THE END OF REALITY
Ship: HG/DM
Chapter Two: Barely Breathing
I wasn't sure how long I had been out of it, but I was sure that I would not recommend getting woken up like that again. The door of my room had burst open and I had been drug to a standing position by my hair. I had squawked and instinctually grabbed my attacker's wrist, digging my fingernails into the soft skin of his wrist. In reply he started shaking me back and forth violently by my head and I was sure my neck would break. It didn't though and whoever it was let me go, wiping his hands off on his pants as if he had touched something dirty.
Actually I probably was filthy. I hadn't showered since I had gotten down here, and I could feel a slow trickle of blood going down the back of my neck. Apparently, when I had been shaken my wound had split open from hitting the wall. I promised myself under my breath that next time I would kill Lucius for sure, no matter if his dumb little wife was there to protect him.
There was a cold bark of laughter behind me and I remembered the man who had barged in. I turned to see who it was and immediately lunged forward to try to tare his face off. It was the traitor, Snape. I screamed and leaped forward clawing at water ever I could reach and it took him a few minutes to grab my wrists and stop me from attacking his face and neck. I continued moving though, trying to kick him, and for my trouble he kneed me in the stomach.
I coughed, and bile rose in my throat. I had to swallow it back down and was reminded by the fact that I hadn't eaten since I had gotten here, my stomach gave a protesting growl at that moment but it was covered up by the cold, pretentious laughing of one Malfoy Junior. "Can't you handle one little mudblood Snape?"
"Did you bring the food or not? Because the Dark Lord is itching for another chance to-"
"Yeah I brought it, keep your cloak on. I don't understand why we should feed her anyways. Let her starve, if we're lucky she might die." He said in his normal way bringing over a small bag and dropping it on the floor in front of us, and I realized Snape still had a hold on my wrists. I wrenched away and backed off quickly, stopping as the wall touched my back.
"Because, the Dark Lord wants her in good condition when he interrogates her." Draco smiled as he was reminded if why I was there in the first place and he looked me over coolly. For some reason I felt like a piece of meat in the market being evaluated for purchase.
"Scared, Granger?" He smirked, arching one delicate eyebrow.
"Not of you ferret." I replied defiantly, I wasn't going to let him get the best of me here. I may have been down but one thing they could not take from me was my pride. He jumped forward but was restrained by Snape's hand around his wrist.
"Calm yourself Draco. Remember what he said. He doesn't want her damaged." Snape said, and Malfoy nodded stepping back to his side and his face went cold again, but he continued glaring at me through his moon over the water eyes.
"Ha! Like I'd believe that load of garbage. Besides, Senior already made sure that that goal was impossible." I pointed out gesturing towards my blood stained hair.
"Yes, we know about that. The Dark Lord punished Lucius accordingly. And that is why we were scent to retrieve you instead. He didn't want Bella and Lucius loosing their temper with you again," Snape supplied the answer seeing as Draco was still to angry with her. Good he deserved more than just a simple insult.
"You can keep lying, but I'm not going to believe you. Nor am I going to eat whatever is in that bag. It could be drugged or something. Poison, something to knock me out, or maybe he made you mix up something to dull my magic."
"Now Granger, you're more intelligent than that. If he wanted to knock you out than why would I come in here and wake you up? And If I wanted to kill you a simple Advada Kedavra would do it."
"And my magic?"
"You foolish girl!" Snape snarled, loosing his patience and grabbing the bag off the floor. The truth was I was starving, but I wasn't about to eat something if I didn't know what it would do. To my surprised Snape took out a hunk of cheese form the bag and bit into it, chewing and swallowing precisely. "There, are you satisfied? I would not eat if it would affect my magic. Now will you eat so I don't get beaten for it."
I was sorely tempted to refuse to eat just so Snape would get what he had coming but my stomach gave another loud protest, causing me to blush and jump forward, grabbing the bag from his hand. I ate slowly, careful that the next bite I would take wouldn't make me double over with pain or make my magic disappear. Even if I didn't have my wand I felt it underneath the turmoil of my thoughts. If I needed it wand less magic would certainly do the trick.
"Is she done yet? Honestly, there isn't that much food, it shouldn't take this long."
"I'm trying not to make my self sick, Malfoy. Eating to much to quickly after being starved for God knows how long would make my stomach ache and I may not be able to keep down this meager amount you call a meal."
"You seem awfully upset about getting sick."
"If you didn't notice it would sort of make a mess."
"How could you tell with the filth you're already covered in?" Draco smirked back as her eyes went wide, and her nails dug into her palms in anger.
"If you didn't notice Malfoy I wasn't exactly supplied with the normal niceties that one could bathe in. I haven't exactly had a chance to clean up."
"Oh yeah, I didn't notice. I thought you always looked like that."
"Why you little!" I shrieked jumping up to strangle the beast, but was caught around the waist and deposited back on the bed quickly by Snape.
"Draco you're acting like a child. Now it's time we go upstairs, Granger." He addressed me before turning quickly and heading towards the door. Draco followed but they both paused when the realized I wasn't coming.
"What? You think I'd actually come along with you calmly. You're practically escorting me to my death. Why would I go with you?"
"I assure you, Miss Granger, he will not kill you. Not yet."
"As if I'd trust- Hey, put me down!" I shrieked as Snape walked over swiftly, grabbed my arm and hung me over his shoulder. I could say in all honesty this was the most embarrassed I had been in my life. I bumped along like a sack of potatoes as we went up what I thought was stairs. I couldn't see anything, Snape's black covered back being the only thing in my site.
