Wormtail slowly dragged the unconscious girl up the stairs, it was a slow process but his lord had demanded her. Wormtail was nursing quite a few small bruises from the girl he had subdued. She was a quick thinker and a fast one with a wand, no wonder the Dark lord wanted her. After dragging her across the long hallway he made his way into a small room. A single chair and hearthrug faced a gently burning fire. A hooded figure stood in front of the fire, his long, white hands hooked around the mantel.

"Ah, Wormtail…. Took you long enough" the man said in an abnormally high pitched voice, he turned in time to see his servant shudder. He looked at the girl at wormtail's feet, and then looked back

"She struggled." He said, not at all making it a question.

Wormtail whimpered, "y…yes m'lord." He said with another shake. Voldermort laughed. He bent down next to the girl and lifted her into a sitting position; she was rather beautiful for a nasty little mudblood. He pointed his wand at her and muttered "Incarcerous" Thick black ropes snaked out of Voldermort's wand and up the girl, binding her arms down the length of her upper body. He looked pleased and then muttered the counter curse for his sleeping charm, she awoke with a start and upon seeing the cloaked man there, taking him for another death eater, she screamed and kicked him the face, Wormtail drew in an audible breath. The girl was stunned as the man laughed. Her hairs stood on end; the laugh was high pitched, and frosted with hate.

The hooded figure grabbed his captive by the hair and pulled her to her feet, she winced in pain but held her tongue. Wormtail followed his master down the stairs and down another flight into the dungeons where he flung the girl into the floor; she managed to get her self back into a sitting position and glared at the man.

"Do you know why your here?" The figured asked in mock concern. The girl shivered but didn't answer. "When I ask a question you ANSWER" he said and raised his wand. Drawing an x across his chest and then flinging his wand out again with a quick snap of his wrist, the girl screamed in agony as two huge cuts opened themselves up across her chest, blood gushed through the new rips in her shirt. She choked back tears as she tried to breath, the pain almost intolerably. "Now let's try this again…" he said coolly. "What is your relationship to Harry Potter." The girl looked up and screamed at the man with difficulty,

"I'll never tell you, you will have to kill me before I tell you anything about Harry! You're a liar and a fake! Dumbeldor could kill you EASILY!" Tears rushed down her face from pain and the man's servant gasped once more; stunned. Voldermort kicked the girl in the face with a deafening 'crack'.

"You dare talk back to me?" he said coolly as he raised his wand.

"Crucio" he murmured without a second thought. Erratic screams filled the dungeon as a brown haired girl lay on the floor twitching in agony.

"You will not talk back to me, ever. I am your master!" The man smirked at the girl's pain as he lifted his wand; the screams died.

"Now my pet…. Maybe next time you'll listen." The girl looked livid. Her eyes were mere slits.

"You'll pay for this! Harry Potter will make you pay!" Voldermort had turned his back to the girl, but upon the mention of his foe he whipped back around, nastily retorting back.

"Harry Potter is mine, and will soon be dead, perhaps another lesson or two on behavior?" Voldermort did not wait for an answer as he lifted his wand once more, continuing his torture.

Hermione's body was pale and blood had crusted itself sporadically around her arm as if she had been victim to a dog who had shaken off red paint. Numerous welts and cuts had surfaced all along her torso and abdomen and her skin was exposed in almost every place except those of a nature meant to be kept subdued. The hooded figure slowly glided towards the defiant girl, crouching at her level he hissed,

"Do I need to punish you more?" The girl raised herself up and slowly lifted her face to meet his. Red slits bore into her soul. She couldn't help but feel as if everything she had ever kept secret he could see. With a quick move she spit in his face, or where a face should have been. "You will regret that" he hissed with such venom it made the girl shudder. He raised his wand once more and pointed it at her chest, hissing softly, "crucio," cackling along with the screams admitting from the girl in front of him as she thrashed upon the floor.

Hermione woke in the late evening, wishing she had not. She was bandaged like a mummy and the pain made her want to die. She cursed as she forced herself into a sitting position, tears streaming from her eyes. She worked her legs painfully to push her self into the corner. The hard cement felt so good on her face, cold, slimy, and in some way calming. She placed as much of body onto the cold wall as she could, feeling a relief in pain. Why was this happening, why had the dark lord become so desperate? Was it the fight at the ministry, what harry told them was in the prophecy? He had never dared to mess with a student of Dumbeldor's before, well I guess if you count Malfoy as anything less than scum. What had happened to him, he ran away with Voldermort and his Death Eaters that night, he had to still be with them or—dead. Hermonie gave a shudder as her thoughts stopped, as much as she hated Malfoy, she felt pity for him, he was probably forced into the dark lord's service with threat to his family's lives. Hermonie herd a hollow echo of footsteps on the cement stairs, she tried to sit herself up in a dignified position but the more she moved the more tears came, and she would not be caught crying in front of Voldermort. The steal door opened and smashed into the wall, in it's wake stood Draco Malfoy, holding a traveling cloak.

