The Trinity
Disclaimer: despite the many wishes I make, I do not own Harry Potter, however the plot and some of the characters are all mine.
Warning violence
Prologue:
6th year summer holiday's
She was so tired; she hadn't been allowed sleep in over 3 days, (at least she thought it was 3 days) And yet they continued pushing her, trying to break her, using both mental and physical torture but she couldn't break, not yet.
The knife sailed through the air in a perfect arc, embedding itself in her arm. She emitted a low moan from the back of her throat, as otherwise silent tears streamed down her face. The torture had gone on for hours never stopping, never ending, the girl's body had been beaten to a pulp, multiple stab wounds weakened her, anything that wasn't covered with blood was a motley of blue, yellow and purple bruises.
Her assailant wretched the knife out, immediately burying it in another part of her body, this time her back "Tell me mudblood, tell me everything, get up and TELL ME!"
'Huh why would she say get up, I'm not on the grou... oh.' The girl was surprised to find herself on the floor, crimson liquid surrounding her.
'This is comfortable, maybe I should stay here. It certainly beats having Bellatrix use me as a chopping board. I'm just so tired, I think I'll have a rest. I'm sure nobody will mind I mean, I'm too heavy to be any use, much to heavy and slow and heavy, NO that is not acceptable I will NOT break, not when I've had been through so much already.'
The girl forced her protesting eyes open and raised her head off the ground.
'No," she managed to gasp out, her voice broken and torn from her screams. Suddenly she felt a hot breath in her ear as Bellatrix lent over her, the dreaded knife pressed on her arm.
"Tut, tut little mudblood, I thought they called you intelligent, but then again this is far more entertaining. Yes, I think you will give me a great wealth of information once I break you." The girl started thrashing as the knife scraped against her skin
"PLEASE, please I don't know anything th…they didn't tell me anything!"
"You're lying, the Potter brat and the blood traitor tell you EVERYTHING."
"NO, NO I SWE…"
"CRUCIO!"
Bellatrix cackled as the girl cut herself off with her own screaming.
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Luna woke to the sound of screams, she grabbed her wand, and vaulted out of the bed, that she shared with her two best friends, noticing Ginny mimicking her. The duo went to each other standing back to back, covering the others back, but something, or more importantly someone was missing, Hermione.
"NO, I WON'T TELL YOU!" Luna and Ginny's eyes swivelled back to their bed and saw Hermione tangled in the sheets her knuckles white as they clutched the bedding.
The duo realised what was wrong immediately, Luna threw up a silencing charm around the room, so that none staying at the Burrow knew what was going. Then the two witches rushed to Hermione's side, Ginny reached out and touched the witches' arms.
"Please, NO DON'T TOUCH ME!" as quick as if she'd been burned Ginny let go of Hermione. Luna leant down near the brunette's head was, pleading with her.
"Hermione, it's me Luna, Luna and Ginny."
Hermione gasped still ensnared by her nightmare. "Luna, Ginny,"
"Yes it's us." Ginny was quick to agree
"No, no you can't be here, leave me before they get you, I'll be fine!"
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Hermione sat in her cell, too weak to move, when she heard a noise. They were there to save her. Except, what if they were caught "Luna, Ginny,"
Ginny looked at her tears pooling in her eyes at the sight of Hermione, bruised and bloody. She nodded her head. "Yes it's us, we're here to save you!"
"No, no you can't be here, leave me before they get you, I'll be fine." Luna knelt beside Hermione, cradling her head. "Hermione yo…"
The air seemed to chill as a voice rang out through the dungeon "I knew you would come for the mudblood, I knew all I had to was wait, now I have the three of you,"
Luna raised herself off of her knees beside Hermione, her wand level with the intruder's eyes "you seem to be getting a touch daft in your dotage, Bellatrix."
"Yes," Ginny agreed "I, can't help but notice that myself." Bellatrix grinned madly at the pair "if you want the mudblood, you'll have to fight for it."
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Hermione, screamed again, the two girls who were now seated on the floor winced.
"You know, I thought that she didn't get the nightmares anymore."
"Ginny, when has Hermione ever told us anything that may make her look weak, I think they never stopped not really, she just got better at hiding them from us.
"If she doesn't tell us what's wrong how the hell are we supposed to help her?" Luna grasped Ginny's hand in support, her eyes still on the thrashing brunette.
"All we can do is be there for her when she wakes."
