Hermione stepped off the train at King's Cross in London and looked around. No sign of her parents.
"Do you see them?" Harry appeared at her shoulder, pressing, a kiss to her neck as he did so.
"No. They may be out in the car. Or late. Something like that." Hermione shrugged.
"Not all your family's just like you, then?" Ron snickered as he got off the train, his trunk bumping along behind him.
"Watch your trunk, Ron. It's not as young as you are." She commented absently. Harry's whistle brought her out of her thoughts, and she turned to see Ron looking somewhat put out. "Oh!" She exclaimed, suddenly realising what she had said. "I didn't mean it like that, Ron!" She added, flinging her arms around him in an extravagant hug.
"Alright, alright!" Ron said, rolling his eyes at Harry over Hermione's shoulder. Harry grinned as Ron gradually darkened in colour before finally pushing Hermione away. "Feeliong the need to breathe, luv." He said. Hermione released him sheepishly.
"Sorry."
"No problem. Though methinks your boyfriend was verging a little on the jealous side." Hermione spun and Harry hastily backed up, hands raised in surrender from his out-going and…enthused girlfriend.
"I realise you love me and me only, don't worry." He assured her. Hermione paused thoughtfully, cocking her head as she regarded him. Then she grinned.
"Good!" Harry sent a relieved look in Ron's direction, but his attention was immediately brought back to his girlfriend. "Hey, guys! Look!" She pointed in the direction of a large group of red-haired people heading in their direction, all of them beaming and waving.
"My god." Ron groaned. "They brought the entire bleeding family!"
"Hey! On the behalf of those who appreciate your family, I take it upon myself to say 'tut!'" Harry punched Ron in the shoulder. "Incidentally, dead arm!"
"You are so dead you stringy moron!" Ron growled, dropping his trunk and lunging for Harry. Hermione shrieked and dashed out of the way, towards the approaching Weasleys. Ignoring the two boys behind her, Hermione grinned.
"Hi guys!" She gave Mrs Weasley a hug. "How are you? And everyone at home at once. Well, your life must be interesting." She observed.
"You don't know the half of it." Molly Weasley sighed good-naturedly. "How's school been?"
"Wonderful, as usual." Hermione smiled brightly. Charlie brushed past his mother and took Hermione by the shoulders. She looked mildly alarmed at first, but then relaxed. He looked her up and down and gave a low whistle.
"My my Miss Madison!" He said appreciatively. "How you've grown since I last saw you!"
"Hey, Charlie! Leave the dish to those of us who actually know her!" The twins pulled her away and stifled her with hugs.
Ron laughed at the look on Harry's face when he saw the attention the elder Weasley 'boys' were lavishing on Hermione. "Breathe, Harry." He advised. Harry dragged his attention away from Hermione.
"What?" He asked distractedly.
"They know she's taken." Ron nodded in his family's direction. "It's pretty much the reason they're fussing over her."
"You sure?" Harry muttered, watching as Bill picked her up and swung her around, much to her delight, and embarrassment.
"Positive. I've told them all like a zillion times, and plus they all did this to Penelope when Percy brought her home the first couple of times. Drove him mad. Anyway, Charlie and Bill were the worst because they knew her from school already. The twins just worshipped the ground she walked on. Either way, just relax and say hi. They don't mean anything by it."
Harry nodded and shot a thankful look in Ron's direction before resolutely striding towards the extended Weasley family and his flustered girlfriend.
&
Hermione watched as Mr Weasley loaded the last of Harry's luggage in the car next to Ron's rather battered trunk in the boot of the car, then smiled as he turned to look at her.
"You sure you're okay here?" He asked. Hermione nodded with a shrug. "We could wait."
"Nah, it's all good. My parents are in a traffic jam just outside London. They'll be here in like fifteen minutes."
"We can stay. It's not a problem." He volunteered. Hermione shook her head.
"It's okay."
"Come on, Dad! Let's go!" Ron yelled, sticking his head out of the open window of the car. Mr Weasley and Hermione rolled their eyes at each other.
"You better get him home before his accidentally wrecks something." Hermione advised. She watched through the window as a fight broke out in the back of the car. "Or before someone ends up injured." Mr Weasley glanced over his shoulder at his precious car. "Go on, go. I really don't mind. It's totally not a big deal."
"Well, if you're sure." Mr Weasley said slowly. Hermione nodded.
"Really, I'm fine."
"Alright. You coming over later this summer to join the madhouse?" He grinned.
"Sure, why not? Yeah, I'll be there."
"Good. Well, we'll see you later then. Have a good summer, Hermione." She nodded.
"Will do."
