Dear Readers, I would just like to say a massive thank you to all those who have so far reviewed this story. I put a lot of effort into these chapters, and no matter how excited I am by where the story is going, it is always disheartening to post a chapter and receive little to no reviews. Whilst long time users of this site are well aware that the number of reviews one has is in no way indicative of the quality of the story being told, it is always nice to know that your work is appreciated. Having said that though, I would also like to say a thank you to those readers who have placed this story on alert. You guys are all awesome :)

Moving on, a quick friendly reminder that this story is rated M, and the next chapter is slightly graphic. You have been warned!

Despite his expressionless face, Severus Snape's heart was pounding as he kicked open the door to his chambers and laid the unconscious girl down on the sofa. Her head lolled to the side, brown ringlets obscuring her greying skin from him. Pushing them behind her ear with a rough gesture he felt for her pulse. It was there, but barely.

One part of him was angry at her for not coming sooner, for risking her life, but then again, it was all too possible that she hadn't found out about the effects of the spell. She was so out of it when it happened it was a possibility that she didn't even know that they had been linked. Perhaps Potter and Weasley had simply just assumed that he could help; she must have told them about what had happened back in Malfoy Manor, the fact that he had been there. But no, she could not have told them the entire truth, or else those fools who were no doubt still sitting in his classroom would surely have tried to kill him by now. Let them try, he thought to himself darkly as he surveyed the young girl in front of him.

"Miss Granger?" he asked, his voice loud and clear. He gently tapped her on the cheek, trying to rouse a reaction from her, but her eyes remained firmly shut, her dry lips parted ever so slightly. Snape knew that time was running out for her but he wasn't sure he could do what was required to save her. Violating her once was horrifying enough, doing it again to her whilst she was unconscious would surely ruin both of them. But this was bigger than them, much bigger - they were just small pieces in a much larger puzzle, and this needed to be done for the greater cause.

Slipping his arms under her he lifted her limp body up, his feet mechanically carrying them to the bedroom where he put her down onto the bed. She could easily have been sleeping, her legs slightly curled up underneath her, her head resting onto the pillow, curls spilling around her, but her lips were now a frightening shade of blue, and there was not a hint of colour in her cheeks. Snape agitatedly ran a hand through his hair feeling the blood thumping in his ears. He had to do this. She would die if he didn't and so would he if Voldemort found out that he had refused her. He felt sick and he tried his best to control the bile rising in the back of his throat.

His long fingers somehow remained steady as he pulled off her shoes, throwing them to the corner of the room in a clatter. Her toenails, he saw, were painted a candy pink and his skin crawled. She's just a girl he thought as he ran to the bathroom just in time, the contents of his meagre lunch upended into the toilet bowl. Eyes streaming he ran himself a glass of water and drank it down in large gulps, filling it up again and finishing that one off too.

Could he do this? Could he really do this? 'Yes' he whispered to himself in the darkened bathroom, clenching his fists and steeling his nerves 'you have to'. He fumbled at the buttons of his overcoat, hurriedly pulling it off himself and throwing it down to the ground. There was a chill in the air but he pulled at the collar of his shirt, the material burning his hot skin. Just pretend it's someone else he thought to himself as he re-entered the bedroom and moved over to her side. He felt her pulse again. She was fading - fast.

Gulping he undid the button of her jeans, sliding a hand under her lower back and gently lifting her up so that he could ease the material over her buttocks. Her legs were pale and covered in criss-crossing scars but he tried not to focus on them. They weren't Hermione Granger's legs. They weren't his students legs. They belonged to a nameless person. At least that was what he tried to tell himself. He finally maneuvered the jeans to her shins, taking her feet in his hands and bending her ankles so that he could remove her trousers.

Refusing to look at her he quickly grabbed a throw from the end of the bed and threw it over her half-naked body. He had to try and preserve her dignity somehow, even if this was the best that he could do. Standing he moved to the other side of the bed, kicked off his boots and clambered in underneath the throw. He jumped when he felt her cold skin next to his and automatically reeled away in disgust; it was like sharing a bed with a corpse.

"She will be a corpse in a minute if you don't do your fucking duty" he chided himself under his breath as he reached down and undid his belt, pulling both his trousers and boxers down to his ankles. He didn't kick them off though. Somehow, completely removing his clothing felt too intimate, too personal.

