Disclaimer: I own nothing that you see featured here, except for the plot. The characters and overall storyline are all property of J. K. Rowling's.
Warning: Rated Mature for severe torture, major character deaths, and some language. If you are uncomfortable with any of this, then I suggest that you turn back now. You have been warned...
This story is not Deathly Hallows compliant.
She Finally Knew Why
Hermione Granger was not known for her bravery. Oh, it was there all right. Everyone knew that she had it. She was, after all, a member of the Golden Trio. The Dream Team. The fighters of evil. All destined to save the world from anything and everything dark. It came with all of their heroic adventures over the years, all of their noble acts and ever frequent brushes with death.
Yet Hermione was not known for her bravery. She was known for her brilliance. For her ability to think logically and always be the one with the excellent advice to give out. Her rationality and common sense easily surpassed that of any of her friends, which might have something to do with her ever sound reasoning.
Her leadership skills however, left much to be desired. She couldn't help but feel apprehensive whenever going over plans with the others and that perhaps is why she was not known for her bravery. A true Gryffindor had it in them to take charge in any situation and did so with great enthusiasm.
"All right, you lot," she said as she got to her feet. "What have we got on the remaining Horcruxes so far?"
Hermione, Ron, Neville, Draco, Ginny, and Luna were all located at Luna's house. After securing the area around it and placing all of the necessary wards down, they had decided to use it as a safe house not long after Harry had died. They were all currently sitting at Luna's kitchen table. Hermione at one end of the table, Ron at the other end. Draco and Ginny sat at one side of it, Luna and Neville on the other facing them.
"Well..." Ginny spoke up. "We haven't been able to locate Hufflepuff's cup yet, but me and Luna did managed to locate Slytherin's locket."
"Excellent," Hermione replied as Ginny pulled the locket out of her pocket and placed it on the table before them. "Where did you manage to obtain it?" she asked curiously.
"At Grimmauld place," Luna answered for Ginny. The blond witch was staring intently at Hermione as she spoke. Her pale eyes had a hard look in them. When Voldemort killed Harry Potter and took over the Wizarding world, a definite change had come over Luna. The Ravenclaw no longer took enjoyment in discussing fictional magical creatures. Gone were the dreamy smiles and the words of nonsense that Hermione had once so despised. She had become far more serious than any of them could have ever imagined. She truly desired nothing more now than to bring Voldemort down, a wish that was mutually shared by the other members of their small group.
"Grimmauld place?" Draco said looking confused. "Isn't that the old headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix?" Luna nodded as she turned to face him.
Draco had turned to their side not long after Snape had shown his true colors by murdering Dumbledore. While they were mistrustful of the Slytherin at first, he had proven his trust to them. They certainly needed all the help that they could get and he was surprisingly very willing to assist.
"Yes, Grimmauld place," Ginny spoke up. "R.A.B turned out to be none other than Regulus Arcturus Black, another member of the Black family. He was a Death Eater during the late 1970's, but was killed on unknown circumstances not long after he had joined. A little prodding around led us to find out that he died in late 1979. He found out about the locket Horcrux and died in a failed attempt to destroy it. He had his family's house elf, Kreacher, bring it back home and keep it hidden there as a dying order."
Ron stared at Ginny and Luna in obvious amazement. "How did you both find this out?" he asked.
"Kreacher," Ginny replied. "He had relocated back to the house after Hogwarts brief closing following Dumbledore's death. He agreed to help on the condition that we make sure to destroy the Horcrux."
"But I thought that Grimmauld place was no longer safe now that Snape has been exposed as being loyal to Voldemort?" Neville spoke up then. "What if someone had caught you?"
"We are not at risk until the house is officially under ownership of the Lestrange's," was Luna's reply. "But since it very well may be soon in light of Harry's recent death, it was a pure stroke of luck that Ginny and I happened to be there at the moment."
"That's certainly so," Hermione agreed wearily. She ran a hand tiredly through her dark brown curls. "Okay, so we have the locket, we have already destroyed the diadem, we are still missing the cup, then all we have are Nagini and Voldemort to take care of."
'This may just work out alright,' she thought to herself. 'We may just be able to do this.'
"That seems about right," Luna said with a nod in her direction.
"Then we have better get to work destroying the locket," Hermione said to her in response. "Which one of you wants to do it?"
"If you don't mind Granger, I would like to do the honers," Draco answered in his usual drawling tone. His tone sounded light but he was not joking at all. There was a look of great intensity in his pale gray eyes as he picked up the Horcrux. He studied it carefully for a moment, then reached a hand inside his robe pocket and pulled out his wand. He pointed it at the Horcrux.
"Fiendfyre!"
The locket began to sizzle and burn at once. Draco kept his wand steady as he watched the locket be destroyed right in front of his eyes. There was a look of burning satisfaction in his eyes all the while that this was occurring. Hermione knew that he loathed Voldemort just as much as she did. Voldemort had after all, murdered both of Draco's parents after he had failed to kill the headmaster. It was only by sheer luck that he had escaped the same horrible fate as them.
Thankfully, they all had enough experience with this spell to know how to control it. The damage it could cause if not handled properly could be fatal.
After Draco had managed to destroy the locket there was silence. For a moment no one made a sound. Then finally, Ginny spoke up.
"Where do you suppose the cup is?" she was looking pointedly at Hermione as she said this. "I have searched for it but it is very cleverly hidden and well I thought that maybe..."
She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to really. Hermione understood her well enough. Since Ginny and Luna hadn't been able to find the cup, it now became Hermione's responsibility. She was the leader of this group now that Harry was gone. So naturally, in situations like this, everyone would turn to her for answers.
The problem was that she had no idea where the cup was. Except...
"It's location is being protected by Death Eaters," she said. "He gave it to one of his followers to hold onto."
"What! Are you sure?" Ginny asked looking doubtful.
Hermione nodded. "From what I gather he very well did. It would have to be to someone that he was sure that he could trust. Someone that would remain faithful to him no matter what."
