Gone and Back Again

Chapter thirteen

Getting into the castle wasn't hard, nor was getting her back into the dormitory. Once they had left the dark forest, her eyes rolled and her body went limp. The only thing Severus could compare the feeling to was dead weight. She was limp. Cold. Lifeless. The task he faced was getting her to wake up. Again. This was becoming a frightfully consistent theme between them.

Narcissa hadn't said a word as the left Riddles hiding. Lucius wasn't quite sure he would have anything kind to say to begin with had she tried to have a conversation. She orchestrated Hermione's kidnapping. Narcissa had designed the way she looked, cursed her to follow riddles commands. She had deliberately put Hermione in harms way. Betrothal be damned!

Severus cleared his throat, motioning with a nod of his head to the dungeons hidden entrance. His friend pulling his wand, allowing him through. Narcissa kept her tear filled eyes to the ground as she all but sprinted past him to get inside. The entrance clicked closed behind them, the stones grinding and tumbling back into place as a cover.

"She might have something the clean herself up in her purse, Lucius. I'm not quite sure where to even begin with this mess, but it's a start." Severus muttered, glancing at Hermione's face before cutting the corner to the long stretch of bare stone wall. Narcissa all but whispered the password before disappearing into the stairwell.

"Narcissa! Wha-"

"Stop, Lucius. I'll deal with her later, 'Mione needs our attention first." Severus pushed past him, slender limbs gliding down the stairs despite the extra weight in his arms, his friend keeping pace at his heels.

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Hermione's limp form was laid delicately on the floor, her head resting on Lucius lap. His back was resting against the frame of the bed, one hand idly playing with a curl, the other holding up her jeweled hand for Severus.

He couldn't help but stare at her. She was quite pretty. Beautiful, even. He could see himself kissing her hand. The flush on her cheeks. The warmth of the crook of her neck. She seemed so familiar to him, even more so now than ever. He couldn't explain it. He couldn't explain the jealousy that boiled in his chest during her private meeting with Riddle. He had reasoned it was his upset for the pain Severus would feel, this heartbreak coming as a near fatal blow to him. His realization now being that he had wanted to be where Riddle had been, if only for a moment. Her back pressed to his chest, her gentle hums and coos as he held her and kissed any and every inch of visible skin. The idea of holding her every night as she drifted off to sleep coaxed a smile to his face.

A loud crash, and several expletives brought Lucius back to reality.

He wouldn't do that to his best mate.

Severus flicked his wand, frustratedly, clearing the mess. "I can't make a damned replica of that damned ring! I can't find anything in her bag to wake her, I don't have anything left of the wide eye potions." Severus sank into his chair "I can't even think." He grabbed an empty clay jar from his desk, hurling it angrily across the room, the shattering bringing his anger to a peak "Damn, her! Damn Narcissa for this stupid game!"

Lucius stared at him, their eye contact apparently sparking an idea in the young wizards mind as he jumped from his chair, almost violently. Ripping the door open, he was gone.

Lucius dropped Hermiones hand, using his wand to summon what he needed from her dresser to clean her face, settling on the flannel, and her jar of cream. Undoing the lid of the jar, he went to work. The dark makeup melting away, revealing her paled skin. The lipstick dissolving into a gentle pink. She never twitched, or even fluttered her eyelids. A flick of his wand transfigured her gown into a black silk knee length night gown. The delicate fabric clinging to soft curves. Before he could stop himself, his hand was by her face, his thumb stroking her cheek.

A slow burn broke into a wildfire starting at his thumb and ripping its way up his arm. Images of Bella, knife in hand, pinning Hermione down. The poor girl screaming, tears staining her face in a familiar room at Malfoy manor. "Help me! Please!" She begged. Lucius grimaced as Hermione's face was slammed into the floor.

"Lucius!" Severus shouted, causing him to snap back to reality. "Narcissa is going to wake her up. I need you to stay here and help me with her tonight in case of any side effects." Eliciting a nod.

Narcissa kneeled next to Hermione's body, avoiding the hard stare from Lucius. Her wand aimed at Hermiones heart, a soft green glow manifesting at the tip. As she moved the wand up to Hermione's forehead, the soft light became almost blinding. A quarter turn of the wrist, and the overwhelming glow was gone, leaving behind a soft groan from Hermione, her brow furrowing slightly before going limp again.

Narcissa slipped the cursed ring off of Hermiones hand, looking at Severus, almost remorseful, "give her a little while before she wakes up, it may be a while." Handing him the trinket, then quickly escaping before either boy could verbally attack her.

"What in the actual fuck was that?"

"I'm not quite sure. But I'm sure she'll wake us when she's finally up." Lucius shrugged, scooping Hermione up, and settling her in the center of the bed.

Severus tossed him a pair of pajama pants. "Let's just get some rest, if that's the case, and we can figure out the rest tomorrow."