Disclaimer: This is story is unofficial and written not for profit. It is in no way connected with J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books or Bloomsbury Publishing or Warner Bros. It is not endorsed by any of the aforementioned parties. Rights to characters and places is neither claimed nor implied.

Hermione is one of my favourite characters in the Harry Potter books. I thought I would have a go at writing a fanfiction that follows her. This is an AU Deathly Hallows story that begins at the point where Harry has just said 'Voldermort' and the snatchers have arrived to capture them.

AU from the end of Chapter 22 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

"'Come out of there with your hands up!' came a rasping voice through the darkness. 'We know you're in there! You've got half a dozen wands pointing at you and we don't care who we curse!'" (Rowling J. K. 2007:361)


Chapter One -

The Snatchers

Hermione ran as fast as her legs could carry her, stumbling over exposed roots and twigs as she made her way through the forest. Moonlight filtered through the trees overhead casting shadows in the semi-darkness. All she could do now was run and hope that Harry and Ron had managed to get out of the anti-apparition wards and safely away. She could hear the snatchers as they pursued her through the trees. The only option now, was to run. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see figures pursuing her in the darkness. She flicked her wand in their direction; sending a few hexes towards them. She heard a cry as a vicious stinging hex met its mark. Hermione darted out of the way as they returned fire; dodging the volley of hexes sent in her direction. She darted behind a tree as another rush of adrenaline coursed through her body. She could feel the blood pounding in her ears as she scampered over the rough ground of the forest floor. Another volley of hexes flew at her through the night air. As she ducked out of their way, her toe caught on a protruding tree root and she fell. She twisted, pulling herself back to her feet as she felt the blood begin to drip from her nose. Pain began to shoot through her ankle as she ran. "It's just a sprain, it is just a sprain," she kept telling herself as she dodged another curse. They were gaining on her; she could feel them at her back and the pain from her ankle was slowing her escape. A sudden flash of light and her knees buckled; she fell to the floor, her legs locked solidly together.

"Get the vermin up"*

A pair of unknown hands dragged Hermione roughly off the ground and onto her knees. Before she could stop them, her wand was pulled roughly from her fingers. Pain shot through her head and she could feel bruising forming where the side of her face, had for the second time, hit the stony floor of the forest. She squinted in the bright illumination of their wand light.

"Delicious girl ... what a treat we have here... I do enjoy the softness of the skin ..."* said the horribly familiar, rasping voice.

She felt her body tense as she realised who this was. Fenrir Greyback, the only werewolf permitted to wear the robes of a Death Eater, gazed down at her.

"Now, let's take a look and see who we've got," said Greyback's gloating voice from overhead. A beam of wandlight fell onto her face and Greyback laughed. Hermione winced as another of the snatchers grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her head back so that they could get a good look at her.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" said Greyback placing a finger under her chin. Hermione twisted away from his hand. The other snatchers gripped her tightly as she tried to break free. A sudden pain shot through her cheek as Greyback slapped her solidly around the face. Tears welled up in her eyes as she bit back the urge to cry.

"Pass me the list, Scabior," said Greyback. The snatcher gripping her hair reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of parchment. Greyback grabbed the sheet and unfolded it.

"Tell me girl- what's your name?" Greyback snarled.

"I-I'm Penelope Clearwater"* said Hermione sounding terrified.

"And your Blood Status - what is it?"

"Half-blood"* said Hermione, desperately trying to sound convincing.

"Easy enough to check," said Scabior. "She looks like she could still be around 'Ogwarts age ..."*

"I- I left," she said.

"Left? 'Ave you girl?" said Scabior. "An' you an' your little friends just decided to go on a camping trip? ... An' you just thought you would go usin' the Dark Lord's name did you?"

"It was a slip ... we didn't mean to ... we wouldn't ..." she stammered.

"Using the Dark Lord's name..." said Greyback. "Does the Order of the Phoenix mean anything to you?"

"What ... what's that?" said Hermione, desperately hoping that they believed her.