A shudder ran through him as his fingers fumbled against her hip bone and finally found the material of her knickers. They were lacy and he grimaced. He considered simply leaving them on her, maybe pulling them to one side would suffice, but no, he needed both hands for this, and he yanked the material forcefully down, his fingernail accidentally scraping her flesh.

The metal of his belt clanked impossibly loudly as he turned and positioned his leg over her, his eyes searching the wall in front of him. Despite extinguishing all of the candles, there was still a dim light which his eyes had now grown accustomed to and he was determined not to look at her.

With one free hand he supported his weight above her and with the other he reached down to grasp his flaccid member. "Come on" he hissed in annoyance at his own body as he remained soft, tugging at himself in an effort to get hard. It was no use though with the unconscious girl underneath him...surely there could be no bigger turn off. But this wasn't the time for pleasantries. Squeezing shut his dark eyes he pushed memories to the surface, not this time of victims, but of woman paid to please him. Of woman who kissed him hard, although not passionately, of women who had gagged on his manhood as he thrust it into their mouths, of women who had screamed loudly as he had taken them forcefully from behind.

Finally he began to grow hard, although he wasn't sure how long he could hold it for. With his own knee he gently eased Hermione's legs apart and almost lost his erection as his eyes flitted to her face to check that she was still unconscious. Keeping his eyes once more locked on the bedpost he reached his hand down to find the skin of her privates. His hand came out dry and he cursed. He knew that she wasn't a virgin anymore, he had already seen to that, but there was no way that he could even enter her, let alone complete the act, if she remained as dry as the Sahara.

"Please forgive me", he whispered to her lifeless form as he reached his hand once more underneath the covers and pushed a long index finger inside of her. Even in her unconscious state biology took a hold and he felt her becoming wet. A wave of disgust ran through him when he realised that his erection had now become stiff and throbbing. So much for worrying that it might not last. Pushing another finger into her he moved in slow circles, reaching a thumb up into her folds to brush at the hard knot of her clit. This time when he pulled his fingers out they came away wet. Satisfied, he positioned the tip of his swollen penis above her.

He couldn't help but groan as he pushed inside of her, she was just so tight. He tried not to think of the fact that the person underneath him was unresponsive and limp, and instead concentrated on the growing pleasure building in his balls. He began to move faster, wanting this so much to be over, but also ashamed at how good it felt. His hand grabbed hold of the bed frame, using it to push into her faster, harder. Finally though he could hold it no longer and he came inside of her.

In that moment it was as though a firework went off inside his skull, as if his very brain had orgasmed too. He gasped as her memories became his memories, even her feelings passing to him. Fright and anguish and fear and joy and happiness and overwhelming grief. All of it became his and even as an accomplished leglimens, this was something astonishing to say the least.

Still panting and out of breathe from not just the sex, but also from the incredible barrage of information with which he had just been assaulted, he withdrew, his cock flopping out of her wetly. He stood up and threw back the covers quickly, pulling up his trousers in haste, worried that the girl might wake up, but her laboured breathing had now turned to a deep rhythmic inhale and exhale and he realised that whilst she was still unconscious, she was no longer near death, only sleeping.

He walked to where he had thrown both her shoes and jeans, not bothering to do up his trousers, and retreated back to the bed where he lit a candle with the flick of his wand. He peeled back the throw from her, and although she had shifted slightly in her now deep slumber so that her legs were now closed, he could not help but feel sick again as he noticing the shine of his semen over her thighs. Muttering a spell he directed his wand at her and cleaned off the mess he had made. Satisfied he pulled back on her clothes and laid the throw back over her. Extinguishing the candle he had lit, he left her in the darkness to sleep.

The chair toppled backwards as Ron shot out of it, watching as Snape lazily descended the steps to his office.

"Is she -"

"She's fine Weasley", he interrupted with a wave of his hand,

"But how -"

"Enough!", Snape bellowed, cutting Ron short again. He strode across the classroom to menacingly glower down at him. "My classroom, my rules Weasley", he sneered, his black eyes thunderous, "and I say leave".

"But Hermione!" Ron protested, his cheeks turning pink.

"Miss Granger will do better without the pair of you blockheaded morons around to hamper her recovery" Snape said cooly. Ron flushed again and his shoulders shrunk in defeat. Harry had remained silent throughout this encounter, but now he turned to Snape, meeting him eye for eye.

