Disclaimer: Any plot, characters, and storyline recognised belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers and the publishers. No profit, monetary or otherwise, is being made from this work of fiction.
Summary: When all hope is lost and the chosen one dead, Hermione Granger emerges as a different person altogether, as the dark lord's daughter. She seeks respect and gains much more from the Death Eaters, resulting in their own downfall, but saving lives of many, including that of one Draco Malfoy as they journey through a world of lies and betrayal.
Warnings : Contains implied character death, descriptions of torture and mild lemons. Mentions of dark!Hermione.
Timeline : Set after the battle of Hogwarts, non Epilogue compliant.
Daughter of the Dark.
Chapter I: Introductions
Disappointment. Draco could feel the emotion radiating from his father. He felt it surge through himself as well.
Standing in their own living room felt like a death order to the Malfoys, especially to Draco who never had liked to be there in presence of a certain snake-like dark lord. The room was filled with masked people, their heads bowed.
One witch with wild black curls was near her master's seat, without a mask, shaking her head vigorously at something her master was hissing.
Draco had always been fascinated with how his entire family had dragged him into this madness. He deserved better than this. He wasn't someone to do the dark lord's bidding because he believed in pureblood nonsense, but he had his head bowed because he didn't want his family to be endangered.
But he wouldn't dare say that aloud.
Bellatrix fell to her knees and cried, 'My lord, please, I beg you!' She was screeching like mad. 'Not Rudolphus! He has served you with utmost loyalty-' but she was cut short by Voldemort himself.
'Silence!' he hissed. His eyes glowed ruby red and suddenly Draco felt all death eaters in the proximity of the room stiffen.
In a cold voice, he said to his most faithful death eater, 'He has failed me, Bella, for a third time. And it was NOT A MISTAKE! He defied my direct orders and that resulted in the almost loss of my most precious object in this war! He will not be forgiven.'
Draco must have imagined it, but he thought his eyes had a forlorn sparkle of hope when he spoke of that precious object. But it had disappeared and with a start he realized that he was staring at his Master, right in the eyes.
And he was sneering back to Draco.
Shivers ran down Draco's back when with a sly smile he was beckoned forward by the Dark Lord.
'Bring me the guilty.' The Dark lord hissed, his eyes gleaming with pure sadistic mirth. He never once left Draco's eyes.
The dementors came first; the room went icy cold and the little hope and happiness Draco remembered, seemed to be slipping away from his mind, leaving a gnawing feeling in his heart that nothing was to be alright from now on. Draco didn't need to turn to know that the others in the room were experiencing the same.
Clinks of chains were heard. The prisoner must have been brought, thought Draco as the Dark Lord finally looked away from him and to the shackled man. Almost immediately every head turned to the prisoner.
Rudolphus Lestrange, one of the Dark Lord's most trusted and esteemed follower was tied and bound with innumerable chains. Standing between four dementors, the man was walking with his head hung low, shivering visibly. The party came to a standstill at a distance of five meters from the Dark Lord. He bowed down almost as soon as he stopped; kneeling till his shabby hair touched the ground.
The usual display of fellowship was completely ignored by the snake-like man, as he covered the distance between them quickly, almost slithering.
'Get up.' The voice above the kneeling man hissed. He rose and stood before the Dark Lord, shoulders slumped and head hung low.
'What went wrong, Lestrange?' the snake-like man asked him, coldly, looking straight in the other man's eyes.
The man flinched at the cold unnerving gaze, but kept himself from shuddering.
'My Lord, I did never intend to ignore your direct orders, my Lord. I thought there should have been some misunderstanding, for the lowly mudblood would not be of any value to you, Master. I mistook the identity of the witch, for which I deeply regret my mistake, Lord. I couldn't defy you, my lord.'
The silence after the man finished speaking was not calm; it had something sinister in it, something that forewarned about the merciless punishment that lay in store for the man in shackles.
