Chapter One

An inter-department memo flew through the open doorway of her office and landed on a stack of paperwork she hadn't yet organized. Curiously she reached for the purple, folded parchment. She couldn't for the life of her guess who would be writing to her at such a late hour. Most of those who worked at the ministry had left early that evening to celebrate Christmas with their families and friends. She herself had only intended on remaining for a handful of hours to tidy up before heading over to the Burrow.

Written in an untidy scrawl was a single word. The cursive seemed very familiar to her. Almost immediately red hair and freckles flooded her mind. It was Ron Weasley's writing.

Help

She was so exhausted that it took a moment for the letter to register in her brain. Help. Help. What could he possibly need help with?

Rather annoyed she left her desk and poked her curly head out into the hallway. His office was only a few doors down. She could see light streaming from under the crack of his closed door.

"Odd," she murmured to herself while crumpling the memo in her fist.

Ron Weasley never closed his office door. Ever since he had started working as head of the auror office he always insisted on leaving it open. He complained that it was because of how stuffy files and folders made the small room but Hermione always had as inkling that he enjoyed people seeing him seated behind his mahogany desk. Being promoted to head of the department had been seen as quite an achievement for him though not entirely unexpected. Harry needed to choose a replacement for himself after he decided to further his career in quidditch and it seemed to all that Ron was an inevitable substitution.

Her heart skipped a beat as she carefully made her way to the auror cubicles. Something didn't seem right. Her old sense for trouble slowly started to resurface. It was a powerful sense, so powerful that Harry had practically begged her to join himself and Ron in auror training. After all that they had been through it seemed like a practical option for her future but she had decided instead to take a modest job as the minister's secretary.

Hermione crept closer to Ron's office and pressed her ear to the door. Voices reverberated from the other side. Instinctively she pulled her wand from the pocket of her robes. The voices stopped.

"A saw a shadow move," hissed a woman. "It's her. Open the door, open the door! Confringo!"

Hermione flung herself against the wall next to the door just in time, but only just. Splinters of wood showered over her as everything from the knob to the door's frame exploded.

While shielding her face from an oncoming attack she lifted her wand and sliced down in the air, causing all the debris to shoot back at her attackers. Careful not to trip over anything- she set off at a run, choking and spluttering as she inhaled dust clouds of dry plaster. A woman shrieked from behind her with cackles of mirth. Hermione recognized the sadistic trills. Fear bubbled in the pit of her stomach. No, it couldn't be possible.

Without thinking she stopped and watched as the small group emerged from Ron's office. Only two showed their faces proudly while their comrades hid behind death eater's masks- Bellatrix Lestrange and Draco Malfoy. Her muscles seized at the sight of them and she found herself frozen in terror.

"No, you're dead, you can't be-" she whispered to herself as Bellatrix continued to laugh and glide gracefully towards her.

She was sinister looking with her mass of black tangled ringlets and heavily lidded eyes. Her skin was paler and waxy from lack of proper nourishment and her body appeared far more willowy then the last time Hermione had seen her but she was very much alive in all her darkly beautiful glory.

Hermione turned to run again but found her way blocked by snarls and snapping teeth. She let out a scream of horror. A hand reached from behind and clamped down over her mouth, muffling the cries. The werewolf crouching before her grinned wickedly at her with his horridly yellow stained canines. Whoever rendered her silent pulled her close to them. Her back found the hard chest of a man much taller than she.

"Heel Fenrir," drawled Draco Malfoy from over her shoulder. "She isn't for you to eat."

Malfoy's grip on her body tightened as he leaned down. His lips brushed the tip of her ear as he spoke, "We don't want you dead yet mudblood so don't do anything stupid. Stupefy."

I know it's very short but I feel that this chapter cut off nicely. Please review and I will update. I make regular updates so your review will not got to waste! Oh and I hope you enjoy the story so far!