All of them thought on that for a moment. It wasn't as though Voldemort trusted any of his followers all that much. Even if they did appear to be nothing but trustworthy, he still appeared to be mistrustful of them. He obviously had good reason to be, after all, how many of them had actually remained faithful after he had disappeared? They had just assumed him dead and moved on. The only ones that had actually made a halfway decent attempt to find him had been Barty Crouch Jr. and...
"...the Lestrange's," Hermione said aloud. Neville looked up at her darkly at the mention of them.
"Are you sure?" Ron asked with some skepticism in his voice.
"Not positive," Hermione answered. "But they are probably by far his most loyal. So it would make more sense for them to have it than for anyone else to."
"Well we don't exactly know where they are Hermione," Ginny pointed out.
Draco chose to speak up then. "No, but I know that they have an old manor that they took refuge in when they had first escaped Azkaban," he told them. "It's unoccupied now as far as I know, but they very well could have hid the Horcrux there if they have it in their possession."
"That could be so," Hermione agreed, looking thoughtful. "But would we be able to get there without any haste?"
"I'm keyed into the wards of the manor," Draco replied. "...or at least, I was at one time," he continued after a moment's pause. "I have only been there a small handful of times though and am not sure exactly what sort of enchantments they have in place. Since my parents deaths they very well may have placed additional wards on the manor, especially if they are harboring a Horcrux." he shrugged. "I very well haven't seen them since then, so I wouldn't know whether or not they did or they didn't."
"We can always apparate to the spot and run several diagnostic spells over the area," Hermione said.
"But what if they don't have the Horcrux?" Ginny asked her.
"I don't know," Hermione answered truthfully. "But it is the best shot that we have right now."
Later on that day, Hermione climbed exhausted into her bed. She felt tired but happy just the same, or at least happier than she had felt in a long while. They had gotten a good deal accomplished that day. One more Horcrux was destroyed and they very well may have been on their way to destroying another one.
'Just one more and then Nagini,' Hermione thought as she snuggled under the covers. 'Then after that we go for Voldemort.'
Admittedly, Hermione had no idea where Voldemort was at the moment. True, since his side had won he was able to move out into the open without a problem. Yet, his current whereabouts were unknown to the group and that worried Hermione greatly. They needed to keep a close eye on him but it was becoming very hard to do when they were all in hiding. Unfortunately, this was necessary if they valued their lives at all. Since Harry had died...
'Since Harry died they all gave up,' Hermione thought bitterly. 'They all basically threw in the towel. All of them, the Order, the Ministry, everyone who had been for the light. Either they were dead or had called it quits after Harry's passing and let Voldemort and the Death Eater's take over.'
Well, Hermione was not them. She had enough sense to know that the Wizarding world had had no right to expect a teenage boy to singlehandedly defeat the greatest, most feared dark wizard the world had perhaps ever seen. He had needed help and they had failed to provide him with it. Then Voldemort had found him not long after Dumbledore's passing and now he was dead.
Yet, Hermione and Ron hadn't given in. Instead, they had continued on their search for Horcruxes. Draco had joined them not long after that. He had been truly traumatized by his parents horrific deaths which he had bore witness to. Luna, Ginny and Neville had decided to help them then and they had all began using Luna's home as a hideout.
They spent their time now searching for the remaining Horcruxes. The diary, ring, diadem, and now the locket were all destroyed. All they had left to destroy were the cup, Nagini and the creator of the Horcruxes, Voldemort himself.
In all honesty, Hermione was terrified about the thought of actually going up against him in battle. She knew how powerful he was, how evil he was, and how cruel he could obviously be. They could all pull out their wands and duel their hardest and they might still get killed by him.
Yet...they might not and that was what kept Hermione going. The thought that if maybe, they actually managed to kill the madman the Wizarding world would have some hope. People would be more willing to fight if they realized that he was dead, the dark side would be disoriented without their master for at least awhile. Long enough for the light to perhaps get on its feet. At least, Hermione could hope...
She could worry about it tomorrow. They would be making an attempt to get the cup tomorrow. For tonight, all Hermione wanted was to get a good night's sleep. Or at least, a decent one if that was at all possible. She hadn't sleep well in what was probably months.
She wanted one good nights sleep, even if it was the last time she would ever sleep well.
Surprisingly for once she got her wish, she slept all throughout the night, not awakening once. She was bombarded with strange dreams however. In one of her dreams, she saw Neville cutting off Nagini's head with a large rubied sword. She witnessed Ginny murdering Bellatrix Lestrange in another, her whole form trembling as she did so, tears of rage and grief prominent in her eyes. She watched as Draco killed Snape, a look of anger and betrayal in his own eyes as he stared at the man in a third one. She saw Voldemort falling in one of her last dreams of the night as several streaks of green light connected with him from at least three or fours different wands, his eyes open and glassy, the look of death in them.
She woke up feeling refreshed and though she was curious as to the meaning behind the dreams, she forgot about them within minutes of waking up. She had always disapproved of anything even remotely related to Divination anyways...
The next day was very stressful for them all. After everyone was awake, they began to go over the plan.
First Draco would apparate in with Hermione. Then Ron and Luna would apparate in from another location. Neville and Ginny would come next, in yet another direction. They would go over the layout before hand and move from different directions to lift the wards. Whoever managed to lift the wards first would touch the old D.A coins that they all had on them. The coins would then burn, informing the others. Then the others could enter.
It was a solid enough plan. Yet, Hermione couldn't help but feel apprehensive. It could go wrong, a thousand things could go wrong. Yet they had to do it, they had to at least try.
As they prepared to leave, Hermione noticed that the others looked just as tense as her. Ron seemed shell-shocked as he placed his wand inside his robes, Ginny and Luna weren't talking at all, and Draco was paler than usual, if that was at all possible.
Neville however, was the quietest and most subdued of the lot. He was just sitting at the kitchen table, his eyes staring unseeingly across the room. Hermione gazed sympathetically at him. She knew that the prospect of going to the home of the people who had tortured his parents into insanity was probably getting to him. Settling herself down in a chair beside him, she reached over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"It will all be okay," she said to him. "We will be in and out is all."
He gave her a rather weak smile. She felt her stomach clench painfully. She knew she wasn't fooling anyone, she was just as nervous and unsure about this as he was, if not more so.
