Fic: Brave New World (25/28): Harry Potter
Title: Brave New World
Author:
patriciatepes
Artist:
twisted_slinky
Fandom: Harry Potter
Chapter: Prev | Next
Rating/Contents: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters. Making no money here, as they all still belong to their prospective owners.
Summary: Partially DH compliant, most AU. Voldemort arrived at Malfoy Manor quicker than expected, and like that, the war was over. Now, Hermione is Snape's "assigned companion," and as determined as ever to stop Voldemort and save her friends. But that's hard to do in Voldemort's new world…
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Choice
They waited. Draco had left, saying that Lucius and Bellatrix would be asleep, guaranteed, by nine that evening. Luna and Ollivander had yet to return with the wands, and since one dose of Polyjuice-which Neville had snuck into Hogwarts and retrieved-only lasted an hour, they waited. And it was the most agonizing time of Hermione's life.
It seemed to take an age, but finally, Luna and Ollivander arrived, a host of wands with them. Hermione all but shoved Snape out of the way, ready to be wand-ed again. She remembered, back when she was getting ready for her first year at Hogwarts, that it had taken several wands before one finally took to her. The sky outside was darkening, and Hermione knew that the time to go was almost upon them. Ollivander was putting just as much thought into the wand selection as he would have standing in his own shop-rather than where he actually was. Luna was playing the part of shelves, dutifully holding on to the wands as Ollivander perused them and selected the next one for Hermione to try. Finally, on a wand about ten inches in length, dragon heartstring core-like her last wand-but with black walnut, it sparked, letting Hermione and all around her know that this was her new wand. Ollivander seemed like a proud father as he beamed tiredly down upon her.
"It's time," Neville said, checking his watch. "You'll both need to drink the Polyjuice. I, uh, took the liberty of grabbing a couple of heavy black robes and cloaks, so you don't have to worry about being properly dressed for the part."
Hermione turned to see Snape's lips pursed together. She wondered, suddenly, if those black cloaks were in fact Death Eater robes. Snape's eyes were on the floor, now, glaring it down like it had insulted his mother. Hermione cleared her throat, addressing the other occupants of the room.
"Um, not to be rude or anything, but… I think you should all leave. We have to change."
Luna nodded and left the room without a backwards glance. Ollivander and Neville, however, appeared to exchange a look, as if wondering why Hermione seemed so very not nervous about being in nothing but her knickers in front of Snape. But they, wisely, said nothing, leaving the room. Neville, alone, paused at the door.
"Ten, and I'll be here, waiting."
Hermione nodded. "Ten."
Neville pulled the door shut behind him. It was only then that Snape lifted his eyes and met Hermione's gaze. He was thinking something, she could tell by now. She reached up, starting to unbutton the jeans she wore.
"What?"
"I… I'm glad that you have a wand once more, Hermione," he said.
Hermione flushed red as the memory of her original wand's fate came screaming back to her. She dropped her jeans to the floor, stepping out of them. She bit her lip.
"I know that you did what you had to do. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that."
He arched a brow, his top layer of robes all on the floor now. Hermione couldn't help but feel her heart thump hard against her breastbone. Now was not the time to be thinking about everything a nude Severus Snape could do to her.
"So I'm… forgiven?" he asked.
His face was one of stony seriousness. But Hermione couldn't help but smile.
"I would've thought that that much was obvious."
Now, with him solely in his black boxers and her in her white panties and bra, he smiled back at her. He turned to the table, picking up the two potions. He handed her one, keeping the other for himself. They both pulled out their vials of hair, opening up the potion and inserting the hair.
"This taste horrible, and the transformation is anything but pleasant."
"Yes, I know. I've used Polyjuice before."
He blinked at her, and she wondered if he had figured out where those missing potions ingredients had gone or if he was simply writing it off as a necessary action while she had been traveling with Ron and Harry. In any case, Snape didn't say anything, merely holding up the bottle of potion, as if to say "cheers" before downing it all in one gulp. Hermione nodded once, mostly to give herself some encouragement, before doing the same.
