At six o'clock sharp on Sunday evening, Hermione was in Lucius's study alongside Draco. The pair were both dressed in black and ready for action. They also both had meetings arranged for later that evening with friends. Draco was going out with his friends, while Hermione had arranged to meet Neville, Dean and Seamus for a drink. Even though she disliked the thought of using her friends as an alibi, it was better that using the Weasleys as she wasn't yet sure how many of their family would die that night in Azkaban.
"Ah, you're both here," Voldemort remarked as she strolled into the room followed by Lucius and Bellatrix.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Draco replied coldly. "I just wish I could be around for the final moments of their miserable lives."
"We can't always get what we want, Draco," Voldemort replied with a low chuckle. "You of all people should know that. After all, if I'd given you what you wanted the first time you came to see me, we wouldn't be standing here."
Unable to help herself, Hermione shuddered at Voldemort's recollection of the reason Draco had originally sought him out. It still made her feel horrid when she thought that Draco had been so affected by her 'death' that he'd thought ending his life was his best option. Even now her heart broke for the wizard she loved whenever she was reminded of how low he'd fallen thanks to Dumbledore and the Order. She hated to think what her life would now be like if he'd succeeded in ending his life.
"Stop it," Draco whispered in her ear, knowing exactly what she was thinking about. He could also tell Voldemort knew where Hermione's thoughts were at by the malicious smirk on his lips.
"Are you going to be able to cope Miss Granger?" Voldemort asked, his words sounding solicitous, but his tone revealing he was mocking her.
"I can cope," Hermione replied as she steeled her spine for what was to come.
"And just what will you be doing?" Bellatrix asked, throwing the younger witch a withering glare. "I highly doubt you're up for what we're capable of."
"I want some answers, and then we'll see what I want to do," Hermione replied. "But even if I don't do anything, I can watch."
"You can stomach seeing little Draco's dark side?" Bellatrix mocked.
"I've already seen it and it doesn't scare me," Hermione insisted.
"Then the rumours about your brains are not true," Bellatrix snorted. "You should be afraid of the darkness my nephew has inside of him. It's a rare quality to be so dark at such a young age."
"And let's just hope he still has that quality," Voldemort muttered warningly.
"You needn't worry My Lord," Draco said with a slight lowering of his head. "Nothing has changed."
"We shall see," Voldemort replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Now let's get going. We're meeting the others at the docks."
"Docks?" Draco questioned with a frown.
"Azkaban has always been tricky to get to thanks to its location in the middle of the North Sea, but the new security measures means it's even harder to get close to using magic," Voldemort explained. "We're travelling by boat."
"And then what?" Hermione asked, unable to stop herself from asking questions even though she knew she wasn't really in any sort of position to question The Dark Lord.
"I've got contacts, one of whom is part of the new Azkaban security force," Voldemort replied. "He'll ensure the wards can be breached in just the right place so we can enter the prison undetected."
Hermione wanted to ask more, but she kept her mouth shut as she knew she was lucky to have been answered in the first place. She had to remember that Voldemort didn't trust her, therefore wasn't going to tell her too much. She also had to remember to stay out of trouble as it wouldn't do Draco any good if he had to come to her rescue. What she had to do was be an obedient little girl and allow Draco to prove to Voldemort that having her around changed nothing. If they couldn't do that, they wouldn't get the chance to find and destroy his Horcruxes, and the whole wizarding world would be doomed.
Voldemort gave Draco the co-ordinates of where they were apparating to, but instead of doing the same with Hermione, he placed his hand securely around her arm. Giving her a cold smirk, he informed her it was easier to apparate her himself, but Hermione knew the real reason was that he didn't trust her to know exactly where they were going. Not that she could entirely blame him since she couldn't be trusted, but on this matter, she would have said nothing as the only thing she wanted more than to destroy Voldemort was to make her former friends pay for what they'd done to her and the people she loved by faking her death.
Side along apparition with Voldemort wasn't something Hermione would care to repeat, but she didn't complain as The Dark Lord whisked her away from Malfoy Manor and to a cold dock somewhere on the North East coast of England. A small group of Death Eaters, all in robes and mask so Hermione didn't know who they were, were waiting for them and assured Voldemort that the boat was ready. The boat was a small fishing vessel, which Hermione obediently climbed aboard and settled down in one of the seats towards the back of the boat. When he climbed aboard, Draco joined her and he took hold of her hand as Voldemort gave the order for them to cast off.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, unable to be heard by anyone else other than Hermione due to the sounds of the sea and the boat's engine.