They started off a minute later. First Hermione and Draco like planned. The two walked past the wards put on Luna's house. Draco then turned to Hermione.
"Remember the location I told you Granger," he said to her. "We wouldn't want you to mess up and apparate about a good fifty feet away or splinch yourself."
"Don't worry," Hermione replied. "I remember the location quite clearly."
"If you are sure?" Draco said. He then spun on his heel and vanished with a soft pop. Hermione followed after him a moment later.
As soon as she appeared, she felt her mood rapidly worsen. They were on the outskirts of the place. A huge stretch of land was before them, that all surrounded a large elaborate manor. It was a very attractive looking place, several stories high, dark green in color, with long black shutters encasing the numerous windows. The whole land surrounding the manor was covered with numerous plant life that added to the beauty of the home greatly, yet somehow aided in the sinister feeing that Hermione had when she looked around her.
"Okay," Hermione said turning to address Draco, lest she start feeling even sicker than she already did. "You said that you were keyed into the wards. Do you think that there is any chance that you still are?" she doubted it but there was no harm in asking him.
Draco shook his head. "Not likely Granger," he told her. "They are perhaps harboring something of great importance to Lord Voldemort. So it's more than likely they would have changed the warding on the place so that the security is increased tenfold and since I'm considered a blood traitor for not having been able to murder the headmaster in our sixth year, I honestly doubt that they would forget to make sure that I cannot possibly enter."
Hermione heaved a sigh. "You're probably right," she said pulling out her wand. "But that sure doesn't make things any easier."
The two began to lightly test the wards. They didn't want to start removing anything until they knew exactly what they were dealing with. If they did that and something went wrong, they would be finished before they even started.
"I detect at least three major wards on the grounds surrounding the manor," Hermione said. "But there may be more. How many do you detect?"
"About five," Draco replied. "At least three major ones like you mentioned and two less advanced ones. I can probably bring down those without any problem," he continued. "But the other three..."
At that moment one of the wards surrounding the manor dropped. 'One of the others must have dismantled it,' Hermione thought to herself. 'That leaves four more and whatever enchantments are in place on the actual manor itself.'
She and Draco worked away at one of the more advanced spells in place. It took awhile but they finally managed to wear it down. Hermione felt her spirits lift slightly as just as they managed to lift it, another ward was lifted as well from a different location. 'Two more,' she thought to herself. 'Okay then.'
She and Draco set to work on another major ward. It was proving to be far more difficult than the other three and even though they were working their hardest (and Hermione had a feeling that the other four were as well) they could not lift it. Every spell they used on the ward proved futile.
'It's a shame that Ron's older brother Bill is dead,' Hermione thought to herself as they worked away on the ward. 'He was a curse breaker. He probably would have had no trouble at all getting through this ward and whatever other more complicated ones that they have in place up ahead.'
After what seemed like hours, they had managed to weaken the ward considerably, though it was still far from falling. One of the others had decided to take care of the other one apparently. Which meant that this was the last one to remove. Or at least, the last one surrounding the area. There were probably plenty more on the manor up ahead.
Finally, they managed to weaken the ward enough to break through it. After slipping inside, Hermione pressed her D.A. coin to let the others know that the last ward was lifted in case they didn't already know.
They met up near the front entrance to the manor. After running a few more diagnostic spells on the home, they discovered several more enchantments in place. They all began working at them, trying to at least weaken them enough to enter.
"All right, you lot, once we get inside we are to split up," Hermione said firmly as she lifted one of the weaker enchantments. "Each of us will separate into pairs of two. As soon as you have the Horcrux, touch your D. A. coin to let the others know. When you have it, just apparate out."
"Even if the others are still inside?" Ginny asked disbelievingly.
"Even if," Hermione continued. "As soon as you are all out of here, press the coin again to let the others know that you have apparated to safety."
"Well what exactly are we supposed to do if one of us doesn't make it out?" Neville questioned. "Just say to hell with them and continue on our merry way?"
"Unfortunately Neville, yes," Hermione replied. "We can't all risk capture if it can be avoided, especially whoever has the Horcrux in their possession."
"Well forget it!" Neville cried, glaring at Hermione. "I'm not losing any more people that I care about to the Lestrange's. They destroyed my parents, they killed my grandmother, I won't allow them to murder any of my friends too!"
Ginny clamped a hand down on his shoulder. "We all don't want to lose anyone Neville," she said softly as he turned to glare at her instead. "I for one, don't want to even consider the thought of one of you dieing. I already lost my whole family to the Death Eaters, besides Ron. But if it means bringing down Voldemort, then sometimes sacrifices have to be made."
Neville ignored her. Instead he turned back to address Hermione. "So you are saying that if you got captured and they were about to kill you, you wouldn't want us trying to rescue you?" he questioned her, disbelief etched in his eyes.
"No, I wouldn't," Hermione replied immediately. "Not if it meant putting others at risk of capture as well."
Draco just shook his head at her. "Such a Gryffindor thing to say, Granger," he said, with a characteristic sneer. "You are so noble that you would risk death just for your friends." he shook his head as if the thought of doing so was ludicrous. Which to him, it probably was.
"I'm not saying it to be noble," Hermione replied angrily. "I am saying it because I want the Horcrux to be destroyed. I want there to be at least someone to go after Voldemort. That's hardly me being a Gryffindor. If I were being a Gryffindor, I would say that we can't leave anyone behind and that we must all stick together no matter what. I'm trying my best to be practical here."
For a moment, no one said anything. Then Draco spoke again, in a much quieter tone of voice. "It's down. We can enter now."
They all began to enter one by one. After they had gotten inside, Draco spoke up once more. "I have to warn you all though. The ward isn't down for good. In about anywhere between a half hour to an hours time, it will go up again and when it does, the Lestrange's will be alerted to our presence at once, so we have to move fast."
On that note, they split up and began to search. Hermione headed off with Ron in one direction, Ginny with Draco in another, and Luna with Neville in a third.