It was disgusting, and felt like sludge going down her throat. But the change was almost instant. She could feel her body stretching, her hair lengthening just a bit, and her chest becoming a bit fuller. She was glad she had gotten out of her jeans and shirt, since they would have been painfully small on her. When the transformation was done, she turned to glance at Snape… only, it was Lucius Malfoy she saw instead. The long blond hair was shining in the candle-light. The body before her was muscled, but only a bit. The skin was pale, and the black boxers concealing the nether regions looked a size or two too tight now around the waist.
"Robes?" Hermione asked, more surprised than she should have been to hear Bellatrix's voice rather than her own.
Snape/Lucius nodded, tossing her a set. The two went about dressing in silence, and Hermione noted that the robes she had was two sizes too big. She pulled out her wand-something she would have to be careful to keep hidden while being Bellatrix-and muttered some spells to fix the lengths. She left the cloak a little bigger, the better to hide her face if necessary.
When she looked over at Snape/Lucius, she saw that he had fixed the fit on everything, even the cloak. She narrowed her eyes.
"What if we get stuck in the manor after the potion wears off?"
She was never going to get used to sounding like Bellatrix. Snape/Lucius waved his wand in front of his face, and a Death Eater's mask appeared, covering all of his features. With another wave, it was gone. Hermione nodded.
"Shall we go?" Snape/Lucius asked in the familiar, lazy drawl.
Huh. So that was just how the Malfoys sounded. Hermione nodded, and, hooked arm-in-arm, they apparated to Malfoy Manor. They made quick work of the drive, pausing just inside the manor to make sure they didn't run into the original Lucius and Bellatrix. It was a few minutes pass nine, so by Draco's word, they should have both been unconscious by now, locked in a deep-but temporary-slumber. Better safe than sorry, though, as they proceed with caution farther into the manor. Speaking of which…
"I still don't understand why we couldn't just… eliminate Bellatrix, at least," Hermione/Bellatrix whispered as they crept along.
Snape/Lucius arched another brow, but it was a very different look on the borrowed face. Somehow less intimidating.
"So odd that you're suddenly out for blood. This potion doesn't make you take on their personality, you know," Snape/Lucius commented.
Hermione huffed, and it came out of her borrowed mouth a little squeakier than she would have liked. It made her sound like a child arguing for candy.
"She is easily one of the most dangerous people currently occupying this manor. I can completely understand Draco's reluctance, given their relation, but it's still something that I feel should have been considered. Honestly, there's no telling what she's done to poor Harry while he's been kept here."
"Turn here. That room, over there," Snape/Lucius directed, bringing Hermione's attention to a door on her right side. Candlelight spilled from within it.
It was all she could do not to jog to it. But she kept her pace slow. After all, there was no way of knowing… but she cut that train of thought short. Instead, she turned, and voice that particular worry aloud.
"Should we worry about Voldemort just randomly popping in?" she asked.
Snape/Luicus placed two light hands on her shoulders, gently pushing her into the room. "That's why our visit here is to be quick."
Harry, sitting on the bottom of his cage, was facing the wall to their left. He turned when they entered, and glared at them.
"What do you two want?" he snarled.
For just a moment, Hermione's heart flooded with guilt. He was angry at her, at all of them, because they had left him in this damnable cage. They'd left him to torture and malnourishment. But, a slight nudge from behind her reminded her, she wasn't Hermione, at least not to the naked eye. Sighing, she took a step forward.
"Harry, it's me. It's Hermione," she said. Then, turning and pointing, she added, "That's Snape."
Harry moved closer to the side of the cage facing them. He squinted at her, as if he could look beyond the mask of the Polyjuice Potion and discern for himself whether it was really Hermione or not.
"What's going on? What are you two playing at?" Harry asked in a low voice laden with caution.
In the speediest, and most watered-down, version she could manage, Hermione laid out Snape's story. It was the best, and truest, way to explain his presence and the choice that Harry would have before him. She knew she didn't know the finer points of the story, like the background with Lily, but that was okay. If that needed to be filled in, then Snape could do so himself. When Hermione finished-stopping just short of the real reason they were here, Harry was shaking his head.
"Why? Why would Severus Snape, the man who loathes me and murdered Dumbledore in cold blood, be really apart of the resistance? Why would he even consent to keeping me safe for Dumbledore all these years, if killing Dumbledore really had been planned?"