"And how exactly did you cure her...Professor?" he asked, his tone steady but his question loaded. Snape glared at him.

"Can the infamous boy wonder not comprehend the fact that there may be things that he doesn't actually know?" spat out Snape. Harry didn't even blink at the insult and maintained eye contact with the dark eyed man who stood nearly a foot taller than him.

"Even the healers at St Mungo's would have had a hard time helping her", he said quietly, "we both saw her...she was nearly dead. Yet here you stand, not less than half an hour later telling us she will be fine."

"How dare you speak to me like that Potter", he hissed, "you should be more careful of how you speak to your - superiors". Harry snorted, their horns well and truly locked.

"Superiors? Or Masters?" he answered back, his green eyes dark and dangerous. For a moment Snape froze. So they knew? How, he did not know, no doubt it had been with the girls help, but they had obviously not found out about the true nature of the - bonding experience. He quickly righted himself and sneered.

"What you and Weasley get up to in your spare time is between the pair of you", he laughed in barbed tones, "I always wondered why the two of you were so close, but now I can see why. Master indeed. Let me guess," he said, fixing his eyes on Ron, "you're definitely the taker". Ron spluttered, this time turning fully red.

"I - I, we don't- we're not- "

"We're not leaving without Hermione", Harry interrupted, failing to rise to Snape's cruel taunts.

"As you so eloquently put it Potter, she was nearly dead, and as such is in no fit state to carry on whatever jaunts the three of you had planned".

"So what, you expect us to just leave her here...with you?"

"That is exactly what I expect you to do Potter. She will be fine in a day or two, you can come back and get the little twot then". Harry frowned, unsure of whether to trust Snape or not. He had been there at that mansion, but Dumbledore had always tried to convince Harry that Snape was working for them. He narrowed his eyes.

"And how exactly will we get back here?"

"Watch your tone with me boy", said Snape angrily, but he nonetheless fished into his robe pocket and withdrew what looked like a golden sickle. "Take this", he said, handing the coin over to Harry. "It will glow when I require your presence. Tap it with your wand and it will return you to this room."

"So it's like a portkey?" asked Ron. Snape rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"The wards will be down as soon as you tap the coin and this will only last for 30 seconds, so I advise you not to tarry"

"And Professor Dumbledore knows about this?" asked Harry suspiciously.

"Of course he does you stupid boy", said Snape angrily, "whose coin do you bloody well think it is?" Harry frowned but said nothing. "This is also yours". From inside his robe he pulled out a small package and handed it to Harry. Ripping its paper off he recognised the shimmer of material instantly.

"My invisibility cloak!", he yelled, "but wait, why do you have it?" Snape sighed, apparently bored to tears by the conversation they were now having.

"My God you really are thick aren't you Potter. Dumbledore handed it to me to pass on to you. Surely you've gotten it through your dumb skull by now that most of this is the Headmasters doing?" Harry grimaced at him but otherwise remained silent. "Now take Weasley with you and head out to the front gates, apparate from there, somewhere far away from me", he spat, turning around and ascending the steps at the back of the classroom. "Oh and Potter", he drawled as he reached the top, looking back to where Harry was now placing the cloak around himself and Ron, "try not to blow yourself up without Granger there to help you". Harry glared at him and was about to say something back but the door was slammed shut before he'd even had a chance to open his mouth.

Hermione's eyes fluttered open slowly. At first she thought she was still asleep, but then she realised that the room in which she was lying was dark. Her head was throbbing and her tongue was parched and she yearned for a glass of water to wash away the vile taste in her mouth. How long had she been out?

All she could remember from before was pain. White, hot, searing pain that coursed through her veins. She must have passed out, because the next thing she was aware of was waking up in this room of darkness. She could have sworn that she had dreamed, but she had no recollection of what about.

She pushed herself up in the bed, her limbs protesting. Looking around her eyes slowly adjusted to the light and for the first time realised that there was no more pain. Which meant -

Oh God. Had he - ?

He must of, unless he'd found a way around the spell, which she very much doubted. As if in answer to her question she registered with a sob the dull throb which emanated from her private parts. She gasped, too shocked to cry. It had been real then? The spell, the pain...everything. She had hoped that maybe it was just a bad dream, that somehow the inevitable wouldn't have happened, but it seemingly had.