'And you assumed that the Dark Lord had finally gone insane, and decided to give the rest Death Eaters your lead, didn't you, Lestrange? Do you realize how much your negligence in following my orders would have caused if the girl had slipped away? Have you even come close enough to understand the value that girl had? Had it not been for Bella, I would have lost her!' the Dark lord roared, as he slapped the bound man hard on his cheek.
The Dark Lord turned, now facing the whole crowd. He beckoned Bellatrix forward with his hand. The witch scrambled near her husband, her head hung with shame. Looking at his two faithful servants, the Dark Lord hissed.
'Tell them, Rudolphus, who you mistook the girl for.'
The man took a deep breath, as if his answer would decide his survival.
'Mudblood Granger.' He said.
Several gasps were heard. Narcissa moved a step forward and clutched Draco's hand in hers.
Their master spoke again-
'Do you know the value of that girl Lestrange? She is important if we want to show the Order that they have no alternative than to surrender. She is a crucial part to my path to immortal glory and unbeatable power. And you almost let her go.'
After letting the words sink in his brain, Draco thought he couldn't agree more with his master. Granger had been Potter's sidekick for almost seven years and even, she was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. It was common knowledge that nothing went into action that wasn't Granger approved. If not for her tactics and intelligence, the war would have ended along with Potter's death.
But the mudblood had relentlessly proved to be a thorn in all the Death Eaters' backside. For even after almost five months later, Granger had thwarted many of the Dark Lord's plans. It was therefore vital that they take her out of the game before the rest of the Order.
Draco wished that all decisions during Death Eater meetings had been so easy, with no 'what if's or 'maybe's.
Then Bellatrix's voice cut through the silence.
'My Lord, we plead for another chance. Our worth has been proven to you many times, a second chance might-'
But the Dark Lord didn't let her complete.
'Silence, Bellatrix!' he hissed, making the witch shut her mouth with a whimper. 'It is only Rudolphus that needs to be punished. Do not make me punish you as well. However, as you have corrected his mistake, you have the decision to make about his punishment. Tell me, Bellatrix, how should your husband be punished when e has defied your master?'
Bellatrix seemed hysterical. She clutched her wand tightly in her right hand, causing green sparks to emit from its tip. Then she spoke, her voice surprisingly calm and steady than her emotional turmoil.
'He has defied you, Lord. Therefore, his punishment should be death, as an example to others of never showing deliberate negligence to your orders.'
The Dark Lord smiled, his yellowed teeth showing through his lips which had twisted into a cynical expression of glee.
'Death it is then, Rudolphus, wished upon you by my most trusted follower. But, he needs to suffer first. Death will come later. Now, who wishes to torture the soul of this wizard into madness?'
Several feet shuffled and Draco suddenly became aware that his palms had started sweating, even in the presence of the dementors, who were standing in guard near the door.
Then a cloaked figure stepped in front from the opposite direction where Draco was standing. The witch, whom Draco figured was a girl because of her feminine figure, took graceful steps in the direction where the guilty was standing. She stopped a few steps away from her Master, and instead of bowing down she asked in a loud and clear voice that gave away no emotion the witch might have been feeling.
'May i be the one to deliver the punishment, my Lord, seeing as it was I who brought the guilty into this predicament?' she said.
The Dark Lord smirked and gave a nod in the direction of the witch. He snapped his fingers and the mask on the witch's face dissolved away, leaving her angelic face in everyone's view.
It brought on another round of gasps, though these were followed by mutterings and hushed whispers of the Death Eaters among themselves. And Draco knew why.
She looked the same since he had last seen her. But there was a slight difference. She had grown taller, her hair was longer than before. The dark brown ringlets were pulled in a tight pony, cascading down her shoulders. Her eyes, gleaming with what little light was in the room, were lit were a vengeance. And she was smiling, a cold heartless smile, as if to make everyone present understand the change in her with that subtle detail.
It was her, no doubt. But she had somehow become different. One of them.
But it was Hermione Granger without a doubt.
The mutterings hadn't ceased, yet.
He saw Granger raise her wand and a jet of light shot in the dark, a thundering boom echoing through the room making everyone fall silent.
Draco almost snorted. Granger was the bookworm extraordinaire. Trust her to have a spell known for something so dramatic.