Hermione pursed her lips, wondering vaguely what it looked like on Bellatrix's face. She turned, meeting ice blue eyes instead of the inky black ones she wished were there. It was necessary. Snape's deepest held secret was what was necessary to tie his whole story together. She stared at the Potions master in Malfoy-form apologetically. He waved it off, looking past her at Harry.
"I was in love with her," he said. "Lily. Your mother. That's why I got so angry when you saw that memory in your fifth year. It wasn't the bullying I was receiving that I was embarrassed of… it was that I called her that awful word. I never, ever thought of her like that. I hated myself for it. Because… because she never spoke to me again, after that night."
She knew there were better times for this, but she couldn't resist. She glanced at Snape/Lucius.
"That night?" she asked.
He locked eyes with her. "I stood outside the Gryffindor portrait and begged her forgiveness. She didn't grant it."
Hermione reached out with Bellatrix's hand and clasped his. She turned, to see Harry's reaction, only to find the Boy Who Lived shaking his head.
"I can't believe this…" he murmured.
But that wasn't entirely true. She could see it in his green eyes. Harry was beginning to believe that it really was them under this mask of potion. She just needed one last push.
"I was jealous of Ron and Lavendar. I sent birds after him in anger," she spouted.
Snape/Lucius was staring at her. She couldn't meet his eyes though. Instead, she kept hers steadily locked on Harry's as they widened.
"They haven't tried to invade my mind. Voldemort ordered them not to. I figured he was scared of what they'd learn. Hermione?"
Hermione dashed closer to the cage, careful not to touch it in case of any protective enchantments. Harry grinned at her.
"Oh, Hermione. It's brilliant to see you. I mean, I wish you looked like you, but you understand."
She laughed. "I understand. But…" her smile vanished. "Harry, there's a reason why we're here. There's one more part to Snape's story."
Harry's brow furrowed. "What?"
She spoke the truth slowly. And she left nothing out this time. She wanted Harry fully aware. She wanted him to know exactly what was being told to him. And she was sure he had, when he sank down to his knees.
"A piece of his soul… is attached to me?" he asked.
"Dumbledore told me himself," Snape/Lucius said softly. "It's why you could see into each other's minds. Why you can speak Parseltongue."
"So… I'm a Horcrux?"
Snape/Lucius nodded. "Of sorts."
"Which means…"
Snape and Hermione both nodded.
"Nobody's asking this of you, Harry," Hermione said. "I said… I said you deserve a choice. If you don't want this, we'll think of another way. We'll stop him somehow."
Harry smiled, but there was no happiness there. He blinked slowly, looking over at Hermione. Right now, she hated that Bellatrix was the face her friend was seeing.
"I know about Ron. And Ginny. I know about how the half-bloods and muggle-borns are being treated. Voldemort and the others… they taunt me with it. That's how I knew you hadn't hurt Hermione, Professor. The world has been forever changed, hasn't it?" He stopped, taking a long pause. Then, with a decisive nod, he said, "I'll do it. Voldemort plans to kill me in front of all his followers tomorrow night. Don't stop him."
Hermione let out a shuddering gasp. She supposed she should have known that Harry Potter, of all people, would be more than willing to play the sacrificial lamb. But she had hoped, and hoped so hard, that he would tell her to find another way. That they could save him. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. He put on a brave grin.
"Swear to me, Hermione. Swear to me that nobody will try to stop him from killing me. Then, after I'm gone, you can finish him off. Supposing that the other Horcruxes are out of the way?"
"They will be," Hermione sniffed. Bellatrix's voice did not make for an attractive crier, but she didn't care.
"Swear it, Hermione," Harry repeated.
She nodded. "I swear."
She was shaking, and she felt Snape/Lucius's arms wrap protectively around her. She turned, burying her face in his chest to quiet her tears. She could feel Harry's eyes on her, and when she turned back to him, he had a soft, knowing grin on his face.
"You'll be okay. Tell Ginny… Tell Ginny it's all right. Tell Ron the same."
She nodded, not trusting her voice anymore. In the hall outside the door, the sound of shuffling feet in the distance could be heard.
"We have to go," Snape/Lucius said to her.
She pulled up her hood, just in case, and nodded. She turned back to Harry.
"Good-bye, Harry. I'm-"
"I know. Go, now!"
Wiping her eyes, she and Snape/Lucius fled from the room, and the manor, leaving Harry to his fate.