For a while Hermione and Ron just walked, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious and casting whatever summoning charms they could think of. They saw nothing however, that pointed to any evidence of a Horcrux being there. The hallway they were traveling on seemed to stretch on for miles without any doors anywhere in sight. It made Hermione feel worse than ever.
"Well if we don't manage to find it, then I hope that the others have better luck," Hermione said. "I don't want this to be a wasted trip."
"Sure," was all Ron had to say. They turned a dark corner, their wands out ahead of them, the end tips alighted to help them see. A door finally loomed into view, half open. From where they were standing, Hermione thought that it looked a bit like a living room or a den of sorts.
"Whats wrong with you?" Hermione asked Ron as they both headed towards the doorway. "You are being very quiet."
Ron froze in place. He looked deeply uncomfortable. "Well, its just..." he began. "You almost make it sound like its a bad thing, being noble. Like you don't want to be called brave, don't want to be considered a true Gryffindor."
Hermione froze too, one hand outstretched towards the door. She hadn't been expecting a remark like that from him."That's probably because I never considered myself to be a true one in the first place," she told Ron flatly. "You and Harry were more the Gryffindor's of the group. I had always been the more mature one, the more rational one..."
"...and since when did being those things mean that you weren't really a Gryffindor?" Ron asked, as he stared intently at her. "You are one of the bravest people that I know. "
"Really?" Hermione asked him. "Because I don't feel very brave right now."
"Yes really," Ron said. "You are very brave. Thats one of the things that I..." he trailed off then, blushing furiously.
Hermione stared at him in obvious confusion. "It's one of the things that you what?" she asked.
Ron didn't respond. At the moment his attention was diverted elsewhere. Two figures were running down the hall towards them. Ginny and Draco.
"We have it," Ginny said as she came to a halt in front of them. She pulled the cup out of her robe pocket and showed it to the two. It gleamed majestically in the dim lighting of the long hallway.
Forgetting completely that Ginny and Draco had not listened to her instructions and apparated away already, Hermione's face broke out into a huge smile as she felt relief course through her. "Great, now we can..." she broke off then. There was a sudden pop out on the grounds. Ginny, Ron, and Draco appeared to have heard it as well, for they all went very still and quiet.
"The ward," Ginny breathed softly. "Do you think that it went back up already?" She was looking in Hermione's direction. Her brown eyes were wide with terror.
"It might have," Hermione replied. "Everyone apparate now!"
Ginny quickly pocketed the Horcrux. Snatching at Draco's hand, she spun on her heel. Both of them vanished about a moment later. Hermione heard a faint pop from far away followed by another, then felt her D. A. coin burn fiercely in her pocket. 'Luna and Neville had gotten away too.'
She and Ron grabbed hands and were about to apparate as well when Hermione felt herself being blasted backwards. She felt against the wall. Her wand went flying out of her hand. Beside her, Ron's wand went flying out of his hand as well.
Head ringing, Hermione looked up and felt her heart momentarily stop at the sight of Rabastan Lestrange leering unpleasantly down at her, his wand pointed directly at her heart.
"Well, what do we have here?" he sneered contemptuously. "A Weasley no doubt, and his girlfriend, how delightful" he then raised his voice and bellowed out, "RODOLPHUS! COME HERE QUICK! I HAVE FOUND THE INTRUDERS!"
Hermione felt her heart sinking further and further as she heard the sound of footsteps nearby. A moment later, Rodolphus Lestrange appeared in sight. His wand was out as well and he looked livid.
"Bella is fixing up the wards," he told his brother. "She should be along in about a minute or so." then he turned to face Ron and Hermione, who were still lying on the floor. "Who are they Rabastan?"
"I don't know, we haven't been properly introduced," Rabastan replied, sneering at the two of them. Rodolphus peered angrily down at the pair. "But I suspect that the redhead is probably a Weasley." Rabastan continued, as he eyed Ron's bright red hair with obvious distaste.
"You two!" Rodolphus snapped. "What are your names?"
"Why should we tell you?" Ron snapped back at him. "What difference would it make. You're still going to kill us both!"
"Crucio!" Rodolphus hissed pointing his wand at him. Immediately, Ron began to writhe on the ground in pain. He clamped down hard on his lips to keep from crying out. After a moment, Rodolphus lifted the spell.
"Such disrespect," he said, shaking his head. "Lets try this again boy, shall we?"
Before Ron could answer, a loud scream punctuated the air. A moment later, Bellatrix Lestrange came running towards them, her long black hair flying out past her as she hurried, wand clenched tightly in her hand, looking more insane than she had ever looked before.
"Rodolphus!" she cried as she came to a halt in front of them.. "It's gone. It..."
She trailed off at the sight of Ron and Hermione. Her expression altered from one of fear to one of complete anger.
"Are these two the intruders?" she asked turning to face her brother-in-law. He nodded..
"Get them into the living room!" she snapped at him and her husband.
Rabastan glared at her. "I don't take order from you, Bellatrix!" he said angrily.
She rounded on him at once. "IT'S GONE, YOU FOOL! THE CUP IS GONE AND I WANT TO KNOW WHERE IT IS! THE DARK LORD..."
"Calm down, Bella, we will handle it," Rodolphus said calmly. He grabbed a hold of Hermione while Rabastan grabbed Ron. They then dragged the two into the living room.
Hermione and Ron shared a desperate look as they were brought inside the room. They both knew that their chances of making it through this alive were slim to none. If they did, then they more than likely would be in a state no better than that of Neville's parents. If anything, death would be favorable over that kind of fate.
The room itself, did nothing to lessen their feelings of anxiety. It was a rather spacious room, expertly furnished and rather well-tempt despite the Lestrange's absence from it, leading Hermione to believe that they probably kept a house elf to tend to the place. A long row of wall-length windows framed with thick emerald green curtains took up the wall to the right of them. In front of them stood an elaborate marble fireplace, currently empty. Two couches, emerald green in color were situated along the wall to the left of them with cherry wood end tables set between and to the sides of them and a large coffee table before them made of the same dark wood. Hermione felt herself tremble slightly as she took in her rich yet dismal surroundings.
"Well?" Bellatrix demanded as she faced the two of them. "What did you both think that you were doing? Did you come here planning to take anything? You did, surely you did! Where is the cup that you took? ANSWER ME!"