"Not very respectful, that lot," said Scabior. "Since the name's been Tabooed we've managed to use it to track a fair few of 'em"

"Well, perhaps we should teach her to show the Dark Lord some proper respect ..." said another voice. She heard a few laughs and jeers emanate from the surrounding darkness. She couldn't quite see them, but there were definitely other snatchers present. She tried to scan the darkness for any sign of Ron or Harry; all she could do was hope they made it out and were okay. Ron had grabbed her bag with the extension charm, with any luck that would help them, even if they no longer had the tent. She had been separated from them as they ran through the forest. Hermione wasn't as quick as the boys; although she was trying to keep up with the two Quidditch players, she gradually found herself lagging further behind. When Ron had turned back to help her, she yelled at them both to keep running. They were having enough difficulty continuing to dodge the curses that were being thrown.

Scabior released his grip on her hair and shoved her forcibly down into the dirt. Her hands were roughly bound behind her back; then she was lifted and heaved over the snatchers shoulder. He carried her as the snatchers made their way back through the forest. The man smelt of stale sweat and it was rather too obvious that he had not recently bathed. She was un-ceremonially dropped to the ground and shoved into a sitting position next to another prisoner; the leglocker curse preventing any thoughts of escape.

"Is that you?" came a familiar voice.

Hermione looked at the person to her left. "Dean?" she whispered.

"It is you!" he said, "If they find out who they have ... who you are ... they are only looking for truants and runaways to sell for gold -"

"Shhhh ..." she whispered. "Have you seen Harry? Did they catch him and Ron?"

"I haven't seen them -" he replied in a hushed tone.

"Quite a good haul for one night," she heard Greyback say. "A mudblood, a runaway goblin and a truant"

"Shame about the other two getting away ..." replied Scabior. " ... we'll get them next time; don't you worry."

A sudden rush of relief came over Hermione. They had made it; hopefully they were safely somewhere far away. At least now they could continue to hunt for the horcruxes. All she could do now was hope that they wouldn't do anything rash or foolish and get themselves captured or killed.

Some crashing noises echoed in the darkness; drawing her away from thoughts of her two friends. The tent couldn't be too far away and it seemed that they were taking the time to rip it apart and destroy the content. The destruction made a small part of Hermione's heart ache; over the past few months the tent had become a bit of a home to her; at the least it had become a place in which she had felt safe. She felt very alone at that moment. Even Dean's presence proved to be little comfort.

She could see Greyback studying the piece of parchment that he had been handed earlier. He passed the sheet back to Scabior who eagerly scanned the document.

"Clearwater ... Clearwater ... Oy, Greyback. Their aint no Clearwater on 'ere," stated the snatcher.

A dark figure came striding towards them through the trees, Hermione could see something silver glinting in the light from their wand. They had found the sword of Gryffindor.

"Ve-e-ry nice"* stated Grayback as he took the weapon from his companion. "Goblin made, if I am not mistaken."

"Scabior, go and fetch the girl. I think we should have a little word with her," she heard Greyback say.

Panic now overwhelmed the sense of relief that she had just felt for her friends. They had the sword and there was nothing she could do about it.

Scabior grabbed her roughly and dragged her over to his companion. The jagged and uneven ground tore at her clothes, ripping holes in the denim of her jeans and making her knees bleed. Scabior gave her a shove and she fell to her knees at Greyback's feet. Hermione kept her eyes fixed on the ground, worried that her face might betray her. The werewolf reached down and gently caressed her cheek, his long yellow nail running across her skin.

"Tell me, my sweet ..." he said gently as his hand moved across her face and into the mass of her brown ringlets. All of a sudden he tightened his grip on her hair
and yanked her head back so that their eyes met. "Where did you get something like this?"

She choked back a sob. The werewolf's breath formed into a white mist of droplets in the cold night air between their faces. He was so close that she could smell the scent of sweat, dirt and blood that emanated from his body. His pupils dilated slightly as he scanned her terrified expression.