Author:
patriciatepes
Artist:
twisted_slinky
Fandom: Harry Potter
Chapter: Prev | Next
Rating/Contents: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters. Making no money here, as they all still belong to their prospective owners.
Summary: Partially DH compliant, most AU. Voldemort arrived at Malfoy Manor quicker than expected, and like that, the war was over. Now, Hermione is Snape's "assigned companion," and as determined as ever to stop Voldemort and save her friends. But that's hard to do in Voldemort's new world…
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Choice
They waited. Draco had left, saying that Lucius and Bellatrix would be asleep, guaranteed, by nine that evening. Luna and Ollivander had yet to return with the wands, and since one dose of Polyjuice-which Neville had snuck into Hogwarts and retrieved-only lasted an hour, they waited. And it was the most agonizing time of Hermione's life.
It seemed to take an age, but finally, Luna and Ollivander arrived, a host of wands with them. Hermione all but shoved Snape out of the way, ready to be wand-ed again. She remembered, back when she was getting ready for her first year at Hogwarts, that it had taken several wands before one finally took to her. The sky outside was darkening, and Hermione knew that the time to go was almost upon them. Ollivander was putting just as much thought into the wand selection as he would have standing in his own shop-rather than where he actually was. Luna was playing the part of shelves, dutifully holding on to the wands as Ollivander perused them and selected the next one for Hermione to try. Finally, on a wand about ten inches in length, dragon heartstring core-like her last wand-but with black walnut, it sparked, letting Hermione and all around her know that this was her new wand. Ollivander seemed like a proud father as he beamed tiredly down upon her.
"It's time," Neville said, checking his watch. "You'll both need to drink the Polyjuice. I, uh, took the liberty of grabbing a couple of heavy black robes and cloaks, so you don't have to worry about being properly dressed for the part."
Hermione turned to see Snape's lips pursed together. She wondered, suddenly, if those black cloaks were in fact Death Eater robes. Snape's eyes were on the floor, now, glaring it down like it had insulted his mother. Hermione cleared her throat, addressing the other occupants of the room.
"Um, not to be rude or anything, but… I think you should all leave. We have to change."
Luna nodded and left the room without a backwards glance. Ollivander and Neville, however, appeared to exchange a look, as if wondering why Hermione seemed so very not nervous about being in nothing but her knickers in front of Snape. But they, wisely, said nothing, leaving the room. Neville, alone, paused at the door.
"Ten, and I'll be here, waiting."
Hermione nodded. "Ten."
Neville pulled the door shut behind him. It was only then that Snape lifted his eyes and met Hermione's gaze. He was thinking something, she could tell by now. She reached up, starting to unbutton the jeans she wore.
"What?"
"I… I'm glad that you have a wand once more, Hermione," he said.
Hermione flushed red as the memory of her original wand's fate came screaming back to her. She dropped her jeans to the floor, stepping out of them. She bit her lip.
"I know that you did what you had to do. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that."
He arched a brow, his top layer of robes all on the floor now. Hermione couldn't help but feel her heart thump hard against her breastbone. Now was not the time to be thinking about everything a nude Severus Snape could do to her.
"So I'm… forgiven?" he asked.
His face was one of stony seriousness. But Hermione couldn't help but smile.
"I would've thought that that much was obvious."
Now, with him solely in his black boxers and her in her white panties and bra, he smiled back at her. He turned to the table, picking up the two potions. He handed her one, keeping the other for himself. They both pulled out their vials of hair, opening up the potion and inserting the hair.
"This taste horrible, and the transformation is anything but pleasant."
"Yes, I know. I've used Polyjuice before."
He blinked at her, and she wondered if he had figured out where those missing potions ingredients had gone or if he was simply writing it off as a necessary action while she had been traveling with Ron and Harry. In any case, Snape didn't say anything, merely holding up the bottle of potion, as if to say "cheers" before downing it all in one gulp. Hermione nodded once, mostly to give herself some encouragement, before doing the same.