"We didn't take anything!" Hermione cried. She felt like a coward for showing such weakness but she could not help it. Tears began to form in her eyes as she stared from Bellatrix to Ron struggling in Rabastan's arms and back to Bellatrix again. The only thing that kept her from breaking down completely at that moment was the knowledge that the others had managed to escape to safety with the Horcrux.
"YOU LIE!" Bellatrix screamed. "I know who you are, you're that filthy Mudblood who used to associate with Potter and he's the Weasley boy! You two being here isn't an accident, you came here with a purpose. You came here to take the Dark Lord's cup. Now hand it over!"
"I don't have it!" Hermione cried. "Why would I want to risk my life for a mere cup?"
"LIAR!" Bellatrix yelled. "ACCIO CUP!" Nothing happened. She repeated it several more times with no success. Looking murderous, she addressed Hermione again.
"Where is the cup, Mudblood? ANSWER ME!"
"I...don't...know...what...you're talking about!" Hermione forced out. Tears were streaming rapidly down her cheeks. She was trembling from head to foot. 'So much for me being one of the bravest people he knows,' Hermione thought as she stared at Ron.
"Several others exited the wards just as we were entering," Rodolphus spoke up then. "Perhaps one of them has the cup in their possession?"
Bellatrix nodded her head in agreement. "Quite possibly." Then she spoke to Hermione again in a much calmer though no less authoritative tone of voice. "Tell me where your friends are and if they have the cup and I might just let you and the Weasley boy live."
"That's a laugh," Ron said bitterly. He stared straight into Bellatrix's eyes without the slightest sign of fear. There was only hatred in his eyes. Hatred and a strong sense of revulsion."You would never let us live, no matter what!"
Bellatrix turned her wand on him. With a flick of her wand, he fell out of Rabastan's arms and to the ground. He then began to writhe on the floor, trying his hardest not to scream. Rabastan stepped back a few paces as he looked down at Ron with a malicious look on his face. Bellatrix looked at Hermione as she held the curse, who was struggling ineffectively in Rodolphus's arms, trying to get to Ron.
"Tell me who they are and where they are, Mudblood!" she snarled at her. "If you value the life of your little friend here at all."
Hermione shook her head, still sobbing. She wasn't going to tell them. If they were going to die, then they were not going to bring down Ginny, Neville, Luna and Draco with them. Not when the four of them were the only ones with a chance left to destroy Voldemort.
Bellatrix was beyond murderous by now as she strengthened the spell on Ron. "Either you answer me or I will gladly torture him into insanity!" she said furiously, her dark eyes flashing as she spoke.
Hermione glanced down, horrified at Ron. He was thrashing wildly on the floor, his whole body bucking. But what was worst of all was the way that his hands were raking along his bare flesh, carving into his face and arms. Blood was running from multiple cuts along his body. Hermione struggled not to scream as she watched this.
"So quiet. Such foolish antic will get you nowhere," Rabastan said jeeringly to Hermione from his place across the room. He stood near the fireplace, his back against the deep oakwood wall."You are only hurting yourself and your boyfriend, Mudblood." Hermione shook her head furiously, still refusing to listen. The tears continued to come as she glanced away, staring out of a window opposite him. A storm was picking up out there. The rapidly darkening sky and steady rainfall mirrored the dark mood in the room perfectly.
'I'm going to die,' she thought as she took in the gloomy atmosphere of the room. 'I'm going to die here in this horrible place at the hands of three of Voldemort's most loyal and dangerous followers and so is Ron.' She began to sob harder. Across the room, Ron began to scream finally all pride forgotten.
"Do you like this Mudblood!" Rodolphus said to Hermione as he held her tightly. "This is your doing. You are responsible for his pain."
"No," Hermione said through her tears. "No...Ron."
She couldn't bear it. She couldn't handle the sight of Ron's body jerking so violently, of all of his blood flowing on the floor. 'This is my fault,' she said. 'I should be lying there on the floor, not Ron.' Her brown eyes steamed with a never ending supply of tears.
"TELL ME WHERE THE CUP IS!" Bellatrix screamed at her. "SPEAK UP NOW, BEFORE HE DIES! I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH KILLING BLOOD TRAITORS LIKE HIM! THEY ARE AS LOWLY AS THE MUGGLES THEY CHOSE TO ASSOCIATE WITH!"
"DON'T KILL HIM!" Hermione screamed out. "Please don't! I...I'll tell you, I'll TELL!" She yelled out the last word in desperation.
"Hermione...no!" Ron rasped out as Bellatrix lifted the spell off of him. He lay gasping for breath on the floor, covered in blood. He struggled into a sitting position, using what was probably every last bit of strength that he had to do so. His blue eyes locked with Hermione's brown ones, and Hermione noticed with a start, they too were tear filled. "Don't...tell...them...anything," he rasped out.
"I...you..." Hermione stammered looking from him to Bellatrix. The witch was staring at Hermione with an expectant look. "Well, Mudblood!" she snapped. "Where are they? Who are they?"
"Don't ... say ... anything!" Ron forced out just as Hermione opened her mouth to speak. "Hermione ... please! Be strong, Hermione! Be brave!"
'Be brave,' Hermione thought. 'But since when have I ever been the brave one of the group Ron? That was always you and Harry. I was the rational one. I always put rationality before bravery.'
Bellatrix laughed maliciously. "Do you hear that Rodolphus? He's telling her to be brave. As though bravery is going to save her now!"
"Bravery ... may ... not ... save ... her, ... and ... it ... may ... not ... save ... me, ... but ... it ... will ... save the ... Wizarding world!" Ron said. His voice was very hoarse. Every word cost him a great effort to say.
"Save the Wizarding world! SAVE THE WIZARDING WORLD!" Bellatrix screamed laughing. "Do you hear yourself speak, boy? Dumbledore and his golden boy are dead! The Dark Lord has won!"
She pointed her wand at him again. "Crucio!"
Ron screamed loudly once again as the curse hit him in the chest. He began thrashing about once more. His nails hooked deep into his skin, pulling fiercely at it. More blood began to seep through his numerous self-inflicted wounds.