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Luna and Ginny were pushed to the ground, in front of Hermione by Bellatrix. They were both struggling feebly against their bonds. Bellatrix sauntered over to where Hermione lay unconscious, and dealt her a vicious kick in the ribs to wake her up.
"Wake up filth, you're needed for the grand finale." Bellatrix grabbed a fistful of Hermione's hair and hoisted the girl to her feet. Bellatrix waved her wand over Hermione with a quick "silenceo."
"STOP, leave her alone," Ginny cried in desperation. Bellatrix cackled softly, she turned to Ginny grabbing her knife out of her robes as she did so.
Hermione tried to move forward, but her legs wouldn't support her, she slumped to the ground on her knees, Bellatrix waved her wand again and Hermione found she could no longer move her legs, they were stuck to the ground. She couldn't move, not to save her friends, not to save herself.
Bellatrix reached out to grasp Ginny's cheek, holding the knife flush against her throat. Bellatrix drew the blade quickly across her flesh, she was dead before her body hit the ground.
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"GINNY, NO!" she shouted in anguish. Ginny was up and by Hermione's side in an instant,
"Hermione, I'm here, I'm fine." Hermione's body convulsed as she cried.
"Ginny?"
"Yes I'm here Hermione, I'm not leaving."
"NO, DON'T LEAVE ME!" Ginny ran her hand through Hermione's murmuring reassurance, but the sobbing witch could not be placated.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Ginny." Ginny turned to Luna in the hopes that she could do something, but Luna was at a loss as how to help Hermione herself.
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Bellatrix looked at Hermione who was struggling against the silencing spell, her mouth opening in horror a silent scream of agony.
"My my, don't you think the mudblood looks a little grotesque Luna dear?"
Luna herself was hunched over in her grief, making a low keening noise, she had lost the will to fight or defy with the death of Ginny.
Bellatrix levitated Ginny's body next to Hermione before turning to back to Luna, wielding the blood soaked knife. Hermione watched in horror as Bellatrix drew the blade against the skin on Luna's arm.
"Now maybe you will tell me, if you did I'm sure we could find a place for you in our ranks, after all pureblood should not be wasted."
Luna looked at Hermione who was still silent even though she could be seen shaking, her body covered Ginny's clutching at it like a lifeline.
"I'll join you when hell freezes over."
"Then die!" Bellatrix hissed. Hermione's eyes met Luna's at the exact same time the knife slashed. Hermione watched, as once again the light in one of her best friend's eyes went out, and for the second time that day Hermione was drowning in her despair.
Bellatrix levitated both corpses into a plie and set fire to them, laughing at the tortured look Hermione made. Hermione watched as her friend's bodies burnt then watched as Bellatrix finally turned back to her.
"It's your fault mudblood, their deaths were your fault, I didn't have to kill them, they didn't have to die, you did that. You killed them. Everyone who gets close to you will end up the same way, you are poison, an accident waiting to happen. You are worthless."
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"No I didn't, I DIDN'T kill them, I'm not poison. Luna please wake up, please don't be dead, PLEASE!"
Once again the named witch rushed to Hermione's side and stroked her hair. "Hermione, I'm not dead, I'm fine, Ginny's fine
"It's all my fault, they're dead because of me, it's my fault, I'M SORRY!"
She woke with a heart wrenching scream, jumping out of the bed, with her wand in hand she fired off two spells at invisible enemies around the room, one of them hit Luna. She ducked behind the bed and cast a transparent barrier between herself and the other occupants of the room.
As soon as Hermione scattered to the bed, Ginny leapt into action. She scrambled over a stunned Luna and walked slowly towards her terrified friend, hands in air.
"Hermione?" Ginny ducked quickly as a spell came flying millimetres above where her head had been.
"Go away, they're dead because of me, it's my fault." Hermione was against the wall her knees tucked up to her chest, rocking and breathing heavily. Gently Ginny tried again.
"Hermione, it's Ginny, you're safe, I'm safe, Luna's safe." Slowly Hermione raised herself above the barrier. Recognition flooding in her eyes.
"Ginny?" the witch in question breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, yes it's me Mione." Hermione looked from the charred wall to her wand; she emitted a soft gasp of horror. Dropping her wand, Hermione sank to the ground weeping.
Luna, who had been revived by Ginny, ran to Hermione pulling her into an embrace. Hermione's face crumbled with sorrow, her tears making tracks down her cheeks as she sobbed.