It was disgusting, and felt like sludge going down her throat. But the change was almost instant. She could feel her body stretching, her hair lengthening just a bit, and her chest becoming a bit fuller. She was glad she had gotten out of her jeans and shirt, since they would have been painfully small on her. When the transformation was done, she turned to glance at Snape… only, it was Lucius Malfoy she saw instead. The long blond hair was shining in the candle-light. The body before her was muscled, but only a bit. The skin was pale, and the black boxers concealing the nether regions looked a size or two too tight now around the waist.
"Robes?" Hermione asked, more surprised than she should have been to hear Bellatrix's voice rather than her own.
Snape/Lucius nodded, tossing her a set. The two went about dressing in silence, and Hermione noted that the robes she had was two sizes too big. She pulled out her wand-something she would have to be careful to keep hidden while being Bellatrix-and muttered some spells to fix the lengths. She left the cloak a little bigger, the better to hide her face if necessary.
When she looked over at Snape/Lucius, she saw that he had fixed the fit on everything, even the cloak. She narrowed her eyes.
"What if we get stuck in the manor after the potion wears off?"
She was never going to get used to sounding like Bellatrix. Snape/Lucius waved his wand in front of his face, and a Death Eater's mask appeared, covering all of his features. With another wave, it was gone. Hermione nodded.
"Shall we go?" Snape/Lucius asked in the familiar, lazy drawl.
Huh. So that was just how the Malfoys sounded. Hermione nodded, and, hooked arm-in-arm, they apparated to Malfoy Manor. They made quick work of the drive, pausing just inside the manor to make sure they didn't run into the original Lucius and Bellatrix. It was a few minutes pass nine, so by Draco's word, they should have both been unconscious by now, locked in a deep-but temporary-slumber. Better safe than sorry, though, as they proceed with caution farther into the manor. Speaking of which…
"I still don't understand why we couldn't just… eliminate Bellatrix, at least," Hermione/Bellatrix whispered as they crept along.
Snape/Lucius arched another brow, but it was a very different look on the borrowed face. Somehow less intimidating.
"So odd that you're suddenly out for blood. This potion doesn't make you take on their personality, you know," Snape/Lucius commented.
Hermione huffed, and it came out of her borrowed mouth a little squeakier than she would have liked. It made her sound like a child arguing for candy.
"She is easily one of the most dangerous people currently occupying this manor. I can completely understand Draco's reluctance, given their relation, but it's still something that I feel should have been considered. Honestly, there's no telling what she's done to poor Harry while he's been kept here."
"Turn here. That room, over there," Snape/Lucius directed, bringing Hermione's attention to a door on her right side. Candlelight spilled from within it.
It was all she could do not to jog to it. But she kept her pace slow. After all, there was no way of knowing… but she cut that train of thought short. Instead, she turned, and voice that particular worry aloud.
"Should we worry about Voldemort just randomly popping in?" she asked.
Snape/Luicus placed two light hands on her shoulders, gently pushing her into the room. "That's why our visit here is to be quick."
Harry, sitting on the bottom of his cage, was facing the wall to their left. He turned when they entered, and glared at them.
"What do you two want?" he snarled.
For just a moment, Hermione's heart flooded with guilt. He was angry at her, at all of them, because they had left him in this damnable cage. They'd left him to torture and malnourishment. But, a slight nudge from behind her reminded her, she wasn't Hermione, at least not to the naked eye. Sighing, she took a step forward.
"Harry, it's me. It's Hermione," she said. Then, turning and pointing, she added, "That's Snape."
Harry moved closer to the side of the cage facing them. He squinted at her, as if he could look beyond the mask of the Polyjuice Potion and discern for himself whether it was really Hermione or not.
"What's going on? What are you two playing at?" Harry asked in a low voice laden with caution.
In the speediest, and most watered-down, version she could manage, Hermione laid out Snape's story. It was the best, and truest, way to explain his presence and the choice that Harry would have before him. She knew she didn't know the finer points of the story, like the background with Lily, but that was okay. If that needed to be filled in, then Snape could do so himself. When Hermione finished-stopping just short of the real reason they were here, Harry was shaking his head.
"Why? Why would Severus Snape, the man who loathes me and murdered Dumbledore in cold blood, be really apart of the resistance? Why would he even consent to keeping me safe for Dumbledore all these years, if killing Dumbledore really had been planned?"