"I - I don't know. It – it was my friend's, he was looking after it for ... for his father. He said it was a family heirloom or something," she lied, hoping that in the darkness he couldn't read the name that was etched under the sword's hilt.

"Now, is that right ..." Greyback began to say as he tucked the sword through his belt. His long coat fell forward and concealed the ancient blade from view.

"Greyback!" Scabior interrupted. "Look 'ere, she is one of 'em on all of them wanted posters in the Prophet." Scabior was holding a copy of the paper. Hermione could see the word 'UNDESIRABLES' printed in large, bold, black letters across the open page.

"Yeh Looks like Potters little friend: the mudblood," said the unnamed snatcher.

"Ermione Granger," Scabior read aloud, "the mudblood who is known to be travelin' with 'Arry Potter."*

Greyback grabbed the paper from Scabior; studying the photograph for himself. Hermione slumped to the floor. Greyback's boots creaked as he crouched down in front of Hermione.

"You know what, little girly? This picture looks a hell of a lot like you."

"It isn't! It isn't me!"* she yelped. The terrified tone of her voice was as good as a confession.

"This 'ere is who we've got. I'm tellin' you, Greyback. It's that Granger girl, it is" Scabior continued, with evident glee at his discovery.

Greyback growled loudly as he jerked back up to his full height. A sudden look of confusion crossed Scabior's face as he and the other snatcher jumped back a step. Greyback angrily shredded the paper, still growling as raged pulsed through him. Scabior looked apprehensively at the werewolf.

"You idiot!" Greyback seethed through his teeth. "Do you know what this means?"

Scabior looked at him hesitantly.

"It means," stated Greyback, "that one of those boys she was with must have been Potter."

Realisation began to dawn across Scabior's face.

"Shit!" exclaimed Greyback. "He was here and we missed him. You damned fool!"

Greyback stuffed the shredded paper back into Scabior's hands. He then grabbed a handful of Hermione's hair and whispered, "Well, this changes things, doesn't it?" An unexpected stillness settled over the scene. Nobody spoke, but Hermione could sense that Greyback's outburst had attracted the attention of the rest of the gang of snatchers; most of whom were now watching their leader with an avid attention.

The snatchers began to close in, peering curiously at her. Hermione whimpered, she was tied-up, wandless and at their mercy. Mercy being something of which, she distinctly felt, that they were unaccustomed to exercise. The seconds felt like an eternity.

"We've got the Granger girl though," said Scabior, breaking the silence. "We can take her to the Ministry -"

"To hell with the Ministry," interrupted Greyback. "They will just take credit for capturing Potter's little friend, and we won't get a look in."

"What should be do with 'er then?" said one of the snatchers.

"I say we take her direct to You–Know-Who," stated Greyback.

"What do you mean? Summon him 'ere?" asked Scabior sounding more than a little terrified.

"No, you fool." Greyback snarled at him, "I haven't got a ..." He paused, "we can take her to Malfoy's place. They say that he is using it a base; we will take her there."

Hermione's mind was racing, nineteen to the dozen. She was going to be taken to Draco's home, to Malfoy Manor. She shivered; horrified by the idea of being handed over to Voldermort. What would they do to her? Although the werewolf wore the robes of a Death Eater, it seemed to Hermione that Greyback hadn't been branded with the dark mark. Was that why he couldn't alert his master? Had he not been awarded that ihonour/i? Was he not counted among the Dark Lord inner circle because he was afflicted with lycanthropy? She guessed that like others recruited into Voldermort's ranks, he was simply made use of when it suited his master's purpose.

"Are you completely sure that it is 'er, Greyback?" someone questioned, "coz if it ain't, we're dead."

"It's 'er alright," said Scabior, "looks like 'er an' all. She aint no Clearwater ... she's definitely Potter's friend, she is."

"Who's in charge here!" roared Greyback, as he attempted to reassert himself and cover his obvious inadequacy. "Anyway, if we take her to Malfoy, if the Dark Lord isn't happy with being summoned, then Lucius and that lot can take the blame. Just remember, when we found her she was alone; no one with her see!"