He climbed into the car and started the engine. All the windows rolled down and heads and arms and even a foot suddenly sprouted from the sides of the cars.
"Don't forget to write us!" Ron called.
"Please come and save me!" Ginny entreated.
"Later Madison!" Charlie called. Hermione nodded and smiled and waved as the car drove off, then sighed when it disappeared from sight.
"Where are you?" She muttered grumpily, eyeing the entrance to the car park. "Stupid late parents."
She sat on her trunk and drummed her fingers on the top of the wicker baskets containing her unhappily caged monster cat Crookshanks (and she would never, ever admit to Ron that Crookshanks really was a monster cat). He hissed in annoyance, and Hermione looked through the small gaps in the cage.
"Sweetie, are you okay? I know you're unhappy cuz you're in a cage…but grandmommy will be here soon and then we can all go home." She cooed. "How does that sound, Crookshanks?"
"Just perfect." Hermione's head jerked up and she saw a pretty dark-haired woman standing in front of her.
"I'm sorry?" Hermione asked politely, straightening and turning her full attention to the woman.
"I said, just perfect." The woman smiled, and Hermione recoiled at the way the expression transformed her face and made her look slightly insane. Something hard poked her in her side and Hermione slowly looked down to see polished wood pressed against her ribcage. She looked up and over her shoulder to see the owner of the wand, a rough-looking man dressed like a homeless person.
He smelled like a homeless person too.
"Let's go, Miss Granger." The woman said, her mouth still stretched into the maniacal smile.
"Go where?" Hermione asked as calmly as she could. The wand poked more sharply into her side.
"Not a matter for you to worry your pretty little head about." The homeless man growled. "Now, if you'll just do us a favour and follow dear crazy Madeleine there." The woman, Madeleine, waved cheerily before grabbing Hermione's wrist and pulling her towards a green fiat sitting alone in the corner of the carpark. Madeleine opened the car door and shoved Hermione inside before pushing her over and climbing into the car after her, slamming the door shut.
Something moving caught Hermione's arm and she looked forward to see the driver shake off the effects of a chameleon potion and settle himself in front of the wheel, turning the car on and gunning it out of the car park.
You're going to get yourself stopped, moron. Hermione thought with smug satisfaction. She kept her mouth shut. If they got stopped then she could yell for help, say she'd been, kidnapped. Then this psycho-nightmare could just end.
"Slow down Petrus." Madeleine snapped. "You'll get us stopped." Petrus slowed to a more acceptable speed, and Hermione's heart sank.
"Who cares if we get stopped? What are they going to do, arrest us?" Petrus asked scornfully.
"They'll listen to the brat's predictable cry for help, idiot." Madeleine retorted.
"So gag her." Petrus shrugged.
"Yeah, because that will be so helpful in proving to muggle police that she's here with consent." Madeleine rolled her eyes. Petrus was silent.
Hermione stared out the window, wishing to God that she had asked Mr Weasley to stay and wait with her. Then she wouldn't be in this damn mess. Suddenly a familiar car whizzed past, and she spun, staring out of the rear window and biting her tongue to stop from crying out.
"Is it the cops?" Petrus asked testily.
"Nah. Brat's just seen her parents go the wrong way is all." Madeleine said nonchalantly. She smirked at Hermione, who glared at her. Madeleine casually backhanded Hermione across the face, and Hermione's head hit the window with a sick thud.
"Mad, cut it out. Anyone sees that and we'll definitely get stopped." Petrus barked, glancing into the rearview mirror.
"Stupid bitch." Madeleine muttered. Hermione touched her fingertips to her forehead gingerly, wincing at the throbbing pain there. She looked up at Petrus turned off the motorway onto a private road that became less and less carworthy as they continued down it. Finally he turned into a copse of woods, and Madeleine jumped out of the car and dragged Hermione unceremoniously with her.
"What's going on?" Hermione demanded, and Madeleine snapped another backhand across her face. Hermione licked her bleeding lip and said nothing.
"Keep your mouth shut." Madeleine grabbed her wrist and pulled Hermione after her, deeper into the trees. They came to a clearing and Madeleine faced her. "Especially in front of Him." Hermione's heart sank into her stomach and she felt physically sick. There was only one man that someone like Madeleine would talk about in that manner.
Petrus grabbed Hermione's other wrist and grabbed a sheaf of nettles sitting on a nearby trunk. He swore as they stung him, and then the familiar feel of moving through time and space shot through Hermione, and the woods disappeared.
&
They appeared in an antechamber, lit by candles that rested in a huge ornate chandelier that hung above them. Hermione almost felt nervous standing underneath it. The room was furnished with two armchairs and a dark cherrywood table by the window, which gave a clear view of the countryside surrounding wherever they were.
