DISCLAIMER: Me? Owning Harry Potter? Pfft, yeah right.
Howdy neighbourino's! I know, I know, the last chapter was really short and I'm sorry, but it was necessary to explain how Fred was coping. I originally wasn't going to involve the rest of the Weasley's in the story much at all, but chocolateMnMs was wondering how Fred was and blah, blah, blah. Well anyway, I'm on a bit of a roll today, 2 chapters in one day, BOO-YA! Okay, I think I've covered everything, so, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times and lets continue with this story! (Reviews are candy)
The screaming. It never stopped, and in the times it did, it was replaced by a cold silence. A silence that sent shivers up your spine and chilled you to the core.
Every time George heard her scream a piece of him died. Every time she screamed, he wished it were he in that position. Every time he heard Hermione scream he curled up in a ball and imagined the horrible things she was enduring.
He had been tortured, yes, but he knew they were less hard on him seeing as he wasn't a direct friend of Harry's. Whereas Hermione had been an accomplice in Harry's fight to defeat Voldemort.
She screamed again. Crying, yelling, shouting. They were going to torture her until she broke. Until she finally had no strength left in her. Until she was no longer a human with feelings, but an empty shell.
George cried silently, wishing they would relent and hurt him instead.
He lay there crying, trying to block out Hermione's screams of pain, for what felt like a million years, until finally, the door swung open and an unconscious Hermione was forcefully thrown onto the floor, with a thump. The bastard Death Eater kicked her in the side and laughed with glee.
"Don't you hurt her, you sadistic arse!" George threatened, but the Death Eater just laughed evilly.
"Or what? You'll hurt me, with more words?" The Death Eater mocked.
"THAT'S IT!" George attempted to lunge at the Death Eater, but with a lazy flick of the Death Eaters wand, George was blasted into the far wall, deep cuts all over him, blood cascading down his chest. Obviously a Sectumsempra had been cast.
"Have fun with your little whore, Weasel", The Death Eater mocked turning and walking casually out the door, locking it, once again leaving George and Hermione in their chamber.
"H-Hermione" George croaked, making the blood from his wounds seep out a little more. He didn't care how bad a condition he was in, Hermione was obviously worse. He crawled over to her figure lying feebly on the floor.
"Hermione?" He tentatively touched her over and she flinched away. "It's alright Hermione, it's only me, George," He said tenderly.
Hermione rolled over and winced, George saw her face and almost died.
A bruise, cuts, grazes, everything you could imagine. The rest of her body looked pretty much the same. George imagined he looked similar after the Sectumsempra.
"Oh my goodness, George!" Hermione croakily said, concerned. She slowly sat up, wincing and grimacing, "What happened to you?" she asked surveying his cuts.
"Oh nothing, don't worry about it…" George trailed off, more worried about Hermione's wellbeing.
"George, you're seriously hurt" The bleeding had stopped and the wounds had clot, and Hermione was cleaning it with her scarf she happened to be wearing the day they were taken.
George thanked Hermione for helping him and started fixing her wounds.
The two of them continued this routine every day. Tortured, thrown back in the chamber, cleaning wounds, eating what little food they were given, talking, and eventually falling asleep in each other's arms. The next day the cycle would start again.
The pair had no real sense of time and date as they were in a room with no windows and had to assume they had been here for a little over 3 weeks. Still missing their families, neither really was broaching the subject of how, or when, they would attempt to escape this awful place. Both would loose touch with reality at times and fall into hysterics before being consoled by the other.
One particular day, or night, hard to tell, a Death Eater entered the room and set down the tray of cold soup with stale bread and dirty water, Hermione and George cowering in the corner. George didn't even attempt to injure the Death Eaters anymore; he knew how powerful they were, and how pointless the activity was.
The Death Eater set down the tray and instead of swiftly exiting the room, he walked over to Hermione and George. George instinctively wrapped his arms around Hermione as the Death Eater approached. He came to a sudden halt approximately 3 feet from the pair, and bent down, removing his mask.
Hermione took one look into those, cold, silver eyes. Eyes that had witnessed things no person should ever see. And knew instantly who they belonged to.
"Granger. Weasel" He stated simply.
"Dr-Dra-" Hermione stuttered,
"Yes, yes, I think we will have to skip the reunions for now, if you want to get out of here quickly" He said quickly, in a low whisper.
"Draco?" The two said fast.
"I thought I made myself clear; reunions will have to wait, now get up." Draco said loosing patience.
The pair hesitated in getting up, wondering if Draco had ulterior motives.
"I'm not going to let you two get killed, trust me, I have changed. Now please. Trust me" Draco said sincerely.
George and Hermione sensed the sincerity in Draco's voice. Even if he hadn't changed and they were walking out into certain death, it was a welcome change from sitting cramped in that chamber for 3 weeks.
"This way" Draco ordered and led the two out the door that had blocked them from the outside world for so long. He led them down a long, tiled hallway. No windows, much like the chamber. Draco moved swiftly down the corridor, Hermione and George following quickly behind, George clutched Hermione's hand and she reciprocated.
Draco led them through the deserted building and eventually into the woods. Amazingly, undetected.
"This is where I leave you now. Be safe" Draco bid them farewell and turned to leave before a hand stopped him. He turned around to see Hermione and George smiling at him, dishevelled. Unexpectedly, Hermione leaped forward and embraced a stunned Draco, silently thanking him.
Draco managed to crack a smile at the two before nodding and turning on his heel, walking away, and apparating away.
"Bloody hell. I owe him my life" George stated, utterly amazed that the nasty boy from Hogwarts had grown and changed dramatically.
Hermione smiled, "Ditto".