Perhaps it was better that she couldn't remember anything, but somehow she felt worse about it. He had been here with her. How had he done it? She hoped he had been quick, decent about it. What was it he had said before? Trust him. Well she didn't, and now he had raped her - twice. A dangerous and powerful Death Eater like Severus Snape being handed an unconscious young woman - he had probably been at her for hours.

Her head spun as she climbed slowly out of bed. Her wand lay next to her on a small nightstand and she picked it up, holding it out in front of her like a shield. There was no doubt that she was in his quarters, she could even smell him. Herbes and spices and mint. This was her chance to do something about her current predicament, whilst the opportunity was available to her. To break the bond one of them had to die, and she was sure as hell it wouldn't be her. She'd never killed a man before, but there's a first for everything she thought to herself.

Unlatching the door her eyes took a moment to adjust to the light after the darkness of the bedroom. She had seen this place before, back when Snape had apparated them here from Malfoy Manor. She knew the way out and she still had the deluminator. Whatever Snape had done to Harry and Ron, she could find them again after she had killed him and they could continue on the hunt for Horcruxes then.

The only problem though, was that Snape was no where to be seen. Keeping her back to the wall Hermione edged around the room, trying out different doors, although all appeared to be locked.

"Miss Granger what on earth are you doing?" came a deep voice from behind her as she tried pushing one of the doors inwards. She spun to face him, distressed at having been caught off guard, her wand pointed directly at his chest. He in turn looked neither scared nor frightened, merely slightly concerned. In his hand he held a glass of water, but no wand. He was undefended.

"Stay away from me, I'm warning you", she mustered, extending her wand arm further towards him, but taking a step backwards just in case. Her eyes were wild and her hair a complete mess, but Snape didn't doubt that the warning did indeed contain real consequences.

"I was bringing you a glass of water", he explained, gesturing at the glass. Hermione ignored him.

"I know what you did" she said. Her voice was small and despite the fact that it was her holding the wand to him, she looked so diminutive and scared with her eyes round and frightened that Snape could only feel pity for her.

"And what was it that I supposedly did?" he asked her calmly.

"You - you raped me", she said in a voice only just above a whisper, as if she were telling a secret to a friend.

"Miss Granger, the Dark Lord, he would have -"

"No, no", cut off Hermione. Snape swallowed his annoyance at having been interrupted by her and let her continue. "I mean now. That's why I'm here." So she did know then, even if those idiot friends of hers didn't. Snape thought about lying to her, she would never have to know what he had done, but looking into her eyes he realised that he owed her more than that. He didn't deny it for this very reason, only bowing his head to her in ascent.

"I can't believe this!" she said loudly, "you - you creep! I wasn't even awake!"

"Miss Granger please", Snape begged of her, willing her to calm down, watching both her and her wand simultaneously.

"You've been planning this haven't you!? Ever since I was a little girl!" Shocked by her sudden utterance Severus could hardly find the words to speak, a rare occurrence as it was.

"You are talking complete nonsense now girl. Do not flatter yourself so, even if you will accuse me of being a perverted old man", he admonished her angrily. "You know what the spell does then I assume?" he asked her, quelling his anger, trying hard to empathise with her. Hermione hesitated but then nodded. "Well then you know that I had no other choice".

"You could have left me to die" she whispered.

"And that's really what you would have wanted?" he asked her softly.

"I- I don't know. The thought of you, and well, you know, for the rest of my life...", she trailed off, "I just don't know whether I can bare it".

Snape couldn't help but feel the sting of rejection, even after all these years it was still a hurt which he could just not get over, even if she was entirely justified in what she said. Burying his feelings deep inside of him, as he always did, he stepped forward, raising a hand to her. Quickly she straightened and righted her wand so that it nearly touched his chest.

"You asked me to trust you." Snape nodded. "Why?"

"You know why"

"No, all I know is that you asked me to trust you, I gave my trust, and then you violated me like some dirty street whore". Snape was again shocked by her strong words, although he refrained from telling her that she was wrong, he treated those 'dirty street whores' a lot worse than he had dealt with her.

"I asked for your trust because I knew that the Dark Lord would in all probabilities make me do something to you that I did not wish to do. I could not have refused him, but that is not to say that I am against you" he explained.

"So what are you then? With us?"

"Yes"

"Then why were you there then? Why did that awful woman speak to you as if you were one of them?"