Looks like English countryside, at least. Hermione consoled herself. That's a good sign.
"He'll see you." She looked up to see a dark-cloaked man standing in the doorway, looking over at them. "Bring her."
Madeleine grabbed Hermione's wrist again and dragged her through the door into a large, lavishly furnished room. Hermione glanced around and then saw. Stood by the window was the spectre-like figure that had everyone scared shitless. Hermione's stomach knotted.
She looked around frantically, searching for a way out, but found nothing but big arched windows. And judging by the view from said windows, it looked like the room was at least two floors up.
"Well, well, Miss Madison." Hermione took a step back, skin crawling, at the sound of the slimy voice paraphrasing Charlie's warm welcome. She clenched her teeth to keep from screaming and found herself settling into an odd sort of resigned calm. What would happen would happen. It's not like she had any choice in the matter. She might be as scared as hell, but that didn't mean he'd see it. Steeling herself with thoughts of her hero-boyfriend, who had survived not one but five encounters with the Big Bad, she looked up from the white marble floor into the face of Harry's arch-nemesis.
Voldemort smiled as she forced herself to match him stare for stare, clenching her teeth and fists to keep from looking away and giving in.
"You are…brave, Miss Madison. Just like your boyfriend, the enviable Mr Potter."
"He's hardly enviable." Hermione ground out defiantly. There were gasps of outrage all around the room, and Voldemort's smile disappeared.
"Do not speak unless I tell you too!" he snarled, lashing out with a fist and knocking Hermione to the ground. She spat out a tooth that bounced on the marble floor with a ping before looking up. Voldemort stood over her, his face blank as he looked down at her,
"Here, you are at my court. You do what I say when I say, and you do not talk back to me. You will pay me the utmost respect, because you see this?" he extended his hand to her, and over it a glowing golden sphere rotated slowly. She nodded, and he clenched his fist, the golden light winking out instantly. "That represented your life." He smiled toothily. "It's in my hands, and I have no qualms about closing my fist. You're only a mudblood." His smile stretched into a deaths-head grin, extending almost from ear to ear. He stepped back and turned to his black-robed followers. "Take her to her room."
Two deatheaters grabbed Hermione's arms and hauled her up from the floor, then dragged her out of the room and down some stairs. As they went deeper underground, Hermione realised 'room' was the civilised term for it.
The 'room' was actually a rather dark, dank dungeon that appeared to be below the water table, judging by the water trickling down the walls. Hermione shivered at the drop of temperature, and one of the deatheaters grinned.
"Bit chilly down 'ere, aint it?" he commented, his rancid breath blowing over Hermione's ear. She jerked away from him, and he slapped her. "Ah ah ah." He chided. "You gots to behave yourself, don't she?" he looked at the other deatheater, who rolled his eyes.
"Don't taint yourself." He sneered. "Just leave the mudblood in the cell and let's go." They shoved Hermione bodily into the cell and she stumbled ungraciously into the dark room, and the thick wooden door slammed solidly behind her.
Once her eyes adjusted to the dark she looked around, taking in the sparse details of the cell. It was a square cell, which seemed roughly eight foot across, wide and high. The door was thick and black with damp and dirt, though when Hermione knocked on it it seemed very hard, very thick and very strong.
Dammit.
There was nothing in the room apart from the pervading smell of dampness and mildew. Hermione stood in the centre of the cell and allowed herself to breathe freely for the first time, and then promptly wished she hadnt. The room stank. She looked around for somewhere to sit, and found nothing. And she didn't feel inclined to lean against the disgusting walls.
She glanced at her watch. Only 7.30 pm. Two hours ago she had gotten on the train with her two best friends and now she was stuck in a dungeon who knows where waiting for Voldemort to decide to kill her or get on with whatever dastardly plan he had in store this time. Plus, he kept calling her Madison.
Honestly. she grouched, viewing her cell again skeptically. He clearly went to the trouble of finding out about me and Harry and yet he couldn't even get the damn name right. She backed up and gingerly leaned against the wall, feeling the dampness soak through the back of her shirt.
Where was Harry when you wanted him?
&
So tell me if you like it, please. I know I've been away for absolutely ages, but I've been writing in my absence, so I'll do my best to update as soon as I can. Next time will probably been Christmas, but that's in only a month (yay!) so you won't, hopefully, have too long to wait. I will also do my utmost to keep writing the unfinished stories I already have up, like Leoli and my many Harry Potter fics, which I started and never finished. Until then, I hope this will tide you over, so enjoy! Istalindar.