"Did I… did I hurt you?" Luna stroked her hair "Not at all, I'm fine." she nodded.
Ginny had settled herself on the other side of Hermione. When she had finally stopped crying Ginny asked
"What was it this time?"
"Bellatrix, sh… she got me again, but thi… this time when you came, with the… the order…yo…you died, both o...of you died, and I couldn't do any…anything about it" All three girls shuddered, at the picture that Hermione painted.
All three girl looked to the scars that littered Hermione's body from when she actually had been taken captive. The words spelt out, ranging from an elegant scrawl to the slashes of a madwoman.
Ginny and Luna grasped one of Hermione's hands whispering soft reassurances that they were fine in Hermione's ear.
Abruptly Hermione sat up, "Did anyone hear?"
"No, Luna put up a silencing charm," Hermione nodded her thanks.
"Why didn't you tell us you were still having the nightmares?" and there it was, the one question that Hermione didn't want to answer, but expected anyway, coming straight from the mouth of Ginny.
"It's been three months, I thought that, I don't know, should be over it or something,' Hermione trailed off weakly.
"You were tortured Hermione, you are not going to just "get over it"
"Luna, you go too far," Ginny protested.
"She cannot continue thinking that it's okay to compartmentalize this, it's not healthy," Luna turned to Hermione.
"Bellatrix took you from your parents and into the vipers nest itself, where they beat you and plundered your body, ravaged your mind and tried to destroy you."
Hermione moaned pitifully while Luna continued her monologue.
"They almost did Hermione, they were so close to breaking you. They killed your parents and made you watch immobilised, and now just three months later you want to try to tell us how you should be over it? I don't think so."
"That's enough Luna, she know what happened to her, she was there, you…"
"That is why Ginny and I have been doing some research," Luna cut Ginny off. Ginny closed her mouth with an audible snap, she knew where this conversation had taken a turn to, and to say that she was nervous would be an understatement.
Suddenly feeling small and vulnerable again "Wha…what research?" Hermione responded. "Hermione, do you think we are close?"
"Well, yes of course, but I don't see what that has to do with anything Luna,"
"Ever since you came back to us, all we wanted to do was help you and we think that we've found the perfect solution…"
"We want to blood bond with you," Ginny cut Luna off. Hermione's hands flew to her mouth with a gasp. "Why? I'm not worth that, please do not bond yourselves to me for some little nightmares" Ginny walked over to Hermione and smacked her across the face with a resounding crack.
"Don't you EVER say that again Hermione Jean Granger, you are worth every bit of love you can get, and as for the nightmares, they are NOT silly, and I will never hear those words come from your mouth again. Am I clear?" slightly shocked Hermione just nodded her acceptance.
"With that I ask you, do you want to become our blood bonded sister?"
"It would be an honour, and for the record blood bind or not, I've considered you my sisters for quite some time."
Luna and Ginny beamed at Hermione then leapt up off of their spots on the floor, Luna went to the dark oak cabinet, in the corner of the room and got a candle and some needles, whereas Ginny went to her dressing table and procured a large book with yellowing pages.
Finding the right page Ginny held out the book for Hermione to take all the while saying "out of the three of us, you are the most powerful, so we need you to do the spell," taking the hefty tome Hermione read as Luna lit the candle. Once everyone sat down in a circle on the floor, Luna placed the candle down and the ritual began. Grasping hands with each other, Hermione started to speak.
"Sororibus cordis, accipere sanguinem meum, et caro mea fiet de sororibus." (Sisters of my heart, accept my blood and become the sisters of my flesh.) Picking up the needles that la on the right of each girl they pricked the tip of their fingers and past the needle to the left, the process repeated, until each of the three needles was coated in the three girl's blood.
Hermione chanted "Tuus sum ego, tu meus, in aeternum et semper, sororibus," (I am yours, you are mine, forever and always, sisters.) until, with one final cry the room was bathed in an eerie blue light, and the magic was palatable.
As soon as the girls blinked the light was gone, and in its place stood a whole new sense of comradery amongst the trio.
Grinning at each other, there was a comfortable silence in the room, until Hermione broke it by saying "Thank you, I don't think you've realised what you just did for me, and I doubt you ever will, and no matter what happens with this war no matter how bad it may get I know that both of you will always be there for me, my sisters."