"Because I am". Hermione took a step backwards, bringing her free hand to her mouth. She looked up at her potions professor with eyes full of fright.

"Who are you?" she asked him finally.

"I am Severus Snape, you know that Miss Granger".

"No, I mean who are you?" she emphasised, searching desperately for answers.

"I am a spy" he said finally after a pause, his expression unreadable, his eyes dark.

"For what side?" Snape snorted.

"I will let you decide that one Miss Granger" he retorted back.

Hermione remained where she was, in shock from Snape's current admission. Was he really a spy? Could he possibly be working for both Voldemort and Dumbledore and in which case, did that make him a double spy, or even a triple spy?

"You can see my memories?" she asked him quietly. He nodded respectfully.

"Yes"

"And you will pass them onto you-know-who?" Snape looked thoughtful for a minute, as if trying to find the words to say.

"Yes, I must pass them on, although I can tell you that they will not be of significance to him"

"But there will be other times, won't there? You'll always be able to see my memories now won't you?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so. Like you seem to know already, the spell will only be broken by death" he explained to her, confirming what she already knew. "I will share your memories each time the bond is renewed, until such time as it is broken". Her heart sank at hearing him say it out loud. Even though she knew well what he said, she had always held out a silent hope that perhaps the connection could be ended by the choice of the Master, as the book had called it. She tried to push away her disappointment, determined not to cry in front of him, and instead asked a question which had been playing on her mind since the day of their library visit.

"I don't get it though. Why not just use occlumency when I was caught to find out where Harry is?" Surely the whole process who had been easier than the whole binding ritual and yield better results. In the short term anyway.

"The Dark Lord did not get to the position of power that he is in by being purely a creature of evil and malice, Miss Granger; he has an intelligence that would surpass maybe even the Headmasters. He knew that by performing the binding he would have constant checks on you, and therefore Potter as well. You are right though, he could well have used occlumecy on you to find out Potter's whereabouts and activities, but the brain is a fragile thing and the use of occlumency on you, at your state at the time, would most likely have yielded little results and damaged the brain forever. So you see, that was his choice: occlumecy once or the binding for all of time. He chose, as well you know, binding". Snape turned and walked towards the centre of the room, placing the glass of water on a small coffee table. He rummaged through one of the bookshelves and finally pulled out a familiar book: small, with a light blue cloth binding. "I take it you have seen this before?" he asked Hermione who had now lowered her wand. She nodded. "I also take it that Potter and Weasley do not know exactly what has happened to you".

Hermione gulped, her throat parchment dry. "I didn't want them to know. You - you didn't tell them did you? Where even are they?"

"They will be back, I can promise you that. And no Miss Granger, I did not tell them, although I cannot pretend to not be curious at your reasons for not telling them the entire truth".

"You wouldn't understand" she said, shrugging her shoulders. Snape decided not to press the matter further and merely said nothing. "What happens now?" she asked after a time, watching him as he relit the fire in the hearth.

"You return to your friends Miss Granger" he said with his back to her, concentrating on getting the flames going.

"But I'll have to come back at some point, won't I?"

"Yes, you will. I can't say how long it will be though". He stood up and turned around to face her. Her cheeks were ashen and he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pity for her as she remained huddled against the wall, looking decidedly lost and helpless. But there was something else there too.

She was his now - technically anyway. He was her 'Master', and for some reason, that excited him and disgusted him in equal measures.

She stared back at him, confused. He could not even attempt to explain how he was feeling right now. He had had power over others before, countless others in fact, but this time his power over her seemed intoxicating. Was it merely because of the connection between the two of them, a sense that he would never physically be alone again unless she perished, or was it merely because his Dark side could always manage to break through the surface of any facade he made for himself? He did not know, but he sat down quickly into one of the armchairs when he realised that his growing erection was pressing against the soft material of his trousers.

"Go back to bed Miss Granger" he said to her, his voice void of any emotion, a skill he had honed over the years to almost perfection. He half expected her to put up a fight, but surprisingly she agreed. Before she reached the door though she turned back to face him.

"I know you didn't ask for this, the same way that I didn't. I know there is only one way for me to stay alive. But that doesn't change the way I feel Sir. I cannot help but hate you". She muttered her soft confession and then slipped into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Snape let his head fall to his hands, his erection well and truly gone.