Hermione stared horrified but unable to make a move or utter a sound. She was too busy mulling over what he had said. He wanted her to be strong. He wanted her to be brave. She felt like neither at the moment. All she knew was that she couldn't take much more of this, couldn't handle the sight of Ron's twitching form or of his ear-shattering screams which were growing more and more pronounced by the second. She tried to turn her head away from him once more but Rodolphus grabbed her roughly by the hair and forced her to watch.
"Ron..." she said in horror. "Ron...I won't say anything! I won't! MERLIN!" she screamed as Ron's screams grew louder. "I'M SORRY RON! MY FAULT! I'M SORRY!" she sobbed hysterically.
"If you were truly sorry for his predicament, you would tell us what we want to know," Rodolphus hissed in her ear. She shivered at his cold voice and tried once more to pull away. He laughed at her efforts.
"No!" she cried out. "He is right! You won't let us go! I won't say anything!"
"Fine then," Rabastan spoke up laughing. "You may watch your dear friend be killed. Or perhaps we should just keep Crucioing him until he is in a state worse than that of the Aurors?"
Hermione's stomach churned horribly at his words. She refused to let herself be threatened though. Trembling, she shook her head. "I won't say anything," she said firmly, as she looked him straight in the eye. She then watched helplessly as Rabastan Lestrange raised his wand and cast the Cruciatus Curse on Ron as well. At once Ron's screams became painstakingly loud.
Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan all laughed with obvious enjoyment at the sound. Their laughs were horrible, they carried throughout the large room, echoing sinisterly.
'I won't tell then anything,' Hermione thought desperately as she watched. 'If I am going to die and if he is going to die as well then I might as well show a little pride. I won't give in. Ron doesn't want me to. Harry wouldn't want me to.'
"Are you enjoying yourself, Weasley?" laughed Bellatrix as she leered unpleasantly down at him. "I hope we are being hospitable enough towards you and that little Mudblood of yours!"
Ron's pain-filled cries were the only response to her words. In his agony, he was beyond hysterical now. He clawed viciously at his face, at his hair, at his hands. Chunks of red hair and bits of his pale skin were becoming embedded deep in his fingernails. His long legs moved in an almost steady pattern, kicking up and down on the floor.
"I'm sorry Ron!" Hermione cried as she watched. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Do you here that, Rodolphus?" sneered Bellatrix. "She's sorry! Poor thing. The poor wittle baby is sad and fwightened at the sight of him scweaming." she laughed with pure relish. "She cries for her lover! How sad!"
Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She began to scream loudly. Her yells and Ron's mingled together in the air, high-pitched and terror-filled. The Lestranges's laughs grew, if possible, even louder and more pronounced.
"That's right! Scream for us!" Bellatrix cried. "Scream like the filth that you both are!" she threw back her dark head of hair and laughed with overwhelming pleasure.
They both did just that. As Hermione screamed, the only coherent thought that ran through her head was the thought of her friends that had gotten away. That they had the Horcrux and if they destroyed it, that they could go for Voldemort. That maybe, he could finally be killed and the light would have a chance. If the four of them held strong and went for him together, Hermione knew that they could do it.
From his spot on the floor, Ron sobbed piteously. "Kill me now," he begged moaning. "Please, kill me now."
"But why would you want to die now?" Rabastan asked through his laughter. "We are having such a wonderful time together."
"Merlin, kill me!" Ron sobbed in response. "Pleassssse! Kill meeeeee!"
Hermione couldn't take any more. "Ron," she cried out sobbing. "Ron! I'm sorry! I love you! I love you and I'm sorry! Roooonnnnn!"
"Ron, I love you! Ron!" mocked Rabastan jeering. "I love you Ron! Isn't that sweet, Rodolphus! She loves him!"
Rodolphus laughed harshly. "It's a bit sick really," he said. "If we were to allow these two to mate, they would have little half-breeds!"
Both of the other Lestrange's laughed uproariously at his comment. Ron and Hermione both continued to scream together. Only this time, it was Ron who was screaming out his apologizes, much to the horror of Hermione.
"I'm sorry, Mum!" he cried out. "I didn't mean to take the flying car! I just needed it is all. The barrier wouldn't open! It wouldn't and Harry and I really needed to get to...I'm sorry I yelled at you about Scabbers, Hermione! I know that it wasn't your fault that Crookshanks...No, don't kill them, you BASTARDS! DON'T! MUM! DAD! Please don't be dead! You can't be dead! I need you! Ginny needs you! Don't be dead!...HERMIONE!"
'My God,' Hermione thought horrified. 'He's going insane. They are driving him completely insane.'
Ron sobbed brokenheartedly on the floor. "I'm sorry about Victor, Hermione!" he said through his tears. "I'm sorry I called him Vicky in front of you! I don't hate him! I don't! I just love you so much and it hurts to see him near you! I...I can't wear those dress robes! Harry's are alright, why couldn't I get nice dress robes like him? It's not fair that we have to be so poor." he continued to babble loudly for another few minutes before looking straight towards Hermione. His eyes locked with hers.
"HERMIONE!" he cried out once more. "Hermione, I love you too! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!" he screamed over and over again. "I LOVE YOU! I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU! I LOVE YOU! HERMIONE!"
Hermione cried hysterically as she watched completely powerless, as he continued to scream and cry. How long had she been waiting for this moment? For him to admit to loving her. For them to finally get together so that they could maybe be happy. 'Is this fate's way of being cruel,' she thought to herself. 'That we would both admit it at the very last second. But then, he was always stubborn and I was very much a coward when it came to my more intimate feelings. I can't even remain strong for him now! He's the one being hurt and I'm screaming and crying like it's me being tortured over there.'
"No Percy!" Ron cried out suddenly. His eyes were overflowing with emotion as he spoke to a spot not far above Hermione's head. "I didn't take your stupid Head Boy badge! It was probably the twins who took it! You have no right to make me help you search for it! I didn't see it...you...you can't tell anyone that I am trying out for keeper Harry, okay? Fred and George will laugh at me and I don't want that. Okay Harry? OKAY?"
