~Chapter 10: Compromise~

Hermione didn't sleep a wink that night. She stayed awake and waited for any sign or sound of Sparkle, any clue as to where she would be. At around 3:30 in the morning, the guards came in and selected another person. Hermione didn't see Sparkle again that night.

At around 5:00 AM, the guards came in and looked around. Hermione had finally been able to doze off a little when the guards grabbed her and shook her awake. She stirred and opened her eyes to see guards dragging her out of her cell. Her mind was buzzing with panic again, but she didn't fight. The guards made sure she was awake and they lead her through the dark and narrow hallway towards the courtroom. She looked around, trying to take in everything, trying to find Sparkle, but still no sign of her. They got to the doors of the courtroom and pushed them open. Suddenly, Hermione was blinded by a bright light and then she was being pushed in a chair, her handcuffs being harshly ripped off her and her hands being put in shackles that were attached to the arm of the chairs. She also felt her ankles being shackled as the guards walked out of the room. Hermione looked around the circular courtroom, taking in the black seats, the paneled floor, the grand stand that was right in front of her. She craned her head up and saw Dolores Umbridge sitting in the seat of the grand stand, looking down at Hermione with a smile planted on her lips. Her cat patronus sat beside her, staring at her also. She looked up and saw Dementors floating in a bubbly cage at the top of the ceiling, the patronus sending up little silver pulsations to keep the Dementors from coming down. Hermione swallowed and looked back at Umbridge, then noticed someone else in the room. She looked to Umbridge's left and, in one of the seats, was Rita Skeeter. Hermione's mouth hung open a little bit as she took in Rita in her expensive bright electric green suit, her lighter green glasses and her Quick-Quotes Quill, already whizzing along a notepad, which was hovering in mid-air by her face. Hermione felt her heart plummeting into her shoes. She remembered what she did to get back at Rita. She watched her as Rita turned to look at Hermione. She gave a big toothy smile and waved daintily at her. Rage built up inside Hermione and she went to lurch forwards but just rebounded back into her seat, the hand and ankle cuffs holding her down. She looked at her wrists and growled lightly under her breath. All the people that she'd gotten back at and held grudges against her were in this room. All you'd have to do would be to add Lavender Brown into this mix and they'd be set. Hermione looked around for anyone else and saw one other person: The Minister. She took in his black, slicked-back hair and beady eyes and tall, spidery frame. He looked at her coldly and Hermione glared back.

"Hem hem!" Umbridge cleared her throat annoyingly and the hairs on the back of Hermione's neck stood on end. She slowly took her hateful glare and transferred it over to Umbridge, who was still smiling brightly at her. She shuffled her papers for a moment and then she looked at Rita Skeeter. "Are you ready to begin Ms. Skeeter?" Rita nodded eagerly, her glasses resting on the tip of her nose, smiling just as brightly as she was. Umbridge turned back to Hermione, her chair creaking under her weight. Hermione felt the rage bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

"Hermione Jean Granger. Daughter of Wendel and Monica Wilkens, also known as Mr. and Mrs. Granger-,"

"What?! How do you know my parents are Wendel and-," Hermione started, but Umbridge interrupted her.

"Lover to Ronald Bilius Weasley-,"

"I am not his lover! We went over this-,"

"Currently living at The Burrow, the Weasley family's home residence-,"

"Your information is faulty-," Hermione snarled at her as she just continued to speak.

"A wand was taken upon your arrival at the Ministry-," Umbridge held up the wand that she took from the Room of Requirement, which was Bellatrix Lestrange's wand. "Miss Granger, is this that wand?" Hermione looked at Umbridge with hate in her eyes.

"You know bloody well-," Hermione tried again, but this time, Rita interrupted her.

"Answer her question!" Rita said, her notepad pausing. Umbridge sighed.

"Ms. Skeeter, I can handle this courtroom without your help." She said snidely, and then looked back at Hermione. "Answer the question, Miss Granger. If you refuse, you will be subjected to the Dementor's kiss." Umbridge urged a smile on her toad-like lips. Hermione glared at her.

"Yes. That is the wand." She said through her teeth. Umbridge nodded and kept the wand held up.