Hermione pursed her lips, wondering vaguely what it looked like on Bellatrix's face. She turned, meeting ice blue eyes instead of the inky black ones she wished were there. It was necessary. Snape's deepest held secret was what was necessary to tie his whole story together. She stared at the Potions master in Malfoy-form apologetically. He waved it off, looking past her at Harry.
"I was in love with her," he said. "Lily. Your mother. That's why I got so angry when you saw that memory in your fifth year. It wasn't the bullying I was receiving that I was embarrassed of… it was that I called her that awful word. I never, ever thought of her like that. I hated myself for it. Because… because she never spoke to me again, after that night."
She knew there were better times for this, but she couldn't resist. She glanced at Snape/Lucius.
"That night?" she asked.
He locked eyes with her. "I stood outside the Gryffindor portrait and begged her forgiveness. She didn't grant it."
Hermione reached out with Bellatrix's hand and clasped his. She turned, to see Harry's reaction, only to find the Boy Who Lived shaking his head.
"I can't believe this…" he murmured.
But that wasn't entirely true. She could see it in his green eyes. Harry was beginning to believe that it really was them under this mask of potion. She just needed one last push.
"I was jealous of Ron and Lavendar. I sent birds after him in anger," she spouted.
Snape/Lucius was staring at her. She couldn't meet his eyes though. Instead, she kept hers steadily locked on Harry's as they widened.
"They haven't tried to invade my mind. Voldemort ordered them not to. I figured he was scared of what they'd learn. Hermione?"
Hermione dashed closer to the cage, careful not to touch it in case of any protective enchantments. Harry grinned at her.
"Oh, Hermione. It's brilliant to see you. I mean, I wish you looked like you, but you understand."
She laughed. "I understand. But…" her smile vanished. "Harry, there's a reason why we're here. There's one more part to Snape's story."
Harry's brow furrowed. "What?"
She spoke the truth slowly. And she left nothing out this time. She wanted Harry fully aware. She wanted him to know exactly what was being told to him. And she was sure he had, when he sank down to his knees.
"A piece of his soul… is attached to me?" he asked.
"Dumbledore told me himself," Snape/Lucius said softly. "It's why you could see into each other's minds. Why you can speak Parseltongue."
"So… I'm a Horcrux?"
Snape/Lucius nodded. "Of sorts."
"Which means…"
Snape and Hermione both nodded.
"Nobody's asking this of you, Harry," Hermione said. "I said… I said you deserve a choice. If you don't want this, we'll think of another way. We'll stop him somehow."
Harry smiled, but there was no happiness there. He blinked slowly, looking over at Hermione. Right now, she hated that Bellatrix was the face her friend was seeing.
"I know about Ron. And Ginny. I know about how the half-bloods and muggle-borns are being treated. Voldemort and the others… they taunt me with it. That's how I knew you hadn't hurt Hermione, Professor. The world has been forever changed, hasn't it?" He stopped, taking a long pause. Then, with a decisive nod, he said, "I'll do it. Voldemort plans to kill me in front of all his followers tomorrow night. Don't stop him."
Hermione let out a shuddering gasp. She supposed she should have known that Harry Potter, of all people, would be more than willing to play the sacrificial lamb. But she had hoped, and hoped so hard, that he would tell her to find another way. That they could save him. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. He put on a brave grin.
"Swear to me, Hermione. Swear to me that nobody will try to stop him from killing me. Then, after I'm gone, you can finish him off. Supposing that the other Horcruxes are out of the way?"
"They will be," Hermione sniffed. Bellatrix's voice did not make for an attractive crier, but she didn't care.
"Swear it, Hermione," Harry repeated.
She nodded. "I swear."
She was shaking, and she felt Snape/Lucius's arms wrap protectively around her. She turned, burying her face in his chest to quiet her tears. She could feel Harry's eyes on her, and when she turned back to him, he had a soft, knowing grin on his face.
"You'll be okay. Tell Ginny… Tell Ginny it's all right. Tell Ron the same."
She nodded, not trusting her voice anymore. In the hall outside the door, the sound of shuffling feet in the distance could be heard.
"We have to go," Snape/Lucius said to her.
She pulled up her hood, just in case, and nodded. She turned back to Harry.
"Good-bye, Harry. I'm-"
"I know. Go, now!"
Wiping her eyes, she and Snape/Lucius fled from the room, and the manor, leaving Harry to his fate.