"Ron!" Hermione sobbed. "Oh, Ron."
"Before I start out the new school year, do you think that maybe you can buy me a new wand?" Ron said loudly through his tears. "If you have any money left over from the trip to Egypt, that is...do you think...no...Hermione, please be strong! Promise me okay? PROMISE ME OKAY? Promise..." Ron's voice trailed off. He was no longer crying as the Lestrange's lifted the curse off of him a moment later. He simply lay on the floor, muttering to himself. Hermione caught words like...'train and school robes and Cleansweep Seven.' She turned her head away from him, not being able to stand it anymore. Instead she looked up at Bellatrix, who was wearing a satisfied smile.
"You see?" Bellatrix whispered eerily to Hermione. "what happens to those who are defiant? Who think that they can possibly go up against the Dark Lord! He got exactly what he deserved!" she spat on Ron's trembling form. He barely even stirred as he continued to shake and mutter. She then pointed her wand at him and said coldly, "AVEDA KEDAVRA!"
Hermione's eyes fluttered closed as the curse flew from the end of Bellatrix's wand tip and hit Ron. His trembling stopped at once and his body went still. She then turned her hooded eyes back upwards to Hermione.
"If you truly wish to have the same fate, Mudblood, then by all means be quiet," she said. "If you tell us where the cup is and who has it, then perhaps we will be merciful. We may just kill you straight out and be done with it without torturing you first."
Hermione laughed at her. "You would never let me go without torturing me," she said. "You haven't a drop of mercy in your veins." she stopped laughing as she glared hatefully at Bellatrix. "Besides," she added. "I wouldn't tell you even if you promised to release me. I'D RATHER DIE!"
"That can be arranged," Rabastan sneered at her. "We certainly have no qualms about getting rid of filth like yourself!" he raised his wand and pointed it her chest.
"No, first, lets see if she can hold out longer than her boyfriend did without going mad," Bellatrix said waving her wand in Hermione's general direction. Both men laughed coldly at her words. She then walked over to where Rodolphus was still restraining Hermione. Rabastan followed, a look of great anticipation on his gaunt face. His wand was still aimed at Hermione. Bellatrix came to a halt in front of Hermione and pointed her own wand at Hermione's chest. Hermione looked up at her through tear-streaked eyes. She slowly shook her head.
"I won't scream for you," she said softly. "I don't care what you do to me. I won't scream for you. I will not give you the satisfaction."
Bellatrix, Rabastan, and Rodolphus all laughed their horrible sadistic laughs once more. "Oh, you will scream," Rabastan replied just as softly. "Your boyfriend tried to keep from screaming too at first, remember? He screamed for us before he died and so will you." he grinned at her as he waved his wand tauntingly in her face.
Hermione shook her head once more. 'No,' she thought. 'I won't scream. I won't scream. I won't. I refuse to. I...'
Her thoughts broke off as she was hit with two Crucio's at once. Both Bellatrix and Rabastan had their wands trained on her. There were looks of savage enjoyment on their faces.
Hermione began to squirm in Rodolphus's arms once again. Wave after wave of unimaginable pain passed through her. She wanted to scream, but she refused to. She said that she wouldn't scream. She had promised herself that she wouldn't scream and she wouldn't, no matter what!
"Come on, Mudblood," Bellatrix taunted. "Scream for us! You will eventually anyways, so you might as well do so now!"
"I...won't," Hermione struggled out. "Go...To...Hell!"
Bellatrix laughed insanely. "You say that now!" she cried. "But everyone succumbs to the pain eventually! Even persistent little Muggles like yourself!"
'No!' Hermione thought in desperation. 'I won't! I will be strong! I have to be!' She vaguely felt herself being tossed onto the ground by Rodolphus, who then joined his brother and wife in Cruciating her. The three Lestrange's laughed harder than ever, their sunken eyes bulging grotesquely in their drooping lids. Their pale faces, wasted away from so many years in Azkaban, were filled with a look of joy that was purely savage-like. They were enjoying this and Hermione wouldn't add to their enjoyment by being weak and crying out.
Yet despite that, she couldn't help the tears that were falling from her eyes and sliding down her cheeks. She couldn't keep herself from thrashing about on the floor as wildly as Ron had before her. Her hands flew every which way, her nails pulling at her skin and leaving long bloody claw marks in much the same fashion as Ron's had earlier. Her blood was beginning to flow from various wounds, from her face, her arms, her upper chest and neck.
'I won't scream,' she thought over and over again. 'I won't scream. I won't scream.'
Her whole body bucked wildly, she jerked spasmodically. Everything by now was just one big haze of pain for her. She was only vaguely aware of her surroundings, was not even sure how deep her cuts were anymore, or of how long she had been lying on the floor. All she knew was that no matter how much bodily harm she had done to herself, no matter how hard she was writhing on the floor, she had not screamed. Not once so far.
As the Lestrange's voices faded in and out, she vaguely recalled memories from long ago. 'Her performing magic for the first time and her parents bafflement by it. Her getting her acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Her getting attacked by that troll in her first year. Getting petrified in her second. The Shrieking Shack in her third. The Yule Ball in her fourth. The Department of Mysteries in her fifth. Death Eaters breaking into the school in her sixth. Harry dieing. Searching for Horcruxes.' Names flitted through her mind faster than she could process them. 'Ron, Harry, Ginny, her Mum and Dad...'
She was beginning to cave. Small cries were escaping her mouth before she could stop them. She didn't want to scream and was afraid if she lost all sense like Ron had that she would end up doing so before long. She didn't want to risk that happening if she could help it.
'I'll bite my tongue,' she thought to herself. 'I'll bite it and then I won't be able to scream. I won't be able to. I won't...'
Blood began to flow from her mouth as she bit down hard on her tongue. She nearly gagged on it as some of it slid down her throat.
From above her, she vaguely made out the sound of Rabastan's voice. "...thinks she's being brave by not screaming out, I expect."
'But I'm not brave,' she thought. 'I'm just stubborn is all. I never made myself out to be brave. Harry and Ron were the brave ones of our old trio, weren't they?'
