Chapter 1: The portkey
Since the Dark Lord had infiltrated and overthrown the Ministry of Magic, witches and wizards all over the country had chosen to flee or to hide. However, the Death Eaters were quite organized and numerous were the one to fall into their traps. The Death Eaters had been given a very strict protocol: every witch or wizard found fleeing, hiding or in disguise must be interrogated, and then discarded if they didn't bring up anything interesting. Anyone holding pertinent information was to be brought to the Malfoy Manor immediately where they would undergo further examination.
For months, the Order of the Phoenix attacked the interrogation sites often located in reclusive muggle houses. That type of mission wasn't very risky, because Death Eaters often relayed their tasks to followers of lesser importance. Members of the Order in charge of such mission were also very well organized, and it took no time at all to neutralize all the Dark Lord's followers before freeing the captives from the house. Once out of the house, they had to hurry to leave via a portkey.
On this day, Hermione and Ron had been sent on a mission of this type. As they neared the house, nothing seemed abnormal, and when they rescued the imprisoned, everything went according to plan. However, as they headed towards the portkey located in the forest behind the house they were sent to, they were ambushed. Ron and Hermione were the two only wizards with wands and they had to battle an outrageous amount of Death Eaters.
Even though Hermione and Ron were two excellent duellers, the opposite side of the battle had numbers, and soon enough, both were left wandless and hurt. Hermione had this a deep cut on her left forearm, and Ron wasn't even half as lucky. He had fallen previously, and couldn't get up without any help. As if a broken leg wasn't enough, he was bleeding from multiple gashes on his body.
"Hermione, we won't make it," said Ron as he winced in pain.
"Stop talking and move," replied Hermione abruptly, using all her strength to carry the most of his weight she could.
"Hermione, stop," ordered Ron.
"Ron, we don't have time to stop!" insisted Hermione.
"Hermione, listen to me. I'm feeling dizzy. I've lost a lot of blood. I can't physically go much further. I think, maybe you should-" started Ron.
"No, don't you even think about it for a second. You simply cannot give up now. You are hurt, not dead. We have to move," repeated Hermione.
"Hermione, this is not me giving up. This is me allowing you to survive," argued Ron.
"We can do this together," said Hermione encouragingly.
"Hermione, you are the wisest person alive. Can you please think rationally for a moment?" pleaded Ron.
"I am-" began Hermione.
"No, you are not. You know very well that we can't both reach the portkey with that bunch of Death Eaters at our heels," said Ron out of breath.
"Ron, I can't leave you. I can't see you die. I can't lose you. I love you. I-" babbled Hermione.
"If we don't separate, you will see me die anyways, because they are going to catch up. It's inevitable, you are aware of this. But if you leave, you might have a chance to get back. I'm slowing you down. I know that, I'm not dumb. And I'm smart enough to realize that your life is worth so much more than mine. You are basically the brains of the whole resistance. The Dark Lord will fall because of your ruse, your smarts, your good decisions… You need to live. Get back to Harry. Please," begged Ron.
"No! No! No! No!" sobbed Hermione as Ron slumped on a nearby tree.
Ron smiled at Hermione encouragingly, but the ache he could read on her face shattered his heart, "Hermione, I love you more than anything, than anyone. You are an angel, and you are needed elsewhere at this very moment. I don't want to use the little time you have left to escape."
Hermione kissed Ron goodbye, "I will always love you."
Hermione then turned around, and left running towards the portkey where the group of captives were supposedly waiting for her signal. She didn't turn around, because turning around would have made her go back to him, to her love. Were her duties really worth more than the life of her lover? Could she ever forgive herself for abandoning him to a certain torturous death?
Lost in her thoughts, Hermione slipped into some very liquid mud. She then heard demoniacal screams of delight: they must have reached Ron. She hurriedly got up to rejoin the group. They couldn't be far behind.
"It's the tire! Touch the tire!" yelled Hermione as she reached the group.
Some had the reflex to reach for the tire while others were destabilized by the arrival of Hermione. The few that had touched the tire soon disappeared whereas the rest of the group were left innerved.
The majority of the group missed the portkey. She missed the portkey. Ron was now between the hands of Death Eaters. And as if that wasn't already bad enough, Death Eaters appeared at the edge of the clearing, encircling them. There was no escape possible.
"We found a dead member of the Golden Trio. It would have been interesting to have him alive, but I guess we couldn't push our luck that far," said one of the hooded Death Eaters.
Ron had died before the Death Eaters reached him. They couldn't kill him, make him suffer, make him lose his conscience. Well, at least, there was that, wasn't there?
"The fact that you were almost rescued by someone quite important from their little clan makes us think that there might be some quite important people hidden in your group," added another.
Hermione was wondering why they didn't recognize her. She wasn't right in the front, but she was right in their face. She lowered her eyes, because she didn't want to confront them, and she realized that her whole body was covered in mud. The mud bath she quickly got when she slipped was presently saving her life.
"In conclusion, the great news are that we're all going on a little trip to the Malfoy Manor!" squealed a female Death Eaters that was unrecognisable.
Hermione's moral reached a new low. Entering the nest of the Death Eaters hadn't been plan of her day. Actually, it just hadn't been part of any plan at all. It was a magical fortress, and she would assuredly be recognized. She had been in contact with almost all of the most important Death Eaters over the years. She would never be able to go unnoticed. It just wasn't possible.
As they moved towards the Malfoy Manor, Hermione kept thinking to herself that this was the end. Harry will have lost his two best friends in a single day, and he might not even ever hear about it. What mistake had they done? How did such a banal mission turn into the worst disaster the Order of the Phoenix had for years?
She had to think of a way to wiggle out of the situation she was in. The few that had caught the portkey would be able to tell the Order about the ambush, but never could the Order guess that she was going to be brought, unnoticed, in the Death Eaters' lair. What could the Order do for her? She just hoped they wouldn't attempt a suicidal mission for her. Her life wasn't worth all those deaths. She hoped to find a flaw in assailant's plan before they reached the manor. Once in, there was no way out.
Maybe she could faint, and they'd let her to die… She was exhausted, her arm was losing a lot of blood… She could faint, no problem… Right?
"Just to warn you: try anything, and we'll have the pleasure to kill you," said the same female Death Eater.
"Last time, we burned three men," added one of the many Death Eaters around.
"How about dismembering them this time? That actually sounds terrible!" proposed a younger Death Eater excitedly.
Wandless, outnumbered, on the brink of losing conscience… Hermione couldn't try anything. She would not give up her life to these young, immature, vile Death Eaters. She would have to follow their orders and hope to stay unnoticed for the longest time possible. Maybe Harry would find a way to get her. Yeah, Harry will work it out. He had too. He couldn't give up on her.