I beat on his back but it was no use, and I discovered it only made Malfoy's smirk more prominent as I tried to get out of Snape's death grip. I realized, with cold anger that tears were leaking out of my eyes. How could I be so easily overpowered? I was being treated like a piece of furniture, and all the respect that I had earned my entire life was worth mud. I was worth mud. And soon I'd probably be in the ground surrounded by mud. My pride, my thoughts, and everything else no longer were mine and no longer existed.
I heard others laugh as I was carried into what I think was a ballroom and then thrown hard onto the ground. I yelped and stood up quickly; adjusting my school uniform to make sure I wasn't exposing anything to this group of dirty human beings.
"Severus, I clearly remember telling you not to harm the girl," A cold voice whispered from a black throne in front of me. It crept up my spine and caused me to shiver involuntarily as I recognized the speaker. Lord Voldemort.
"It was the only way I could get her up here without harming her master. I am sorry." Snape said submitting to the wizard, and bowing low enough for his abnormally large nose to touch the ground. I twisted my head a bit to see Draco was in a similar pose, but the look on his face gave away that he'd rather be anywhere else.
"I apologize miss… Granger. I told them to not to treat you too roughly."
"I don't see why. You'll do much worse to me soon enough." She said grinding the tears from the corner of her eyes with the heel of her palm. The gathered death eaters gasped at my daring and a few surged forward angrily, but Voldemort waved them away idly. It seemed he had expected this action from me. Well that was good, cause there was no way I was going to make anything about this easy for him.
"You'll be pleased to know that I punished Lucius for his treatment of you. Belatrix told me immediately that he had hit you and I assure you, his punishment will keep him from repeating the act again."
"And I suppose she also told you that she almost did much worse to me? No? Hm, what a shame her own skin comes before her loyalty to you." I said skeptically arching and eyebrow and trying to brush off the grime that had gathered on the sleeve of my shirt.
Voldemort's eyes turned cold and they darted over to his left, where I assumed Belatrix was standing. "Regretfully she can have a short temper sometimes, but I am teaching her to control it. Now let's see if I can't fix you up a little."
He swished his wand before I could protest and I felt the tingle of magic cut across the cut in my head, sealing it up. He did another flourish with his wand and I yelped as the sting of a cleaning spell scraped across my skin. I straightened my clothes again, and reached up to find the blood was out of my hair.
I combed my hair with my fingers for a second, not really sure why I was worried about my appearance in front of these people, but I knew I didn't want them to have a chance for their beliefs to be found true in me. Mudbloods weren't animals and I was sure going to prove that. And I was also going to prove exactly how ballsy we could be.
"Thanks Tom. I appreciate it. Now maybe you give me a wand so I can kill that pathetic slime that is the Malfoy line and then shove it down your scrawny little throat?" I smiled up sweetly at him and the congregation leaned forward eagerly, to watch my punishment. But instead of the anger I had been waiting for Voldemort threw his head back and laughed.
It was not a warm laughed and it caused me, along with the Death Eaters, to shiver and take a step back automatically. Nothing resembling real laughter could ever come out of this animal and it suddenly made Hermione want to be sick to her stomach. She refused the impulse though, holding onto the meager meal she had been given before.
Voldemort stopped laughing and returned his gaze to me, I wish, regretfully, that he continued laughing. It would make it easier on me, but of course, that was not his goal.
"Severus said you would be difficult, and of course you did not disappoint. I will enjoy getting you to talk." He grinned, showing sharp pointy teeth, which made his inhuman face warp even more. I stopped my self from taking a step backwards and glared up at him.
"That won't happen. So let me save you the trouble. You talk, a long monologue lasting for hours where we all sit bored out of our minds; you torture me finally, saying you're bored but really you're just frustrated that I'm not co-operating, and then, guess what? Harry will come, and he will destroy you. And your pathetic, magic held body, will disintegrate into dust." I smiled as I saw his snake eyes narrow and glare at her.
"You are foolish. Potter is a pathetic little boy, and he will do nothing to stop me. He is lost without you and the Weasley boy, and without Dumbledore to help him, he will fall."
"Not a man? And what do you call the people around you? Do you call those who snivel, and snipe, and run in fear men? Those who cower and jump at ever noise? Just because they kill does not make them men. It makes them weak, just like you. Harry is more of a man than you will ever be. He knows what it takes to serve others more than yourself, he knows what sacrifice is like. You are pathetic compared to him."
"Sacrifice? I have sacrificed more than that boy ever could! Look at me, I am not man! I am something else, something I had to sacrifice to be!"
"You did it for yourself, not for anyone else! That is not sacrifice!"
"Silence! I will not be talked to like this! You know nothing mudblood! You will never understand!"
"What? Will never understand? I don't see how a measly half-blood is all that different from me! Seems a little bit twisted Tom!" It appeared that I had finally taken Lord Voldemort past his limit as he quickly brought up his wand and sent out a wave of magic towards me.
I didn't even have time to scream as the pain touched every nerve in my body. I stood still, trying to close off the pain, but it shocked through my fingers and toes, tracing over my skin like fire. I bit my cheek to keep myself conscious and standing. I kept repeating the words "I will not scream" in my head like a mantra. After what felt like an hour he stopped and I opened my mouth, collapsing to my knees, and gulping in a lungful of air. I hadn't seemed to breathe during the entire period of torture. I guess that was part of trying not to scream.
He laughed again and told Snape to return me to my room, but I wasn't paying attention. I remembered being grabbed by the arm and walking, well more like falling quickly and multiple times, Snape's grip holding me up, as we returned to the room in the basement. I collapsed in the corner and I think I mumbled "bastard," under my breath. And I wasn't sure if I heard and "I know," In reply. It was probably just my head talking to fill up the silence. I fell into sleep and thankfully there were no dreams this time. Everything was just numb.