Hi, there! This is a really exciting piece for me to publish, as it's not exactly a written fanfiction. It's actually a role play between my friend, HereComesTheSun97, and me. We've been working on it for a few weeks. Anyway, here's the first chapter. Enjoy!
Moving Into the Light
Draco stared into the raven-haired wizard's eyes, trying not to show his shivering in fear. What was he to do? He barely heard his relatives' words... They were a mere hum in the distance. But he knew exactly what they wanted. He wanted the complete opposite.
"I-I can't be sure," he stuttered out.
Hermione swallowed harshly, her fists clenched as she watched the ongoing scene. She needed to show no signs of fear, for Harry's well being. How would they manage to get out of that place alive? Even Malfoy was stuttering, she realized, under the rigid mask his countenance was. He was probably as afraid as she was.
Draco, meanwhile, chewed on his lip fiercely, his hands shaking as his family hounded him. He stared at Harry straight in the eyes, even as the spell began to wear off.
"I don't think it's him," he whimpered, and Hermione tried her best not to show surprise. He was lying for them, under such circumstances? She was confused, and she turned to look at Harry. In only a few seconds, the spell would wear off completely. Once that occurred... Merlin knew what would happen to them. Bellatrix growled and smirked, pushing everyone aside.
"It's him," she insisted. "Let's put all of them down in the dungeons... Except for one," she said, turning to smirk at Hermione. The brunette swallowed harshly, narrowing her eyes at the crazy witch, the grip of her wand tightening. Whatever she was going to do... It didn't matter. She would get out of this place alive, somehow.
"I'll take that," Bellatrix smirked, plucking the wand from the girl's grasp easily. "And I'll be sure to return it to its proper owner. The one that originally bought it... Right, Mudblood?" Hermione glared at her.
"What do you want of me, Bellatrix?" she hissed, hatred in the pronunciation of the woman's name. She couldn't stand the way she was treating her, and wandless or not, she wasn't going to allow her. Bellatrix growled maliciously and spun around, throwing her to the ground with a flick of her wand. Hermione stifled a yelp as she fell, her chest rising and falling raggedly in fear. However, she kept her gaze a penetrating glare whenever her and Bellatrix's eyes locked, her jaw alined. She could hear the sobs of no one other than Narcissa Malfoy from a further corner of the room, and wondered why it was she was crying. Surely not for her, right?
Draco watched in horror as she fell, not knowing what to do. He looked to his mother who was crying, and his father who was looking away and trying to ignore what was happening. Bellatrix circled Hermione slowly like a predator, smirking all the while, and Draco glanced around the room frantically, his eyes unfocused as he desperately tried to think. Fenrir growled at him to put Ron and Harry in the dungeons, so he did. He closed the door behind him with his back to it. It was probably better that way. Not having to witness someone they considered family being tortured.
Hermione's breath hitched as she realized her best friend's were already gone. She was alone with a pack of monsters. Was she going to be killed, now? She wouldn't have admitted it to any of them, but she was terribly afraid.
Draco held his breath as he watched her on the ground. She looked helpless. Almost as helpless as him. How many more times would he have to witness things like this? He'd had enough the moment he'd been branded. Bellatrix cackled.
"Crucio!" Hermione gasped for breath before the worst came. Pain. Raw, electric pain shooting through each one of her veins. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, squirming on the floor helplessly. There was no way out of it. It was excruciating. Her back arched, her arms pressed against the floor, her eyes squeezed closed, but she couldn't escape from it.
Draco squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to block out the signs of her pain.
"Where did you get the sword?" Bellatrix said as she lifted the curse. "Obviously, you don't have a problem with stealing." Hermione whimpered in pain, breathing heavily. It even hurt to breathe.
"We don't have a problem with stealing..." she gasped for air, before glaring at Bellatrix and squeezing her eyes shut again, hissing from the pain. "With stealing what's only a copy." Bellatrix growled and turned to Draco.
"Bring her down to the dungeons. And bring Griphook up. Oh, but before you do," she smirked, "Let me remind her of something quickly." She knelt down to the ground near Hermione's arm, taking her wand and carving 'Mudblood' into her skin. She laughed and smirked maliciously the whole time, and Draco felt his stomach turn.
Hermione's teeth clenched together, not even looking at Bellatrix's twisted methods of inflicting pain. Glad it ended soon, she gasped for breath, unable to make a move for fear that only more pain would be caused by it. Bellatrix stood up and stepped away.
"Get rid of her, before she bleeds her filth all over the floor," she sneered. Draco moved to her quickly, picking her up by her waist and standing her up.
"Can you stand?" he asked quietly.
"N-Not really." she breathed, her legs almost giving in if it weren't for his arms.
"Stop treating her like a human and get her downstairs, Draco. I need to speak to Griphook," Bellatrix growled. Draco chewed on his lip and picked Hermione up, throwing her torso over his shoulder and walking her downstairs. He held out his wand at the other prisoners. "Stay away," he growled before walking her over to a corner of the room. "Give me your arm," he said quietly.
Hermione furrowed her brow, ignoring the terrible pain.
"W-What?" she asked, confused. Malfoy asking for her arm? What for? The possibility of it being to heal her seemed practically impossible in her mind. He growled.
