Chapter 2: Prisoner

Hermione Granger cried. She couldn't hold back the tears any longer. It was too hard to be strong when you had nothing to be strong for. She had seen all of her friends murdered, her parents had been killed weeks before. She figured that the only reason that she was still alive herself was that they had forgotten about her.

It had been six days since she had been roughly shoved into the cell she was currently in. Hermione had no idea where she was, but it was cold, damp, and dark. Every time she fell asleep she found soup and bread for her to eat when she woke up.

She spent her waking hours trying to keep herself as busy as possible. This was in an effort to forget what she had seen, but it didn't work. Even her dreams didn't provide relief. They were haunted by the events that she had witnessed. It seemed that this pattern of life would go on forever.

Hermione had endlessly searched for a way out, but found none. Nevertheless she kept looking each day. She had just finished pacing the length of the room muttering, "'Five paces by four and a half." when she heard a noise from outside of her door. She gasped in surprise and backed into a corner. She heard the door being unlocked and she drew in her breath in anticipation; her mind said to fight but she knew she had no hope against whoever it was.

A figure dressed in black death eater robes entered the cell. Hermione started to shake uncontrollably.

A thundering boom echoed through the castle walls. People cried out in shock as suddenly their defenses fell. Death eaters swarmed into the castle and curses flew all around. A flash of red light hit the wall by her head and she ducked behind a suit of armor. Someone jumped behind her and with a quick glance she saw that it was Ron.

"This is bad Ron," she said hurriedly.

"Don't worry Hermione," he whispered to her, "I'll protect you always. We'll win, and we'll get married and everything will end up okay. You'll see. I love you so much."

Before she could say anything back to him a spell hit the ceiling and large pieces of it began to rain down on them. Ron pushed her out of the way of a large chunk, but it hit his left leg hard. There was a sickening crack and he fell heavily onto the floor.

Those Order members that were left ran to escape the collapsing building and Hermione stopped to help Ron. As she helped him up though, one of the death eaters spotted them. Spells were immediately sent their way.

"Stop them!" the death eater shouted, "Quick, before they make it out!"

Ron let go of Hermione and turned around, his wand drawn. "Run Hermione! Just go, I'll hold them off. You can go faster without me. I willl meet you at the safe house."

Hermione couldn't believe it, "But Ron…"

"Just go. I love you Hermione."

"I love you too Ron." She cried, and ran as fast as she could toward the forest.

A scream from behind her made her turn around and she saw Ron fall to the ground, a death eater with long blond hair was standing above him. She wanted to turn around and go back to Ron but she couldn't. She was almost in the forest.

The trees blocked out the sun entirely and she stumbled. Branches and thorns tore at her skin and clothing making progress difficult. She could hear others running and tripping around her. Someone ahead of her stopped suddenly and screamed. A line of death eaters was coming through the forest toward the castle.

The person in front of her backed up and the first thing that she noticed was that they had red hair. A beam of light fell through the trees and onto their face and she gasped. She barely recognized their face because it was covered in blood. It was Ginny Weasley. A curse hit her in the chest and she almost seemed to hang in midair before she fell to the ground, unmoving.

Hermione was trapped and she didn't know what to do. Her body went stiff and her mind numb. She was going to die. Just then she heard a whisper behind her. "Stupify!" And the world went dark.

"What is wrong with you girl?" the death eater who had entered her cell shouted, shaking her roughly, "I expect an answer when I ask you something!"

Hermione thoughts snapped back to the present and her eyes widened, "I'm sorry." She whispered fearfully.

The man grunted and dragged her from the room without explanation. As she was taken out she noticed that a sign saying 105N was hung on the door. He led her down a tiny stone corridor that seemed to stretch on forever. A the end there was a stone staircase that spiraled downward.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked when after about twenty minutes had passed and he showed no sign of telling her where they were going.

He stopped walking and glared at her. "Silence mudblood. The dark lord has requested that you and the other prisoners be brought before him. Don't ask any more questions. You are trying my patience."

He then started walking again, pulling her behind him. She wondered where they were but didn't bother asking. The staircase had led down to dungeons. A cold light filled the corridor and shadows moved ominously.

At the end of the hallway there was a set of large marble doors. A serpent design was carved onto it, but there was something odd about it. The snake slithered back and forth and stared at the two, its tongue sticking out.

The death eater raised his arm and pressed him dark mark to the snake's tongue. A grinding noise could be heard and the doors creaked open. A grand room lay beyond the doors. There were many columns and paintings intricately decorated with snakes. Jade and silver could be seen everywhere. This was nothing though compared to what a large group of death eaters were crowded around. A grand throne was set against the far wall and someone was sitting on it. Hermione shivered as the red, snakelike eyes met her own.

I don't own harry potter or a tale of two cities, but I like them both. 100 points to you if you saw the tale of two cities reference. Oh, and I would appreciate any comments you have to give me about the story.