Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot, everything else belongs to the brilliant Miss JK Rowling.
A/N: This chapter has been edited.
...
Chapter 1: Ambush
Hermione hummed quietly to herself while she lounged on her bed and read a rather dusty old book. The witch was interrupted from her concentration when she glanced at the clock and noticed it was already six o'clock. Time for the meeting. She set the book down and descended the stairs just as a couple knocks came on the door of the Burrow. Upon arriving downstairs, she found most of the order members sitting around the fireplace.
"Hermione!" Harry beamed as he ran over to hug her.
Hermione smiled and hugged him back, happy to see her best friend. "Has Ginny come down to see you?" She questioned.
Ginny and Harry had been in a steady relationship ever since the war ended about six months ago. They wanted to move in together, but Molly refused until they were engaged. Harry currently lived in Grimmauld Place on his own while Ginny lived at the Burrow with Hermione, Ron, George, Molly, and Arthur.
"No, Ron said she's just getting out of the shower." Harry said.
"Hey Hermione," Ron greeted her from his seat on the couch.
Ron, Harry, and Hermione were still great friends since the end of the war. There were a few bumps in the road, but they managed. One of their hardest points was only a month after the final battle. Ron and Hermione broke up. They thought their relationship would blossom into love, but realized that it was nothing without the war to push them together. Even after their breakup, Hermione was lucky that they could remain somewhat close friends.
"Everyone quiet down! We need to get this meeting started!" Kingsley said in a loud voice. The whole room grew silent as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix started their weekly meeting.
Hermione sat down on the couch next to Ron and Harry, who sat next to Ginny after she joined them seconds later.
"Sorry I'm late." A familiar voice said from the doorway. Hermione instantly tensed up as she turned to see Draco Malfoy, the newest member of the Order enter the Burrow.
She could feel both Ron and Harry tense up as well. They didn't trust him. About three months after the final battle, Draco asked if he could join the order. He claimed that he had turned his life around and was no longer in contact with his parents or any of the death eaters who still weren't in Azkaban. Nobody trusted him at first, but after some research, Kingsley decided that Draco was a trustworthy and useful addition to the order. People began to grow used to his presence and enjoy his company at the fortnightly meetings, but no member of the golden trio could forgive his past mistakes yet.
"Ah, Draco, please have a seat, we're only just starting." Kingsley said with a warm smile. Once Draco was settled in the back of the room, Kinsley continued, "Now, I have some bad news" He paused for a moment, "…I've been informed that there has recently been a series of high profile escapes from Azkaban."
The room was silent as they waited to hear more.
"According to reports, several former Death Eaters have escaped. Their whereabouts are currently unknown, so we must be very careful." Kingsley continued.
Gasps were heard around the room. "How is that possible?" Someone asked.
"We don't exactly know yet, there have been reports to the Ministry about some form of dark magic, a possible new spell or something." Kingsley replied. The man worked from a very high up position in the Ministry, and this information was always relayed to him.
People started murmuring throughout the small crowd. Kingsley was about to say something else when a large crash was heard outside. Molly Weasley was the first to look outside. She screamed when she saw a group of dark figures approaching. "Death Eaters!" Everyone went into a panic.
It was Hermione's instinct to rush outside with the others, wand at the ready, and begin sending hexes at the attackers. The war had left everyone on their toes at all times, it was just like Mad-Eye used to say, "Constant Vigilance!"
The darkening sky was illuminated by a plethora of curses. Everyone was fighting, and there were far more Death Eaters than Hermione thought possible. She ran around the yard outside the burrow, dodging curses and jumping over unconscious bodies. Well…she wasn't sure they were unconscious, but she would rather not assume they were dead.
"HERMIONE, DUCK!" A strange voice screamed from behind her. She immediately hit the ground. A violent ray of green light flew over her head. After a few seconds, she got up and looked over to see that Draco had warned her of the curse. He was trying to win over her trust, she knew it. It wasn't going to be that easy, however.
Hermione continued fighting for at least twenty minutes. Sweat was causing her shirt to stick to her shoulders as she disarmed a young Death Eater. Presumably a new recruit.
Then, she felt a curse hit her straight in the back, knocking her forward and into the cornfields. She was on the ground for only a few seconds before she heard two pairs of feet coming towards her. The bushy haired witch got up quickly, only to be disarmed by a mysterious figure. She began running, but was tripped and thrown to the ground by someone else. She tried to get up, but had the wind knocked out of her by an excruciating kick to the stomach.
"Filthy Mudblood." The man who tipped her growled.
She tried to scream, but couldn't find her voice. The only thing she could do was look up at her attackers. Hermione recognized them immediately. There, standing above her was Antonin Dolohov and Fenrir Greyback. They laughed as her fear became obvious and her pupils dilated.
"Crucio!" Dolohov screamed as he sent the unforgivable at her.
The pain was horrible, it was the worst pain imaginable. The only other time Hermione had felt pain like this was when she had been tortured with the same curse by Bellatrix Lestrange. She let out a blood curling scream. It felt as if her skin was being ripped from her body, and her insides were lit on fire. She wanted so desperately for the pain to stop. It was absolutely and utterly unbearable.
Then it stopped. It was as if the whole world dropped dead. She laid on the ground for a moment of pure silence before she came back. Hermione gasped in relief as she was once again aware of her surroundings. Her face was wet with tears and her throat hurt from screaming.
Dolohov bent down slightly from behind her. "You are going to die." He growled.
Hermione found her voice and screamed as loud as she could. She was silenced only a second later by another blow to her stomach as Greyback began kicking her repeatedly. She could almost hear her ribs cracking under his foot.
After what seemed like an hour, he finally stopped kicking her. Hermione tried to contain the sobs and get up from the ground, but was pushed down by Dolohov's foot on the side of her head. Hermione had never felt this small and helpless before. Here she was, laying on the groud in the middle of a cornfield while a battle was raging on only a few hundred feet away. Nobody knew that she was here, nobody knew she was currently being tortured by two Azkaban escapees. She couldn't run, she couldn't fight, she couldn't even hide from them. There was no escape.
It was so dehumanizing, in a sense. These wretched men were taking away her dignity with sadistic grins on their faces. She was laying on the cold, damp ground with tears wetting her face. Fear enveloped her as she wondered what they would do to her. How much would they torture her until they finally put an end to her life?
Greyback bent down now, getting near her level, and putting his face close enough so she could smell his rancid breath. "We're going to have some fun with you." He said with a malicious smile.
Hermione suddenly felt a burst of Gryffindor courage as she took a deep breath and spat in his face.
"Damn Mudblood!" She heard him yell as he backed away from her.
Hermione was about to attempt at more retaliation, but was stopped by a kick to the back of her head. Her eyesight faded quickly as she felt her mind distancing from the dark surroundings. Ringing buzzed around in her head intil she fell into unconsciousness.