"Get up, now." He said harshly, but in a quickened tone. Hermione curled closer to the corner, ignoring him. Malfoy grunted and crossed the small holding cell in two strides, coming to stand over top of Hermione.

"Bloody hell Granger," he spat, angry now, "For once in your life stop being a know it all and do as your told!" Hermione looked up at Malfoy again, something was wrong; he wasn't using a demanding voice with her but rather a sort of, plea. What was he up to?

"Well I can't." she said slowly.

Malfoy spat back, "can't what, stand?"

Hermione shook her head up and down, closing her eyes to stop tears of pain from falling. She heard Malfoy's exasperation and then his fingers close around her upper biceps. She let out a holler of pain as she was hoisted to her feet; she would not have stayed up right if Malfoy had not grabbed her again.

"Keep it down would you? Do you want to get caught?" Malfoy asked as he looked Hermione up and down, he lightly touched the long cut on her abdomen but stopped when it went across her chest, Hermione winced, but not with pain, Malfoy's touch was so soft and caring he had given her goose bumps. There was a second when their eyes meet and Hermione felt a whelp of pity for Malfoy. He was clearly hurting. She wondered if he was being held here, but then he wouldn't be allowed to wonder. Her thoughts were interrupted as Malfoy grabbed her upper arm again, this time though; it was a light helping hand instead of a hard, cold one. He led her up the stairs and through the dust encrusted house, the living room to a kitchen through a dinning area and to a back porch. When he creaked open the back door Hermione was amazed to see it was sunny out, she thought it was late in the day, she moved her arm up to block the sun, squinting in it's light. It seemed impossible that this was happening to her, and Malfoy as her savior?

She could not help but voice her concern,

"What, you're going to let me go and I'm going to be over joyed and make my way home, only to have Voldermort pop up from some rock and kill me point blank, like some sort of hunting?" she accused angrily. Malfoy looked revolted,

"Either you want to live and you leave or you can stay and have us both killed. You choose."

Hermione softened her gaze, "why are you helping me? I'm a mudblood remember?" Malfoy actually cracked a smile when he replied,

"Granger, I thought you were the smartest in our grade, I know what it's like to be a captive, to have your parent's lives at the tips of your fingers and one wrong move" he dew his finger across his neck. "Plus, you're not all that bad. Here," He handed Hermione a small chipped tea cup, wrapping the traveling cloak around her neck as she looked at it and traced a finger around a delicate flower.

"On three then." He started, "one,-"

Hermione looked up scared, "wait, Malfoy where are you sending me?" Malfoy didn't reply,

"two," Hermione looked desperate, her voice shook,

"Malfoy please—please wait!" Malfoy was about shout "three" when a pack of death eaters came around the corner, jovially talking about their latest raid when the caught sight of Malfoy and Hermione.

"HEY! What are you doing?" The started to run toward Malfoy who shouted three as Hermione shouted his name,

"Draco, NO!" Her cry was not heard, as there was a tug behind her right nostril. She was spinning endlessly past blurs of colors. She landed hard on her feet and crumpled to the dusty ground, inhaling dirt as she did. She coughed as it got to her lungs. She could hear voices above her, worried, but she did not move. She just lay crumpled on the dirt ground, face first, un-able, and un-willing to move. Why had he done it? Tears of pain and anguish for Malfoy left mud streaks down her cheek. He was dead; they'd surly kill him now, all for her—for her life. Someone was picking her up, large hands, they were so gentle. Her head fit in his one palm. Hermione opened her eyes to see Hagrid looking at her.

"Her'mione, what in gos's nam' happ'in to ya?" Hermione didn't open her mouth but looked up at Hagrid, great tear swells gushing down her face, how could she ever explain what had happened when she herself didn't even know if it was a nightmare? Is this how Harry felt every time something happened to him? Hermione's thoughts stopped, Harry.

"Common, I'll take yah ter Dumbeldor, he'll know wha ter do." Hermione sunk into Hagrid's large arms and closed her eyes. Her dreams milled over what had happened over and over again.