"Just nervous," Hermione admitted. "What about you?"
"Am I nervous?" Draco checked.
"Yes," Hermione replied. "You've got to make sure Voldemort doesn't realise you're not the same cold killer you were a few weeks earlier."
"I hate to disappoint you Hermione, but tonight that's exactly what I am," Draco said. "I won't need to keep up an act for The Dark Lord. I will relish everything I do tonight, and the only reason I won't actually kill anyone is because we're being throw out before the real fun begins. Will you be able to handle that?"
"I handled Tonks and Lupin and seeing what you did to them," Hermione replied.
"That was child's play compared to what's going to happen tonight," Draco pointed out. "They were part of the plan, but they weren't the ringleaders. Dumbledore, Potter and Weasley will bear the brunt of my anger. They're the ones I hate the most."
Hermione could understand Draco's sentiments as the majority of her anger was also aimed towards Harry, Ron and Dumbledore. If what Remus had said was true then Harry had been the one to come up with the plan to fake her death, and if that was the case, Hermione would never forgive him. Although even if he hadn't come up with the plan, he and Ron had still gone along with it and willingly betrayed her and caused so many people untold suffering. And as for Dumbledore, he was the leader of the Order, and regardless of who had come up with the plan, he would have been the one to give the final go-ahead. Hermione was in no doubt that without his say-so a plan like that would never have gone ahead. And for that alone, he had Hermione's hatred and contempt aimed towards him.
After reassuring Draco that nothing he would do that evening would change how she felt about him, Hermione fell silent as she thought about what awaited them when they got to Azkaban. For a long time all she could see around them was the black sea, but slowly a foreboding presence began to take shape directly in front of them. The nearer they got to Azkaban the colder the air got, and Hermione started the see the dark shapes of Dementors in the air above the prison.
"This place is awful," Hermione whispered to Draco as the boat inched closer to the massive rock the dark prison was situated on.
"It is," Draco agreed with a solemn nod.
As the boat very carefully made its way to the part of the island that it was able to dock at without raising any alarms, the passengers in the boat were all silent. When the boat finally came to a shuddering halt, Voldemort issued orders for two of his Death Eaters to stay with the boat.
"Draco and Miss Granger will be back before us," Voldemort said. "When they come back, you're to take them back to the mainland and then return for the rest of us."
"Yes, My Lord," one of the Death Eaters said, bowing to The Dark Lord as he alighted the boat.
Draco helped Hermione from the rocking boat onto the rough terrain of the rocky island Azkaban was built on, and hand in hand they followed The Dark Lord and the Death Eaters he had with them towards the prison. Hermione didn't know where the entrance to the prison was, but Voldemort seemed to be leading them towards a part of the building that was solid brick. When he stopped beside a piece of wall, Hermione craned her neck to see him tap his wand on the wall three times. As the sound of the third tap echoed in the evening air, the wall began to shimmer and an outline of a door appeared. When a door handle emerged from the bricks, Voldemort wasted no time in using it to pull open the newly formed door.
Voldemort led the group into the dark prison, and Hermione found that the door had placed them directly at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Leaving two more Death Eaters to keep watch on the ground floor, Voldemort led the way up the stone staircase. Hermione and Draco had somehow ended up directly behind Voldemort, with Lucius and Bellatrix after them and the final two robed Death Eaters bringing up the rear. Even though Hermione couldn't keep track of how far they were climbing, Voldemort seemed to know exactly where they were going as he passed several doorways and climbed to the very top of the staircase before darting through the doorway at the top.
"Here we are," he said in a low voice as Hermione and Draco emerged into a long corridor, with cells dug into the stone walls on either side of them. "This floor is home to Azkaban's newest residents."
"How many more prisoners are on this floor?" Draco asked, aware that there were more cells than there was recent prisoners.
"None," Voldemort replied. "Only five cells are occupied."
"Which ones?" Bellatrix asked eagerly.
"I don't know," Voldemort informed his lover. "Let's take a look, shall we?"
