Khgirl08: I won't waste your time with a massive author's note up here; it's at the bottom if you're interested. I would like to thank all of you who have added this to your Alerts, and I'll also take this opportunity to give a shout out to Katesmom2 and AllWasWell07 for their reviews.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, and I only kind of own the situation. Not really, though. Please don't hurt me. ;-;
Harry suddenly found that he could feel again. He was lying on his back on the forest floor. Rather than the soft robes from King's Cross, he was wearing the clothing he had been killed in. His robes were mangled and barely hanging together and most of his shirt was missing. He thought it quite lucky that his jeans were still mostly intact, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that his Invisibility Cloak and wand were still in the pocket of his robes and his bag was around his neck. These observations led to the knowledge that he could see again, too, could hear and smell and taste again. The air was crisp and fresh.
Groaning, he stood up and stretched his limbs. It felt like he hadn't moved from that spot for many, many hours. Of course, he thought as he popped his back, maybe he hadn't. He had no way of knowing how long it had been since he had taken the Killing Curse to save everyone else. He only hoped that the sacrifice hadn't been in vain.
Stretching his arms once more, Harry finally set off through the forest. Though he had absolutely no idea where to go, or how to do it, he knew he had to accomplish one goal above all others: he had to find Hermione and Ron.
Ron hated being under the Imperius Curse.
Although maybe that's a good thing, he thought as he went through the doorway of Hogwarts. If he could hate being under the curse, maybe that meant it was weakening. Regardless, he hated being controlled by somebody else. Whichever Death Eater had taken it upon himself to curse him was a stickler for perfection. If he ordered him to shine his shoes, he had to be able to see his reflection. If he made him buy groceries for his family (they didn't have any more chickens to raise), the food had to be beautiful and tasteful. Not to mention the fact that he hated how the days seemed to blend together. If he hadn't been told to go to Platform 9 and ¾ that morning, he probably wouldn't have realized that it was already September.
The thing he hated the most, though, was that he couldn't see his friends. He could barely even reminisce on Hermione, his beloved Hermione, because the Death Eater controlling him would order him to think of something else whenever she popped into his head. It hardly mattered, anyway; he knew in his heart that she was dead. Dead. Dead, just like Harry was. As he attempted to dwell on this fact, his attention was again diverted from the bushy-haired girl, although he wasn't sure if it was on the Death Eater's orders or because the Great Hall had undergone a massive transformation.
Slytherin's snake was all over the place: on the tables, on the walls, on the floors, on the benches. The ceiling reflected only black, roiling clouds, although that actually made sense, Ron thought grimly. The skies outside had been dark and ominous ever since June. Perhaps the worst part of the transformation was the teacher's table. Although McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and all of the old staff were present, they were joined by ten Death Eaters, and all of them were decked out in green robes with silver trimmings, looking every bit as Slytherin as they could. Even Professor McGonagall, who had made no secret of her loathing of all things Slytherin, was wearing a hat topped with a stuffed snake, of all things, and smiling.
Professor McGonagall's smiles used to be as rare as a thestral in broad daylight, but when they appeared they were genuine. Her lips looked strained now, and her eyes were no happier than if she had been at a funeral. She was obviously beginning to fight against the Imperius Curse, just like Ron reckoned he was. None of the students seemed to know where to go, and Ron looked down at his uniform and sighed internally. It was no wonder; every student was wearing green for Slytherin, which was now the only house.
Once every student had crowded into the room, a stout woman stood up at the table and smirked down at all of the students. Had Ron not remained under the Imperius Curse, he would have joined in the groans and complaints of the students who had been attending Hogwarts under Umbridge's previous reign. The toad woman simply flicked her wand, and everyone fell silent immediately. "Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts. My name is Professor Dolores Umbridge, and I am your Headmistress this year." She paused, clearly expecting rousing applause, but Ron was one of the few people who clapped. All of the teachers joined him, as well as a couple Slytherins. Luna Lovegood joined in with a few older Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students, and the seventh year Gryffindors also applauded. He knew that no one but the Slytherins and Death Eaters would be clapping if it weren't for the Imperius Curse.
