The room was dark and the atmosphere cold, yet tense. Breathing in the room was tight, and white clouds were issuing from each person's mouth, as the room was abnormally chilly. On the floor lay three sets of wands belonging to Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger. How they found themselves in this place was unbelievable to say the least. After several months of desperately trying to cover their tracks, they found themselves right in the hands of Scabior, a notorious Snatcher. He had dragged them to none other than the Malfoy Manor.
Although Harry had been disguised by a jinx Hermione had performed as an act of urgency, Draco Malfoy was brought forth to confirm if he actually resembled the Undesirable #1. Draco, under pressure, did not have such an answer. The grotesque figure wore similar clothes to Potter, had the same type of hair, and his voice was very much like Potter's, but he could not make the mistake of misidentifying the captive as Potter if he actually wasn't. Whispers filled his ears, begging him to identify Potter.
Draco stuttered, "I-I can't be sure."
"Now, Draco, please tell Mummy. Is this Potter?" Narcissa Malfoy pleaded.
"I-I don't know!" Draco cried.
In walked a woman, hair black as night and madly tangled. Although her skin was pearly white, it had a slight dull glow about it, as if it was slowly dying. She was standing only a few feet away but her putrid aroma caused Hermione to scrunch her face in disgust, trying not to be obvious and provoke more anger from Bellatrix, yet the older woman had a mad look in her eye, madder than usual, causing a chill to run down everyone's spine.
"What is that?" she asked incredulously at one of the Snatchers clutching the handle of a gleaming sword.
"Found it on their persons' ", he noted with a grin, "Reckon it's mine now."
Quick as a snake, Bellatrix snapped her wand at the man, whips issuing from the ending. Between the three Snatches, she knocked them all unconscious, sprawled across the floor in a matter of seconds
Bellatrix ordered for Ron and Harry to be led down a staircase to the cellar. The boys resisted perilously, shouting and pleading, yet they were forced to the underground cellar, leaving Hermione to face her on her own. Hermione's heart beat quick as she processed her situation. She found herself alone in the room with Bellatrix Lestrange, who was Voldemort's right-hand woman, the Malfoys, and Griphook, a goblin who had accompanied them in their attempt of breaking into Gringotts, the wizard bank. There was no way for her to defend herself, as she was disarmed of her wand, and no doubt Griphook would remain silent during whatever Bellatrix had in mind.
The female Death Eater approached her, her scent increasingly thickened, causing bile to rise in the back of Hermione's throat. Without warning, Bellatrix grabbed Hermione by her hair and threw her to the ground. Having been caught off guard, Hermione yelped in pain as her temple collided with the floor. Her hearing was jarred and vision blackened as she shut her eyes tightly in pain. Only as she was forced to face upwards did she realise Bellatrix had straddled her waist. The woman twitched her wand at each of Hermione's wrist, rope-like vines tying securely around her wrist, pinning her to the floor.
"Alright, mudblood, tell Bella how you got that sword!" Bellatrix hissed at her. Hermione's mind raced for an excuse. When she didn't think quickly enough, Bellatrix procured a dagger from her sleeve, pressing it against Hermione's neck. She could feel drops of blood drip down her throat as the knife's sharp edge bit into her skin.
"Tell me the truth! How did you get into my vault?" screeched Bellatrix, emphasizing each word by digging her nails into the skin of Hermione's left arm. The young witch yelped in pain.
"We didn't! We didn't get into your vault!" Hermione sobbed frantically, as Bellatrix tightened her grip on her arm and pressed the knife harder against her throat.
"Liar!" Bellatrix screamed, relieving the pressure of the knife against Hermione next only to pierce the young girl's forearm with the tip, dragging the sharp knife into the surface of her right arm. Hermione screamed in agony. She could not fight against it, her body restrained the wooden floor. Above the girl's scream, the others in the room could only just make out the Weasley boy's desperate shouts from the cellar. Hermione's heart was beating incredibly fast, her head was throbbing for her cries, and her arm ached from her fresh wound.
"I'll teach you not to lie to me!" screeched Bellatrix rising to her feet. Out the corner of her eye, Hermione could see the blood dripping from her cut. Mudblood, it said. Her tears rolled down the side of her face, as her situation became overwhelming. If they managed to leave, the wound would scar over, forever imprinted on her skin. Hermione failed to process Bellatrix's taunt as she then interrogated Griphook. The goblin seemed to refuse to give any information away as Bellatrix anger increased. The sinister woman stood above Hermione, her wand tip fix at the girl's forehead.