"P'raps, they can use the girl to somehow trap Potter," added Scabior, "All right, we're in! What shall we do with the other two? We can't just leave 'em 'ere?"

"We might as well take all three of them," Greyback responded, "Not sure how much we will get for the girl, but I am sure it will be a quite a bit; being one of Potter's best friends ... the other mudblood will be usual 5 Galleons and the Goblin ... well, we just have to wait and see what we get for him."

"You two!" Greyback yelled, gesturing at a couple of his men. "You stay here. Search the forest for any signs of Potter!"

The three prisoners were dragged to their feet. Hermione noticed the look of alarm in Dean's eyes as a large snatcher in a frayed coat jerked him forward. Her head was throbbing from the fall and by now her body must be covered in scrapes and bruises. Thankfully, her nose had stopped bleeding, and she didn't think anything was broken.

"Grab hold of the other two, and make sure you have got 'em tight. I will deal with the girl!" said Greyback, as he once again seized a handful of her bushy hair. His nails dug sharply into her scalp as he shouted to his companion, "On three! One ... two ... three -"

The snatchers disaparated with a resounding 'pop', pulling the prisoners along with them. Hermione struggled against Greyback's grip; trying to throw him off, but his strong fingers firmly grasped the long tendrils of her curly brown hair, while his other hand gripped her shoulder tightly. As the magic of the apparition took hold and transported them, she felt as if her breath was being squeezed out of her body. As the inevitable sensation of pulling at her navel set in and her stomach seemed to do a somersault.

Hermione's body lurched forward as they reappeared in the middle of a country lane. Her stomach objected to the pressure of the enforced apparition. Before she could acclimatise to her new surroundings, her stomach heaved and she threw up. Scabior jumped out of her way, shouting a few obscenities at her as he tried to avoid the warm puddle of sick.

Greyback guffawed at Scabior's reaction to the vomiting teenager. Thankfully, he had released his hold on her hair, but he still had a firm hold on her shoulder. Hermione spluttered and coughed wishing her hands were free so she could wipe her face. With a flick of his wand, Greyback released her legs from the Leglocker curse. He then pulled her to her feet dragging her in the direction of a pair of wrought-iron gates at what appeared to be the foot of a long driveway. Fear prickled through her as they reached the gates. She was about to be presented to Lord Voldermort; bound, wandless and helpless. At this point, she couldn't think of a worse position or place to be.

One of the snatchers strode confidently up to the gates and shook them. "They're locked," he yelled. "Oy, Greyback! How do we get in? I can't -"

With that, the metal began to twist beneath his hands and he pulled back in fright. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, as the iron warped and contorted to form a fearsome-looking face. "State your purpose!" it commanded in a harsh and resonant voice.

"We've caught one of Potter's friends" Greyback stated, now sounding a little less confident, "the Granger girl, the mudblood." There was a pause, then suddenly the face shifted as the metal twisted back and the gates swung open for them.

"Come on," Greyback urged his men. They reluctantly moved forward, following Greyback as they traversed the drive, ushering their captives along. Hermione glimpsed and eerie looking albino peacock through the high hedges that lined the driveway. The bird's white plumage made it look like it was glowing in the moonlight. There was a distinctly sinister and hostile feeling in the air. The gravel crunched under their feet and Hermione thought about what it might have been like for Draco growing up here, she almost felt sorry for him. Letting her mind wonder meant that she wasn't paying attention. Suddenly, she lost her footing and stumbled, her joints were still aching and numb from the leglocker curse, and her sprained ankle throbbed with a dull pain. Greyback's vice-like grip on her shoulder meant that she was instantaneously wrenched her back to her feet and dragged onward, along the drive. "Stupid, clumsy girl," he muttered under his breath.


Authors Note:

*Denotes reference to a quote from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pages 362-366 (British Edition), although context/intonation/wording is slightly different from original text - I just feel that the similarity to the original needs to be noted as this is a 'transitional' chapter where events deviate into my own story.

Please review and let me know what you think!