"Thank you, dears." She laughed her horrible giggle, and he felt the Silencing Charm she had imposed lift. "Now, this year brings some changes to Hogwarts. I'm sure that you have all realized that there are no more houses. This is because you are all now supporters of Slytherin. As such, there will be no House Cup competition nor a Quidditch tournament."
"No Quidditch?" whispered Demelza Robbins from Ron's right. He looked down at her, and she frowned back. "This bloody sucks! Why do we all have to be Slytherins just because You-Know-Who was?"
"No other house is worthy, that's why." Ron hated the way his voice sounded these days, metallic and fake. He added that to his list of things he hated about the Imperius Curse, along with the fact that he couldn't even talk for himself most of the time. Demelza gave him a startled look before her dark eyes filled with pity and anger.
"Also, you will now have assigned seating for all meals and classes. Girls and boys will be at separate tables, share separate common rooms, and take separate classes." There was an uproar among the students at this, but Umbridge silenced them once more. "Finally, the curfew has been moved forward to nine o'clock, and all students will be in their beds and silent by nine thirty." Umbridge grinned out at all of them. "Please check the lists posted in the Entrance Hall for your new dormitories. Now, I know that you are all hungry, but I am afraid that it is nearing eight thirty. Therefore, we do not have time to give you food. I will expect to see all of you here at breakfast at seven o'clock sharp. Good evening!"
Ron felt his voice return, and he wanted to sigh and slump against the nearest wall at the realization that, not only did he have to go without dinner, but he had to be in bed by nine thirty. He had hoped when he found out that he would have to return to Hogwarts for his seventh year that he would be able to break the Imperius Curse by hanging out with his old friends. Now he knew that this was not the case. But the curse was still in effect for now, so he walked back into the Entrance Hall and searched for his name on the lists.
This school year was promising to be the worst one yet. No Quidditch, no Neville and Luna, no Ginny, no Harry… No Hermione.
Hermione pulled her knees closer to her chest and sighed morosely. She was relatively sure that today was September 1st, meaning that the students would be returning to Hogwarts for the year. When she had made the decision to join Harry on his quest, she had made another decision, as well: she would return to Hogwarts and finish her schooling at the first opportunity. Now it looked like that opportunity would never come.
She knew that she would be killed as soon as Voldemort and his Death Eaters got the information they sought from her. They had tried many methods of torture, magical and Muggle, but she hadn't yet broken enough to satisfy their twisted needs. As she heard a set of heavy footsteps start the long trek down the stairs leading to her cell below Malfoy Manor, she sighed and wondered if maybe she shouldn't let them kill her.
No, she thought, I can't. She had heard snippets of conversation during her imprisonment that had convinced her that Voldemort didn't know if Harry was dead or alive. The piece of his shirt that Voldemort had displayed after the battle had indeed been all that was left of Harry, but the evil wizard was certain that something else should have been left of him, anything else. It wasn't as if she wanted to live through this torture, and Harry definitely wouldn't want her to live through it, but if there was a chance that he could still be alive…
She was all he had left. Hermione was the only person who could help him and wasn't under the Imperius Curse or otherwise impaired. She winced at the thought of poor Ginny, whom she hadn't seen for weeks. Voldemort had finally decided to put the youngest Weasley under the Imperius Curse to press her for information. As soon as he had pumped everything he wanted from her, she was going to be sent back to Hogwarts. She was a Pureblood, however traitorous her family had been in the past, and Voldemort didn't want to spill blood such as Ginny's.
Hermione, on the other hand, was Muggleborn, a Mudblood, and if they got the information about the Horcruxes out of her she was a dead woman. She wondered briefly why Voldemort didn't just search for them himself. It makes no sense, she thought. He has to know where they all are, right? There had to be some other reason that he was keeping her alive.
