrest a couple of times before getting to his feet, “although I’m rather grateful if I can dump this particular problem in his lap. Would help to take any potential heat off you ” he continued and pointed at Lucius with the rim of glass before emptying it.