"You'll tell me where you got that sword or you'll have more than a few traumatic scars, mudblood."
All at once, too many things were happening in what felt like slow motion. Her hearing return yet the voices sounded far away. She could see Ron and Harry running up the cellar stairs. Bellatrix's expression turned from shocked to furious as she turned and focused again on Hermione.
'This is it. I'm going to die', she thought as she squeezed her eyes shut. But instead of seeing a green flash or feeling pain, she opened her eyes to find herself engulfed in white light, a familiar sensation running through her entire body. Like she was traveling through a portkey, except every particle of her body was being torn apart.
It wasn't painful, but Hermione's confusion caused her to panic and a million thoughts entered her mind.
'What is this?' she thought, 'Am I dead? Where have I gone? The others!' She looked around herself yet she found no one else with her. Concluding that she was indeed dead, Hermione felt tears filled her eyes, 'I'll never see Ron again, nor Harry, nor...Ginny.' And with that final thought, an enormous wave of sorrow overcame her, as the white environment dimmed and her world turned pitch black.
Ginny was sitting at the edge of the lake when Hermione found her. She had been looking off into the distance, and as Hermione drew closer, she could see that Ginny's eyes were puffy and red, her cheeks streaked wet with tears.
"Ginny?" Hermione asked tentatively. Ginny looked up at her and Hermione could see the sorrow in her eyes.
"What's wrong, Gin?" she asked, sitting next to her friend.
Ginny looked away and said with a thick voice, "Harry broke up with me." And it all became clear to Hermione.
"But I understand, he has to go save the world and all.", Ginny added. Hermione could hear the anger in Ginny's voice and her heart broke for her. Sure, she had thought about what would happen when her, Ron, and Harry would leave to find horcruxes, but it pained her to see the girl she loved cry over her best friend.
"Come on, Ginny. Harry loves you. I'm sure when all this is over he'll want to be with you again." Hermione said, wrapping a comforting arm around Ginny shoulders.
"I know. I'm just being silly. I'm worried though. What if…what if he doesn't come back? What if none of you come back, Hermione? I don't know what I'd do if I lost any of you.", Ginny sobbed as fresh tears ran down her cheeks. Hermione reached over and wiped the tears from Ginny's face.
"Ginny, you mustn't think like that. Those boys and I…all of us, everyone, we've been through too much to give up now. Believe me, Gin. We're going to come back alive," The older girl said. Ginny nodded in understanding.
"Promise?" she sniffed almost childlike.
"I promise." Hermione smiled, embracing Ginny in a hug, and she meant it with everything she had.
Hermione's eyes shot open, yet she had to blink several times before her vision became focused again. Her mouth was dry and her body ached. She didn't sit up immediately due to her throbbing head. Her heartbeat increased as she realized she was not dead as she had anticipated. Instead, she was laying on her back in what seemed to be tall grass. Hermione sat up, leaning against her arms to evaluate her situation. She was wandless, alone, and had nothing but the clothes on her back. The area was something of a hilly meadow, the sun not yet in the sky, as the horizon could either be pink from a new day or a new night. The grass had dots of dew on it so Hermione concluded it was a new day.
She stood up eventually, checking her pockets for any possessions. Having found nothing, she took her chances, and began walking in the direction of the rising sun, her feet feeling heavier than usual. As she walked for what felt like forever, a thousand thoughts ran through her mind. Why was she not dead? Where was she? What happened to Ron and Harry? Did they get away? The thought shot dread through her body.
What if...? No, don't think like that, she shook her head. After all they had gone through, Hermione knew Ron and Harry were perfectly capable of escaping...They had to be. She promised Ginny they would be okay. Ginny... The girl's heart ached at the thought of her friend. It had been so long since they had last seen each other, and given the circumstances, Hermione could not see them being reunited any time soon.
As she continued walking, the day grew older and Hermione decided to find somewhere to take refuge. The meadow turned into hills and Hermione, luckily, found a cave to stay in over night. She built a fire by hand, a skill her father had taught her to master when she and her parents went camping. They had been so proud of her. She smiled at the memory, yet tears began to fill her eyes. What the hell is going on? She thought. Hermione hadn't felt so hopeless since Bellatrix had tortured her. She rolled up her sleeve to inspect the wound on her arm. It was red and swollen, clotted by dry blood. The tears finally rolled down her face.
I need to get back, she thought, I need to get back to Ron and Harry.
Okay, well, that was my attempt at revision! Should anyone like to volunteer to Beta the next chapter, please PM me! :)