Bellatrix laughed her insane little laugh. "Isn't she though? The classic Gryffindor type, brave but foolish. She thinks that her friends are going to save the Wizarding world if she protects them from us! As though mere children are going to disenchant the greatest wizard who has ever lived!"
"He is not the greatest wizard!" Hermione cried out. It hurt her dearly to talk but she pressed on anyways. "A mere baby knocked him from power years ago! Now the one's that same person was closest to will make sure that his death as well as numerous others deaths will not be in vain! Even if I can't join them, I know that they shall be victorious! That they shall defeat him together!"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU FILTHY LITTLE MUDBLOOD!" Bellatrix screamed looking quite deranged. She had stopped torturing Hermione by now, all three of them had. Her wand was still pointed at Hermione however and she looked murderous.
Rodolphus Lestrange touched his wife gently on the shoulder. She whirled on the spot and stuck her wand in his face. "What is it Rodolphus? What could possibly be of importance now?"
"Well Bella," he responded causally as though having a wand pointed threateningly in one's face was an everyday occurrence. "If the Mudblood is still persistent in keeping her friends identities a secret from us, then we don't we use Veritaserum on her? I have some in stock. All it would take is a quick trip through the floo to get it."
Hermione's heart sunk at this. Bellatrix smirked at him. Then she nodded her head in obvious approval.
"Of course," she said. "Why didn't I think of doing that before?"
Rabastan gave a disdainful snort. "Maybe it's because you are a mad old bitch, with the brain capacity of the average troll."
Bellatrix turned her wand on him. "Avada Keda..."
Before she could get out the rest of the spell, her husband stepped in between them both. "This is wasting time," he said. "Let me just..."
He trailed off then as Hermione knocked into him, causing him to overbalance. His wand clattered to the floor and skidded out of reach so she grabbed the closest weapon that she could, which happened to be a small knife sticking out of his robe pocket. Then before either he, Bellatrix or Rabastan could stop her, she began to stab wildly at her tongue. The knife slid in and out of it as she ran it along the length of her tongue, trying to cut out as much of it as she possibly could. Blood flooded past her lips at a rapid pace but she paid it no mind. She could care less if she bled to death on the floor, as long as she kept from telling on Ginny and the others.
Rabastan made a mad grab for her. She pulled the knife out of her mouth and stabbed him in the shoulder with it. He stumbled and nearly fell. Bellatrix leaped on top of her then, and knocking the knife out of her hand, pinned her to the ground and pointed her wand at her throat.
The damage was already done though. Hermione's tongue was badly severed. It was hanging on now by only a bit of muscle. Hermione smiled painfully up at Bellatrix, her mouth full of blood. Then without warning, she spat on the older witch, covering her face with blood.
Bellatrix's eyes were filled with fury. She reached over and picked up the fallen knife. "Fine then, Mudblood," she said. "Since you insist upon playing with knifes, we shall play." she then took the knife and began to slice it along Hermione's already bloody cheeks, drawing even more blood from them. Hermione stared up at her, her own eyes filled with fury as well. She felt faint as Bellatrix slashed at each cheek, then started to run the knife down her body. She briefly felt herself black out as the knife stabbed into her arms, first one and then the other one. It then trailed down her chest, lightly cutting through the cloth of her robes and into her skin.
'Ron,' she thought. 'I'm holding still. I'm doing it. I...'
Her thoughts trailed off as she felt herself being dragged roughly to her feet. Rodolphus Lestrange held her tightly, though it was not at all necessary by now. She was no longer struggling against him like before. She was far too weak to. Bellatrix Lestrange threw her a look of deepest loathing as she was turned to face the woman. From about a foot away, Rabastan Lestrange was cradling his arm and scowling at her.
"It's over, Mudblood," Bellatrix breathed. She dropped the bloody knife. It clattered to the floor. She then held up her wand and pointed it at Hermione's chest. "Even if you refuse to tell us the whereabouts of your worthless friends, they will never survive," she said. "They will never mange to kill the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord has powers that you can never dream of!"
'You're wrong,' Hermione thought. 'The only thing that he ever had going for him was his Horcruxes and now they are gone. He will be mortal soon. They will defeat him, I know that they will. Thanks to Ron and me being brave and not saying anything. Thanks to me being brave...'
She smiled up at Bellatrix then, a horrible maddened little smile. It cost her every bit of strength she had left in her to do so but she did it.
'I always did have it in me,' she thought to herself.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Bellatrix screamed.
As the curse went flying at Hermione and enveloped her in a green light of death, she finally knew why the hat had chosen her for Gryffindor.
The End
Authors Note:
I got the inspiration for this story a little while ago. I was reading a story on the Longbottom's torture at the hands of the Lestrange's and decided to write a torture scene of my own involving them except with different victims. It's my first time ever writing anything this dark. I'm a bit nervous about it, if truth be told. While I have written Darkfics before, I have never done anything quite this graphic before. I'm certainly not doing this to bash Ron and Hermione. They are two of my favorite characters and I do ship Ron/Hermione. It's probably the only canon paring that I do ship to be honest.
Besides, I absolutely LOATH stories where Harry dies at Voldemort's hand and everyone immediately just gives in and lets Voldemort take over. I just can't see Ron and Hermione giving in to him. They would keep fighting if only so that Harry's death is not in vain. Especially if they had lost family members to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. So naturally, I decided to write a story about what happens when Harry dies. I wanted to show that some people will remain strong and continue to fight.
As for Hermione's doubts concerning her house, I always did see her as the least Gryffindor of the three. She was brave yes, but she also exemplified qualities belonging to all of the other houses at Hogwarts as well. She was hard working, intelligent and ambitious. Harry and Ron seemed to be solely Gryffindor though, their brave natures coming out more than any of their other qualities. I wanted to show her Gryffindor side in this story without having to alter her actual character. I only hope that I did all of the characters justice and didn't make anyone too out of character.
If that is everything then I hope that you enjoyed it and please leave a review. I don't mind constructive criticism but I really dislike flames. I did warn you at the beginning of this story that it would be dark so you can hardly blame me if you decided not to listen and to read through this anyways.