"Can you tell me, Miss Granger, which witch or wizard you took this wand from?" Umbridge inquired. Hermione swallowed, her palms starting to itch, like they do every time she's scared. She wanted to play with her fingers. It soothed her. But the restraints held her wrists apart and she felt like she was going to go insane.

"Bellatrix Lestrange." Hermione mumbled, now looking down at her hands, clenching and unclenching them. Umbridge smiled at her.

"So, you aren't denying that you stole a magical instrument from a being with magical abilities?" Umbridge inquired.

"No, I'm not. But she stole my wand first. My real wand that I bought at Olivander's was stolen from me when we were fighting against Voldemort." Hermione said, knowing they'd get all of this information out of her eventually. Umbridge looked like she'd won a Nobel Prize.

"Oh, I don't think so Miss Granger. You couldn't have bought a wand because the wand chooses a witch or wizard, and you are neither." Umbridge told her in a know-it-all voice. Hermione gritted her teeth, fighting against the restraints.

"I'm a witch, you bloody old hag! A witch! Let me out of these restraints and you'll see how much of a witch I can be!" Hermione yelled, her voice echoing throughout the otherwise empty room. Rita looked like she was about to burst with joy as she now took her quill and notepad and wrote down the interrogation herself, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she did so. Umbridge laughed girlishly again.

"Oh, that isn't likely, Miss Granger." Umbridge said in a sweet voice. Hermione was too focused on Umbridge to notice that Adolf had gotten up and was now coming towards her chair, coming down out of the black seats to look at her. Rita laughed along with Umbridge.

"Look who's caught now!" Rita chortled, smiling in a sinister way. Hermione fought against her restraints.

"That's quite enough, Ms. Skeeter. Now, Miss Granger, tell me. You are quite an accomplished student in school, is that correct?" Umbridge inquired. Hermione's struggles became less as she remembered her days in Hogwarts's library, looking through thousands of books, memorizing all the needed pages from her homework assignments, even being teased by practically everyone around her for being a bookworm, a work-a-holic, a know-it-all. Hermione focused back in and swallowed.

"…Yes." She answered simply. Adolf made his way closer to Hermione, but she didn't notice.

"It says on your O.W.L's that you got all "Exceeds expectations" except for one class. Fifth year, Defence against the Dark Arts." Umbridge said. Hermione watched her and that hatred started to bubble inside her gut again. She held her tongue, afraid that what she might say would put Umbridge over the edge. Umbridge grinned at Hermione, leaning forward over the counter to take a closer look as well.

"…Miss Granger…do you honestly believe that you are a witch? Answer the question truthfully. You are the daughter of Muggles, are you not?" Umbridge said.

"…Yes."

"And you are, therefore, of Muggle blood, are you not?" asked Umbridge.

"…Yes."

"So, you are technically a Muggle, isn't that right, Miss Granger?" Umbridge inquired. Hermione thought about that, but she shook her head.

"I'm not a Muggle. I have magical abilities, like any other witch or wizard that exists. Just because I have Muggle parents and are of Muggle blood doesn't mean that I'm a-,"

"Miss Granger, you're a clever girl. Don't lie to yourself. You know exactly what you are…and you are not a witch. Your success in school all had to do with you studying hard, memorizing facts, even, if I may be so blunt, sucking up to teachers. Any Muggle can come into Hogwarts, wave a wand, study hard and ace all of their classes without any magical ability whatsoever. So, why do you think that you're any more special than a Muggle?" Umbridge asked her in a soft voice. Hermione stared at her, not able to even comprehend being a Muggle. Hermione looked down at her hands again and didn't answer her question. Umbridge waited for a moment. Even Rita Skeeter paused to watch Hermione. After about thirty seconds, Umbridge sighed.

"What a pity. People told me you were intelligent." Adolf said, standing right next to her. Hermione's head snapped over to see him there, watching her with his cold eyes. Adolf reached out his hand and moved a curl of her bushy brown hair out of the way of her face. "…You look like her, you know… you look like my wife…" he said softly as he stroked the side of her cheek. Hermione swallowed and clenched her fists, fury building up inside her yet again.