With a slightly demented sounding chuckle, Voldemort strolled over to the first cell and peered in through the door. It must have been empty as he quickly moved onto the one opposite. That was also empty, but when he peered through the door of the third cell, a loud feminine shriek pierced the air.
"Molly!" Arthur's concerned voice called from the cell opposite his wife's.
"Hello there, old man Weasel," Bellatrix cooed, peering into Arthur's cell.
"What's going on?" Another voice demanded from down the hallway. There was no mistaking it as Dumbledore's voice, and Hermione was mad to hear the authority he was speaking with. It was almost as if he didn't realise that he had no authority any more.
"Albus, how delightful to hear from you," Voldemort cackled, although he didn't move away from Molly's cell.
"Tom," Dumbledore hissed in a low voice.
"And where are your other two inmates?" Voldemort asked as one of the robed Death Eaters located the cell Dumbledore was in, halfway along the corridor. "Speak up Potter, I've got a surprise for you."
"Sod off, I want nothing from you," Harry's harsh voice spat from way down the corridor.
Nodding to Hermione to join him, Voldemort set off down the corridor. He paused to briefly look in on Dumbledore, before carrying on and finding the cell Harry was languishing in. Peering through the hold in the door, he cackled slightly before stepping aside and allowing Hermione to step up to the hole. What she was greeted with was a shabby looking Harry sitting sulkily on a small camp bed on the far side of a small cell.
"Hermione!" Harry gasped, rushing up to the door when he spotted his friend.
"Hello Harry," Hermione whispered. "Surprised to see me?"
"You're with them?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Let's make this easier, shall we?" Voldemort chuckled from the middle of the corridor. "Draco, find the young Weasel's cell."
It didn't take Draco long to locate Ron, who was stuck in the cell almost directly opposite Harry. With the five cells holding prisoners identified, Voldemort set a Death Eater outside of each cell. Bellatrix stayed outside of Arthur's cell, Lucius moved to be outside of Dumbledore's cell, Draco moved to cover Harry, while the two robed Death Eaters covered the cells belonging to Ron and Molly. Hermione then found herself back at Voldemort's side as with a flick of his wand the five doors swung open.
"I'm sure you're not stupid enough to try anything," he remarked as the five prisoners hesitantly stepped into the doorways of their cells, only to find they each had a Death Eater with their wand trained on them.
"What's going on?" Ron asked, warily looking towards Hermione.
"It hurts to be left out of the loop, doesn't it?" Hermione sneered, advancing towards Ron and Harry. "Tell me, why should I answer any of your questions after that way you treated me?"
"We didn't mean to hurt you, Hermione," Harry said softly. "We were trying to save you. We tried talking to you, but you didn't listen."
"I didn't listen because you weren't saying anything worth listening to," Hermione argued. "I wasn't in any danger. At least not from who you were claiming I was in danger from. The only people I was in any danger from, were the people I trusted."
"So what, you've decided to join the dark to get back at us?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"Why not?" Hermione questioned with a smirk. "You kidnapped me, faked my death and let people grieve for me. I think it's only right that I ensured you got locked up so The Dark Lord could get to you easily enough."
"Traitor," Molly wailed.
"No Molly, you lot are the traitors," Hermione hissed, turning to face the older witch. "What you did to me was unforgivable. I am standing here for one reason alone, and that is because you five all betrayed me. You plotted and schemed behind my back, and now I am going to happily watch as you get exactly what you deserve."
"Hermione, don't," Harry pleaded. "You're not this person. You're not evil."
"I wasn't until you hid me away and made the people I love think I was dead," Hermione spat, stalking back towards Harry. "This was your plan, wasn't it Harry? You decided to fake my death."
"I did what I thought was right," Harry whispered, finally seeing the blazing hatred in Hermione's deep brown eyes.
"What was right was honouring my wishes," Hermione replied quietly. "If you'd ever cared for me, you never would have done what you did."
"I did care for you, I still do," Harry insisted. "Please Hermione, we all love you."
"You wouldn't know the meaning of love," Hermione snarled as Draco growled and clutched his wand tighter at Harry daring to say he loved Hermione. "I'm sorry Harry, but you brought this all on yourself. I should have been by your side, helping you defeat The Dark Lord. And you know what Harry, we would have done it. We would have been triumphant."
