Chapter 2: Restructuring
"Think! What are we to do? We must not give up the cause. The Dark Lord would not allow it. They'll be coming for us…we must re-group. This shall be our headquarters. Make sure all death eaters that have not been captured find their way here. Now…who can give some good news?" Lucius Malfoy sneered with disappointment. The Dark Lord was dead, but that did not mean that everything would go the way of Dumbledore's desires. After all, a death eater had as much right to determine the laws of the magical world as did those Order people. The time would come when blood traitors and mudbloods alike would not be permitted into magical establishments, and pure blood would again rule the magic world.
Malfoy was taken from his thoughts when he heard the sound of Bellatrix's voice. "Good sir, I do believe I have something that might cheer you up…though I can't imagine what you will do with it." Bellatrix entered the room, hovering the still unconscious form of a young Hermione Granger.
"What's this filthy, tainted mudblood doing in my home? Why did you not kill her?" Lucius asked angrily.
"I merely thought we might use her as a sort of test case…an example of how mudbloods should be treated in the magical world. Was I wrong?" Lucicus concentrated on the brunette witch, thinking of what Bellatrix had just proposed. He walked over to the hovering form of Hermione, before reaching into her robes.
After, searching, he finally withdrew the young witches wand. "Draco!" he called to his son.
The limping, haggard form of Draco Malfoy appeared in the doorway. His face was scarred almost beyond recognition. "Yes, Father."
"This is Hermione Granger, is it not?" Lucius asked, thought he already knew the answer.
"Yes…it's the little mudblood who cursed me like this," Draco said disdainfully. Hatred dripped from his words, and rage filled his eyes.
"You heard that Bellatrix…this is the witch who cursed my son. I think we shall keep her around. She'll never use magic again…she's not worthy of it. Now, take her to the dungeon, and make sure she wakes to the darkness."
Bellatrix turned on her heal and hovered Granger down the stone stairwell into the lower most part of the manor. Once she had her in the dungeon, she dropped the hover, and Hermione fell with a sickening thud. She stirred, and her eyes flittered open, but saw nothing but black. Panic stricken and sore, she huddled in the corner and cried. She did not know what had happened. Was the war over? Had they lost? Where were the Wesley's and Harry? Ron…she thought of Ron. The last thing she remembered before going unconscious was him falling onto the ground, writhing in pain. She had tried to get to him, before being hit by a stunning spell. They hadn't had enough time she thought to herself. They had only really been together as a couple for about 9 weeks. Even through the tumultuous months of the war, he had been the one thing to make her happy…the shining beacon of hope that said when it was all over, there would be love. Now, blackness surrounded her. She called out, but no one answered her. Where was she, she wondered. She cried herself to sleep, hoping that when she waked, she would be in the burrow, in Ron's arms, Harry sitting nearby snogging Ginny.
"Wake up Mudblood!" Hermione jolted awake, searching for the voice, but again only found darkness.
"Who's there?" she called. "Where am I?"
"You're where you belong Granger…beneath pureblood, caged like the animal filth you are." The yellow-haired young man yelled. Hermione wanted desperately to attack whoever had just said that, but she couldn't see. She knew the voice though…she'd know it from a mile away. Her stomach lurched as she realized where she must be.
"Draco Malfoy…still a coward I see…won't even show your face," she said with a tone of disgust.
"Lumos," he called as his wand lit, and he stared at the small form in the corner. "You'll not talk to me like that mudblood. In case you haven't noticed…you have no wand, no power, no friends. You'll learn to treat me with respect, or it won't be well for you here." Draco spoke sternly, but calmly.
"I see they haven't been able to fix your face yet, have they? Actually, I believe it to be a bit of an improvement. Besides, you'll never succeed at keeping me here. They'll be looking for me." Malfoy sneered at this comment, before laughing slightly.
"Nobody's coming for you mudblood. It's all over the The Daily Prophet, a list of the dead and the missing. You've been upgraded from missing to dead just this morning." Tears sprang into Hermione's eyes. She was dying to ask whom the list entailed, but refused to give him the satisfaction. She didn't have to though…Malfoy gladly produced a copy of the Prophet for her. There, splattered on the front page, was a list of the dead. She saw her own name in print, alongside those of friends. She didn't know what she grieved more, the loss of her friends or the loss of her own life. The only bright spot was that search as she may, she did not find Harry and Ron's name among the list.