"…Well then, your wife must not have been a pretty woman." Hermione snarled at him. Adolf looked at her for a moment, an ounce of pain crossing his eyes before anger covered them. He raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face, sending her face jerking sideways much too quickly. The sound of the slap echoed throughout the courtroom for a good ten seconds before it faded off and everything became silent. The only sound there was was Hermione's quick, uneven breathing. Adolf looked at her, breathing rather quickly also. Hermione slowly turned her head to look into Adolf's anger-filled eyes. The anger melted away as he stared into Hermione's eyes.

"...Give her to the Dementors." He said in a wispy voice. He turned away from her as Hermione's eyes widened.

"No! No, please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Hermione yelled, tears forming in her eyes. She wasn't thinking at all right now. She remembered her encounter with the Dementors in her Third year. She fainted after being around them for not even a minute. Adolf kept his back turned from her as Rita laughed.

"Yes, feed her to the Dementors! Oo, can I watch?" Rita asked as Umbridge straightened up, looking at the Minister.

"Minister? I was wondering whether we could…compromise." She said quietly. Hermione froze, looking at Umbridge with a strangled curiosity. Adolf didn't turn around or look at Umbridge.

"Proceed." Adolf said flatly.

"May I address the accused?" Umbridge asked. Adolf stepped aside again, his hands behind his back. He gestured for her to continue. Umbridge refocused on Hermione.

"Miss Granger. Do you know someone named Sparkle Ferris?" Umbridge inquired. Hermione glanced at Adolf, who had that angry look in his eyes again, clenching his fists. Hermione nodded to signify that she did. "Did you know that Miss Ferris told us that she'd give up her life for yours? She told us that if we let you live than we could take her instead?" Umbridge asked. Hermione's eyes widened.

"What?! Why did she do that?!" Hermione asked her. Umbridge shrugged.

"Ask her yourself." Umbridge said as the doors opened and two guards entered carrying a limp Sparkle, who looked like she'd been tortured already. Sparkle raised her head weakly and saw Hermione. She smiled very lightly at her as they thrust her into a chair that one of the guards grabbed. Hermione watched her and then looked back at Sparkle.

"Miss Ferris? Why did you want Hermione to live and you to die?" Umbridge asked Sparkle. Sparkle looked at her with tired eyes.

"…Because she deserves to live more than I do." She said weakly.

"Sparkle, stop this-," Hermione tried, but Sparkle just kept going.

"I've lived this life. I'd rather move on to another." Sparkle told Umbridge.

"Sparkle, the baby. Remember? Your baby? You have to live for your baby!" Hermione said, begging for her to understand. Sparkle looked at her as Umbridge began talking.

"What makes you think that we'd kill the baby, Miss Granger? After all, it is Adolf's child." Adolf winced as she said this. Hermione looked at her incredulously.

"…Hermione, I want this. They'll let me have my baby and then I'll be gone. It works out perfectly. Don't you see? We'll both be happy." Sparkle said in an almost whisper. Hermione looked back at her wildly.

"Your baby won't be happy with someone else as a mother! I mean, it'll be half blood, so you have to let it go." She said to Adolf. Adolf looked at her snidely.

"No, I don't. I'm the Minister. I can keep the child if I want. It's my child-,"

"And it's also Sparkle's child, and since the two of you aren't married, she gets the right to tell you whether you get to take care of the baby or not. She's the mother and has full responsibility of the child until it is of legal age to leave home." Hermione said. She'd read about magical law and she knew everything about it. Adolf looked at her in an almost surprised way.

"Well, what if the mother dies? Who does the child belong to then?" Adolf asked, crossing his arms. Umbridge and Rita also looked curious, and even Sparkle waited to hear her answer. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, don't you all read? When the child is born, the mother has to sign a paper saying who'll be the child's guardian if she passes away. She chooses who gets to take care of her child. And not even you can change that." Hermione told Adolf. Adolf looked at her with shock on his features.

"Well…why should I let you live anyway? You insulted me and my wife's appearance-,"

"Minister, I didn't insult her. By comparing your wife to someone like me, you're calling her ugly because, as you can see, I'm not what guys would like to call "a fetch"." Hermione said in a matter-of-fact voice. Adolf looked at her and nodded his head, as though he finally understood something.