'Stand up, Rudolphus, straight. Let me tell you, i am going to enjoy this. A payback for what your wife did to me!' she said, holding up her arm and showing him her scars.
Rudolphus turned pale visibly when he saw the scar, the word Mudblood carved on her wrist.
She pointed her wand to the guilty, and smirked a pure Slytherin smirk.
'Any last wishes? When I'll be done with you, you'll be as good as dead.'
Silence. It became eerily quiet in the room. Then granger flicked her wand and yelled-
'Crucio!'
Almost instantly, screams filled the room. The shrill screams seemed to wreak havoc into his mind, destroying every lingering doubt he had about Granger casting the Crucio.
Rudolphus was on the ground, his eyes rolled up to the point that only white could be seen and he was writhing helplessly on the ground. His mouth was wide open and he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Then it stopped. Rudolphus twitched twice, before his face contorted into pain again. The after effects of the curse got their hold on him.
But Granger was merciless. She gazed down on the body below her, the person groaning as he begged for the pain to stop. Then she raised her wand again and cast the curse once more.
Screams erupted from the mouth again and Draco saw a look of pure satisfaction on Granger's face. Then she closed her eyes for a moment. In that split second, the screams turned to shrieks from unbearable pain.
Bellatrix crouched low near Rudolphus' writhing body, sobbing uncontrollably. But she made no sound of protest or even the slightest movement to stop the curse.
It continued for quite a while till the Dark Lord raised his hand and hissed something in Parseltongue. The room grew quite again, with the exception of his aunt's quiet sobs now and then.
'Ennervate.' Granger whispered, her voice as calm and collected as it had been before she had cast the curse. But Draco noticed that her face seemed tired; casting the deathly insane curse took up much of her energy.
Then the Dark Lord raised his wand and Draco instantly knew that it was time to end the drama. But the Master had other plans.
'Let this be the opportune time for introductions, as Rudolphus deserves o know at least the true identity of his killer; I present to you, my daughter, Hermione Gaunt.'
Draco was shell-shocked; he didn't even gasp. The events of today were muddling up the sense in his brain. But many others did understand, and Granger took this as her cue to speak up.
'Yes, I am the Dark Lord's daughter. Hermione Gaunt. And I am in charge of discipline and training here. Let the man moaning before you all be an excellent example as to what your fate awaits if you do anything that gets you on my bad side.' She took a pause, surveying the shocked expressions of the comrades in the room. Then she continued with a bored expression, 'If you all are done gawking, let's get this stupidity over with.'
Bellatrix stood silently and made her way towards where Draco was standing. She took her place next to Narcissa and awaited the moment.
Then it was the time for the big surprise.
'But, alas I am feeling particularly merciful, today. So, Rudolphus, enjoy your insane life. I won't kill you.' The Dark Lord's daughter spoke, sending shivers down Draco's spine for unknown reasons.
The Dark Lord didn't seemed to be too surprised; they had it all planned out.
But then the guilty spoke, astonishing everyone.
'You don't have it in you to kill someone.' He said, his words aimed directly at Hermione. 'Torture is a game, fun while it lasts. You kill someone; I'm sure that you'll regret it later and wallow of guilt.'
Then he broke into a cynical smirk and made weird movements with his hands, while his body still jerked from the aftershocks.
The dark robed woman turned and bowed low, her hair tickling the ground. She smiled triumphantly.
'Exactly what I needed.' She smirked. 'I assure you that there is nothing that I am incapable of doing. Killing you seems like a pass time to me.'
And then even before anyone could bat an eyelid, she raised her wand and a jet of green light shot through it and hit Rudolphusdirectly in the chest. When everyone's vision cleared from the sudden bright light, they found themselves looking at an unmoving body, clearly dead.
The fact that she had just killed a person didn't seem to bother Hermione at all.
She added with a bored expression, 'Now, this stuff is tiring. So, I am going to bed before anyone of you tries to come up with something that might make me kill you or worse, make you insane.'
She gave a nod in the direction of her father and disappeared in a swirl of black.
To Be Continued...