"I don't have the time for you to be stupid, Granger, just give it to me." Hermione handed it to him, her breathing ragged, wordless. He was being the usual prick, but she had seen something very odd when she looked at him earlier. What was he so afraid of, if he was a Death Eater himself? He muttered simple spells, detecting any Dark Magic. Her arm glowed green slightly where the letters were, and he cursed slightly. "I can't do anything to fix it, they'll kill me," he said softly. "But I'll prevent it from spreading." Hermione nodded solemnly, looking at him.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked. He suddenly stiffened while looking at her arm.
"So you can leave and stop polluting my house," he growled. "Now shut up and let me do this," he said shortly. She narrowed her eyes, but whimpered in unexpected pain from his grip, as it had tightened on her injured arm. It was odd, because for a moment she had thought he actually cared. She looked away, trying to not think of it. Soon she would find Harry and Ron and they would find a way to leave. At least Bellatrix had believed her about the sword... She thought.
The blonde suspended the curse and conjured a piece of paper and a quill.
"Use this spell to fix it if you can manage to get out of here," he said as he rolled up the parchment. "There are Anti-Apparition Charms. It's almost physically impossible to leave. But you'll figure something out." She took the parchment and nodded, swallowing harshly.
"Thank you." she breathed, the pain still like a heartbeat.
"Whatever, Granger," he muttered as he stood up. "Griphook!" he called. "Let's go. You're wanted upstairs."
Hermione looked around. What to do, now? Where were Harry and Ron? She made a move to stand and only received a jolt of pain, to which she whimpered and stayed sitting. She felt so useless as she was. Harry and Ron made their way over to her.
"Hermione, are you all right?" one asked worriedly as they knelt beside her, though it was hard to discern which one through the pain.
"Honestly? Not quite. We need to find a way out." she told them, biting her lip. "I... I can't walk, though." she said meekly, feeling hopeless. As a Gryffindor, especially, this was a rare feeling to her. Harry growled.
"I bet Malfoy made it worse. What did he do to you?"
"Nothing." she said immediately, squeezing the piece of parchment in her hand. "He just wants me out of his precious Manor, apparently. He... Seemed a bit afraid up there, though. He gave me a spell to undo a certain cut..." she fell silent, sighing.
"He would be afraid," Ron spat. "The wanker that he is. He always was a baby about stupid things."
"This isn't a stupid thing, Ronald. This is serious. Now, how to get out? There's Anti-Apparition charms in this place, so we'll have to get out by foot." she said, swallowing harshly. Because she was so able to run.
"We tried that," Harry cut in. "The door propels you back downstairs the moment you touch it."
"Then we can't go through the door. There must be another way." she said, putting her brain to action.
"Yes, hopefully," Harry started. "But don't worry about it right now, Hermione. Just relax. It won't help to stress yourself at this point. You need to hold onto your energy." She nodded.
"I suppose," she said, biting her lip at the pain that a simple nod caused. Her arm, especially, was stinging. Ron helped her sit back down, and in the next moment, Dobby appeared.
"Dobby is here to save Harry Potter!" he cried. Hermione gasped.
"Dobby, what are you doing here?" she asked in exasperation, in disapproval of an elf to be in such a terrifying place as these dungeons.
"Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and all his friends!" he said cheerfully. The witch looked at him warily.
"How, Dobby? There's not much of a way out.."
"Dobby has House Elf magic! House Elf magic is much different than wizard magic!" he said ecstatically.
"Of course... But what if they figure you out?" she asked, nervous. She couldn't let something happen to him.
"Dobby will take that risk, Miss! Harry Potter and his friends are worth it!" Hermione frowned, looking at Harry.
"I'm not so sure of this, Harry."Harry hesitated, looking at Dobby, who protested before Harry could get the chance to speak.
"Dobby is here to save Harry Potter and his friends!" Ron turned to Hermione sheepishly.
"Hermione, it's our only way out."
"But..." she sighed, turning to Dobby. "You're coming with us, then."
"Well, yes, Miss, that was the plan!" he said cheerily. "I'll take Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Ronald Weasley first; I can only take two at a time!" She nodded softly, carefully.
"That's alright." she said, thinking there was no hurry. It wasn't truly a risk, or so she thought.
Dobby smiled and led Harry and Ron upstairs, barging through the door bravely before they were all met with angry screams from Bellatrix. Suddenly, everything was quiet, and there didn't seem to be any commotion. Hermione froze in her spot at the sudden silence, unsure of what to think for a few seconds. It only backfired, though, as stiffening her muscles sent excruciating pain through her nerves. A few moments later, Draco came running down to the dungeons to make sure everyone else was still there. He looked over at Hermione.
"Smart, but they shouldn't have run up the stairs."
"I honestly don't think that was the best of ideas..." she said, sighing.
"Probably not. Anyway, they probably won't be coming back for you. I think Bellatrix got Dobby right before they left."
She froze.
"W-What do you mean... She got him?" Draco shrugged.
"She threw a knife right before the portal closed. The knife went with them. It's hard to tell if it hit him or not." She looked down, her hands clenched.
"At least... At least they're safe." she said, ignoring the pain her movements caused, her eyes welling with tears. She tried to head her face, not wanting to let him see her cry, of all people. She was probably stuck here, for all she knew. And Dobby was dead.
"Anyway, I have to go. I suppose I have to feed you now, so I'll be back later tonight. Just what we need. Another mouth to feed," he muttered the last sentence grudgingly as he went up the stairs.
Hermione began to sob once he left, her mind full of worry and desperation. She needed to get out of this place. Soon.