"…You have very low self-esteem, don't you?" he asked her. Hermione felt a sting that pierced her heart. Of course she did. How could she not? She'd never be as beautiful as girls like Sparkle, or Ginny, or Fleur. She was plain and with being plain comes being ugly and being ignored by the opposite sex. Somehow her thoughts lingered to Ron. She pushed the images of how happy he looked when he was dancing with her at the Weasley's party, how in love he looked the morning after that amazing night that they shared. She pushed it to the back of her mind and focused on the question at hand.

"When you look like I do, you always have issues with self-esteem." She snarled at him, relying on anger. Adolf pondered that for a moment before he turned to Umbridge.

"What do you suggest we do now, Umbridge?"

"Well, Minister, my compromise is that Sparkle dies in Miss Granger's place. After she delivers the baby, of course." Umbridge said. Hermione didn't feel relief at all. She simply waited.

"And what do you suggest we do with Miss Granger?" he asked her.

"Well, you see Minister, Miss Granger and I have yet to settle something that occurred a couple years previous and, actually, a couple months ago. I was wondering whether you'd let me keep her and deal with her ignorance in any ways necessary. After all, if you put her in Azkaban, she's as good as gone. I'll keep her right in my office." Umbridge said, her voice returning to excitement. Adolf thought about that.

"…I see no problem with it. But, Miss Umbridge, you will remember that she needs a very firm hand. I'll come to see what progress you've made on her. I don't want to have another confrontation like we had today." He told her. Umbridge looked like she was about to jump over the podium and full-on kiss him.

"Thank you, Minister! I won't fail you! Thank you!" Umbridge said excitedly, almost bowing to him. Hermione watched her and felt a sinking feeling in her gut. She was going to have to stay with her for the rest of her life…or until she died. Or she'd most likely kill herself. Adolf took one last look at Umbridge and turned to Hermione.

"And if you don't behave, I swear upon my oath as Minister for Magic, that you will be punished in the worst way possible." Adolf told her coldly. Hermione glared at him as he turned to start walking away.

"How will you punish me?" Hermione asked him. Adolf froze with his back turned. He pulled out his wand and waved it. A picture appeared in front of him. He took it and turned around, holding it out to Hermione. The picture showed Hermione's parents, lying dead on what looked like dusty ground, the same dusty ground that was in Australia. Hermione's mouth dropped open, her heart racing.

"Let's just say that your cute little family fighting to keep you away from me earned your parents a one way ticket to Hell." He said, holding the photo. Hermione's eyes filled with tears, her breathing uneven and incredibly fast. This couldn't be true. It wasn't true. He was just bluffing. He was just trying to make her think that she had no power here. "And, oh…look at this…" he summoned a moving picture of the whole Weasley family, including Harry. They all smiled at her, laughing, their arms around each other. Hermione's chin trembled as she looked at Ron's goofy smile as he slung his arm over Harry's shoulders, laughing joyfully, his eyes sparkling in that special way they always do. Tears poured down Hermione's cheeks. "If you don't cooperate…there will be one less family of Blood Traitors on this earth." He said in a calming voice. He folded the pictures, both the family portrait of the Weasley's and the picture of her dead parents, and put them gently in her jean pocket. Adolf took one last look at Hermione before turning and leaving the courtroom. Rita looked at Hermione with a slight smirk but she soon got up, snapped her crocodile handbag closed and walked out of the room. Umbridge got up swiftly.

"Guards, take this filth to my chambers please." She ordered in a strong voice. Hermione sobbed quietly, shaking, closing her eyes. Her parents couldn't be dead. It wasn't possible.

The guards grabbed Hermione, taking the cuffs off her wrists and ankles, and they towed her away just as Sparkle gave one last look at Hermione and was towed away herself. Hermione couldn't walk so the guards dragged her all the way to Umbridge's office. Umbridge had followed them up and she pulled out her wand. She conjured up a small cage, much like a cell, that was just big enough for Hermione to stand and walk a couple feet and lay down on the floor. The guards opened the cell door and threw Hermione's limp, shaking form into the cell and slammed the door, locking it. Hermione didn't notice the guards and Umbridge leaving, going back down to the courtrooms to continue with the questioning. Hermione laid on the cold cell floor and sobbed, feeling no hope left in her body. She waited for any sign of relief, whether it be fainting, or something more. But soon, she was too tired to cry anymore and she fell fast asleep, her dreams filled with the horror-filled situation that was about to be her life.