She had little time to dwell on her thoughts, however, because the door to her cell opened and the dank room filled with light. After blinking several times, Hermione recognized the familiar face of Gregory Goyle. Neville had mentioned that he was one of the best torturers in the school last year, and Voldemort had apparently taken that into consideration when offering him a position as Hermione's living nightmare.
"Look at you, stupid Mudblood! You're such a loser!" Goyle spat on her, and she could smell the alcohol on him as he bent towards her. She merely rolled her eyes and put her head on her knees. She knew it would make him angry, it always did, but it also gave her the satisfaction of realizing that she had some control over his actions. There was no letdown; Goyle roared with anger and pointed his wand at her.
He had learned a new trick over the past month, and seemingly perfected it. Hermione bit her lip as what felt like white-hot knives pierced her skin; she felt as though she would die, the pain was so severe, but she refused to scream for him. After an eternity it stopped, just like it always did, and she let herself breathe once more. There were no marks on her arms, not even a scratch. "That'll teach you for being smart with me!"
"It's impossible to be smart with you; you make everything around you dumb." He growled again and kicked her, but she still refused to raise her head. It was a game she played with him daily. Hermione would refuse to move or talk, unless it was to insult him, and Goyle would become increasingly frustrated with her until he used the Cruciatus on her, forgetting to ask her any questions. He would return an hour later and continue the torture session, this time including the questioning, but she still refused to answer.
It had been this way with any Death Eaters who tried to get information from her. On the rare occasion that Voldemort himself would try to garner information from her, she would end up passing out from exertion, but he never seemed to get what he was looking for. Sometimes she was certain that she spilled a secret or two, but it was never enough to quench the Dark Lord's thirst for her knowledge.
"How dare you? I am a Pureblood! A Muggle like you isn't even fit to wipe my shoes!"
Hermione merely shrugged. Goyle had mentioned the goings on of the outside world every so often, and now that he was on a Muggle tangent maybe she could find out some more current events. "Why don't you just do to me what you would any other Muggle, then?"
"Believe me, I want to." Goyle did something he had never done before; he picked her up by the arm and traced her lips with the lighted tip of his wand. "If I had any choice, I would, but the Dark Lord wants you alive." She rolled her eyes again, and he backhanded her. Another bruise on top of dozens of others. "You wouldn't survive the torture I put Muggle girls through, Mudblood!"
"Wouldn't I?"
"No." Goyle's rage filled eyes suddenly darkened with lust, and he tossed his wand aside carelessly and caressed her jaw. "However, I finally got the Dark Lord's permission for something else…"
Hermione's eyes widened, but she was no stranger to what he was discussing. Lucius Malfoy often came downstairs to "pay her a visit," as he said, and sometimes he brought company. It had only been a matter of time before Goyle did it too. She just closed her eyes and willed herself silent, and her mind fell inexplicably on Harry and Ron. If they were still with her, this wouldn't be happening.
Although it could only have been a couple of hours, it seemed as though days had passed by the time Goyle slammed the door of her cell shut, taking his wand and all light with him. He had finished toying with her rather quickly and hadn't given her any time to recover before beginning his round of questioning and Cruciating for the day. Hermione grabbed her clothing and pulled them back on before curling into a ball in the farthest corner and sobbing quietly. She couldn't see how this could end well.
Think of Harry. He's still out there somewhere, he'll save you. He'll save all of us. Think of Harry.
Khgirl08: Hey guys. I think I'll continue to update at this pace, at least for as long as I can. This is still a WIP, after all, and though I'm getting close to the end I'm not quite there yet. And looking at my track record on writing this so far, I may well fall into another slump before I finish it.
The next chapter will feature more Harry, I promise. These first two were a bit short on his perspective by nature, but from here on out we'll see about as much from him as from the other two. Also, the chapters will start to get longer as each character has more to do and say.
Please review, if the urge strikes you, and have a lovely week!
Next time...
"What's the matter, Potter, afraid you're not good enough to beat me?"
"I won't do anything."
"You were the person controlling Ron this entire time?"
"This is the only reason you're still alive."
"Harry? Is it really you?"