"We still can," Harry pleaded. "It's not too late, Hermione. We can still beat the dark."
"No Harry, it's too late for that," Hermione replied with a sad shake of her head. "You could have been a hero. Hell, you should have been a hero. But now all that people will remember of you is that you betrayed the best friend you ever had. In years to come if people remember any of your names, it won't be because you were heroes. It will be because you lot are the worst sort of people. You're scum, and I hope the whole lot of you suffer."
"I can guarantee you that they'll suffer," Draco said with a malicious smirk.
"And that is just one of the many reasons why I love you," Hermione said, giving Draco a peck on the cheek.
Harry and Ron's shock was clear to both see and hear, and Ron even accused her of being on the dark side the entire time. However, Hermione was tired of talking, and she thought so little of Ron that she didn't bother defending herself. Nor did she bother to explain that she and Draco had been together since before their stupid idea to kidnap her and fake her death. All she wanted to do now was see the people who wronged her suffer, and then she could leave and start thinking about the future.
"Do you want to do anything to any of them?" Voldemort asked Hermione as she re-joined him in the middle of the corridor, which offered the best view of all five prisoners.
"No," Hermione replied with a shake of her head. "I'm happy to watch and enjoy the show."
"And what a show it will be," Voldemort cackled. "You have my permission to do your worst," he informed the five armed Death Eaters. "Within reason of course," he added, not wanting anyone to get too carried away and actually kill one of the prisoners.
Before they arrived at Azkaban, Hermione was expecting to watch some one on one torturing, but instead she got full on action as the five Death Eaters leapt into action. Even though the five prisoners weren't in shackles, they had no wands and the wards around the prison prevented inmates from doing magic, meaning they were still defenceless against the onslaught that came their way.
Hermione found herself turning from person to person, not sure who to watch. The two masked Death Eaters were favouring the Cruciatius curse on their victims, Molly and Ron. Lucius was also using the curse to torture Dumbledore, but he was also adding in a few extra spells to make sure the headmaster was suffering. Bellatrix was also using a combination of the Cruciatius curse and other spells, as well as her sing-song voice taunting Arthur about what would happen when she got her hands on his wife and son.
However, it was Draco was captured most of Hermione's attention. He was dealing with Harry pretty brutally, and he was the only one adding in physical punishment. Just watching him, Hermione could see all his pain and suffering pouring out on the wizard who was the cause of it, and even though she'd been friends with Harry for years, she was struggling to feel pity for him as he endured her boyfriend's wrath. All she could think was that he was getting what he deserved and that if he hadn't acted so rashly, this wouldn't be happening. At the end of the day he only had himself to blame for the physical pain he was currently in.
While Hermione contented herself to watch, Voldemort joined in the fun, although his focus was more on Dumbledore. The Death Eaters also began switching things up and Hermione noticed that Ron was the only person who suffered as badly as Harry at Draco's hands. At one point her boyfriend even stepped on the leg he'd once broken, causing it to break again with a loud crack and a pitiful howl of pain from Ron.
"And that is the least you deserve, Weasel," Draco growled, making sure the leg was well and truly broken.
By the time Voldemort called an end to proceedings, all five of the prisoners were slumped on the floor. Looking around it was clear that Harry and Ron had borne the brunt of the Death Eater's wrath, especially Draco's. But Dumbledore wasn't in a good way, nor was Molly and Arthur.
"It's time you two were leaving," Voldemort said to Draco and Hermione. "I then want the Weasleys back in their cages. I'm done with them," he said, addressing his two robed Death Eaters.
"I hope you're happy, Harry," Hermione said, crouching down beside her bleeding best friend. "You're to blame for this, just you remember that in these last moments. None of this would have happened if you hadn't decided to kidnap me and fake my death."
Rising to her feet, Hermione then took hold of Draco's arm and all but dragged him from the top floor of the wizarding prison. Without looking back, they retraced their steps out of Azkaban and back to the waiting boat. As the boat set off back to the mainland, Hermione knew that Draco wished he was still inside Azkaban. However, for Hermione, she couldn't be happier to be away from the place. As far as she was concerned, it was all over. Harry, Ron and their cohorts had been dealt with, and Hermione could move on with her life. Now there was nothing more important than finding and destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes so they could get rid of him once and for all and return Wizarding Britain to peace.