There is no room for black and white in wartime

Only grey

And death

That's what runs through my mind as I try to protect myself

I do not hesitate

I throw curses that I should not know

Aiming kill, not stun

Kill as they did regularly

Eight lay dead before someone shouts from behind

"Stupefy!"

Darkness

.. … ..

When I wake up I'm chained

A cold stone wall at my back

Cold shackles hold my arms against the wall

I look around

They're around me now

Laughing

Taunting

Making jokes amongst themselves

Throwing curses

My screams are ripped from my throat against my will

Tears run unrestrained down my cheeks

Cutting through the taunts and laughs

They ask me where Harry is

I shake my head the best I can

I croak out my answer

"No."

They ask again accompanied with a

"Crucio!"

I scream

Loader

Harder

Sharper

But answer remains the same

They ask where the Order Headquarters are

My answer is the same

Another painful curse is thrown

I scream

Pain

White hot

Like

Needles are being drilled through my eyes

Or acid dripped knives stabbing me everywhere

I feel like I'm being skinned alive

The curse ends

And I'm sobbing and limp

My body hanging from the shackles as I whimper

"No."

Humiliation

Mind games

Still my answer is the same

"No."

More and more rounds pass

My answer never changes

"No."

I pass out from the pain

.. … ..

Every day is the same

More pain and questions

Questions I will never answer

But there is a difference

I no longer scream

Or sob

Or whimper

I'm silent

Stony

Sober

My eyes still hold spark

So they know I am not broken

I am simply silent

.. … ..

I stare at them

As they throw curses and laugh

I watch them from under my dark eyelashes

I study them using my toffee eyes

But nothing leaves my mouth besides

Silence

.. … ..

I look at them

Working them out in my head

Using patterns

Graphs

Charts

Logic

I spend my days trying to figure out what makes them tick

And when I find it

I say nothing

There is nothing to say

So instead I look upon them with solemn understanding

.. … ..

They want me to beg

I know they do

Because I finally understand them

But I say nothing

I do not beg

I am silent

.. … ..

One of them screams at me to speak

To curse them

To yell

To scream

To do something

Just stop staring at him

Stop

I don't listen

I simply stare in

Silence

.. … ..

They no longer meet my gaze as they torture me

They look away instead

Uneasy

They no longer joke

Nor taunt

Unnerved

From my silence

From my understanding

From the still-burning-spark in my eyes

.. … ..

Bellatrix comes back one day

And I stare at her

Silent

She carves 'Mudblood' into my forearm

I'm silent

She screams

And laughs

No one else does

I close my eyes

Darkness

.. … ..

Draco comes down to my cell

No one else is with him

I watch him

And he watches back

We're both silent

But there are questions in his eyes

I weakly smile

He turns to leave

I break my long standing silence

My voice is hoarse from the lack of use

I will it to reach his ears

"When I die, tell Harry that I love him"

Draco pauses

Looks back at me from the door way

He looks upon my broken body

Pity in his cold eyes

He curtly nods

But says nothing

I close my eyes

I fall asleep with a smile playing on my lips

.. … ..

I am going to die today

I can see it in their eyes

Irises filled with as much pity as they can muster for a mudblood

Some regard me with frowns and silently lowered heads

Most don't meet my eyes

I smile

I look upon them with calm consideration

The two of the younger ones swallow visible lumps in their throats

They open the cell door and two pick my from the ground

They drag me out of the dungeon

Towards my death

I say nothing

I do not beg

But they no longer expect nor want me to

They all bow

Some lower than others

I am the exception

I do not bow nor do I look away from his eyes

I meet his gaze

I look into his red eyes

I am silent

Unfazed

I stare at the object of my best friend's nightmares

Unblinking

Unhurried

Unafraid

There is nothing in those red eyes

Nothing to fear

Nothing at all

I don't speak

But neither does he

For a while we simply appraise each other

Silently

I blink first

But he breaks the silence first

"Where is Harry Potter?"

I say nothing

"Both, The Order and your savior, have abandoned you"

I blink

I speak

My voice soft but strong

"I already knew that"

"Why do you protect them?"

I swallow and my mouth twitches

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to?"

His eyes narrow

I stare at the narrowed slits

In silence

Appraising him like I have to his followers

Running my patterns

And my charts

And my graphs

And my logic

To find what makes him tick

There is only hatred

Nothing worth having

Nothing at all

I close my eyes

He's still transfixed on me

I know he is

I can feel his gaze locked on my broken body

Moments drag on

Neither of us speaks

I reopen my eyes

This time I break the silence first

"I'm going to die tonight."

A tiny smile pulls his lips

"Yes, you are going to die tonight, Hermione Granger."

I'm silent

But only for a moment

"And what a wonder night it is to die, Tom Riddle."

His jaw clenches and he pulls out his wand

"But before you die, you will talk."

I cock an eyebrow

"Beg to differ."

His eyes become flash in anger

He yells out his spell

"Crucio."

In stark comparison to his shouting

I'm silent

.. … ..

Death doesn't come fast for me

Not at all

But through the hours I make good on my words

I do not speak

Nor do I let him into my mind

I look around at the people around me

Most eyes are filled with horror or pity

They're silent

I expected nothing less

I close my eyes and allow the pain to fill my senses until there is nothing left to hurt

Hours go past and still no sounds leave my lips

Aside from the deep breaths I'm forced to take in with every painful moment

Even through my pain I'm resilient

I will not break

I meet his eyes

Silent questions conveyed in my eyes

He points his wand

Silence

For only a moment

A moment is long enough

In that moment my bloody lips quirk upwards, the best they can

My voice is faint

And watery

A sad woman's voice within a broken child's body

"I understand now."

Because I do

I understand the hatred in those red eyes

I understand

But it was nothing worth having

And now all his followers know as well

"Avada Kedavra"

.. … ..

No one grins

No one cheers

No one breathes as their master points his wand towards the young girl panting on the floor

No one is happy

Because she understood

And she will continue to understand even in death

No one will bask in the glory of the mudblood's death

The death of the brains of the golden trio

The best friend of their number one enemy

The girl they tortured

The girl who looked upon them with a strange mix of pity and understanding

There will be no happiness tonight

That she guaranteed

No one will forget her toffee eyes

Sparking even in the face of certain death

Eyes that held a strong mind within their confines

A mind that defeated the Dark Lord in his search for Potter

No one will ever forget such eyes or such a mind

Her eyes will haunt most

And the few they do not will always serve as a reminder

Never underestimate a mudblood

Regardless, none will ever truly forget the woman

No, the child

The child that died after nearly a month of torture that could break the most dedicated Aurors

The child who smiled and closed her eyes in death

Nor will they forget the sound that filled the room after her death:

Silence

A writing prompt I did a long time ago. uvu""