A/N Sorry, this isn't an update, I was informed by my daughter, who just started reading my story that this chapter was only partially posted, so I had to remove the old chapter 10 and re-post it. This all happened because I tried to fix an error I caught in it a couple of months back. Sorry. Chapter 19 will be up within the next seven days.

Chapter 10 – Broken Dreams

The California sun streamed in through the lacy curtains, causing Hermione to hold her hand up to shield her eyes as she tried to wake up. Her eyes were swollen and her throat felt dry. It had been only a couple of hours since she had been able to fall into a restless sleep, after tossing and turning all night. Sleep came at a heavy price; the nightmares that had not plagued her in such a long time had come back with a vengeance. With a shaky breath she climbed out of bed and proceeded to get ready for to spend the day with Michelle and her family at the beach.

She took a quick shower, and for the first time really noticed that she had kept her body shape; was still athletic and had not put on too much extra weight, despite not doing any of the training. She chose to wear her simple black halter suit that covered the scar on her stomach, although her tattoo was almost completely exposed.

She slipped on a white eyelet lace sundress and a pair of silver sandals, and with a wave of her wand she tamed her wild hair into a braid. On the trunk at the end of her bed was a bag with her sunglasses, towel, suntan lotion and the book she had brought home yesterday. A knock at the front door signalled the arrival of Michelle. With a last look in the mirror, she grabbed the tote and walked out to meet her friend.

They had agreed to travel south thirty minutes along the highway to a lovely beach, where the waves were better and the weather warmer. They drove in Hermione's car; Shane and Russell had gone ahead in order to take advantage of better surfing conditions.

As they drove along the winding highway, their conversation turned to Hermione's native home. A new wave of nostalgia assaulted her as they passed Hearst Castle . The majestic building situated on a hillside in brought back memories of her beloved school in Scotland . She told Michelle of her time growing up in her parents' home, the excitement she had felt standing on the platform with her parents as they waited for her to board the Hogwarts' Express for the first time, and of meeting Harry and Ron that same day.

When they got to the beach they quickly found the spot where Shane and Russell had set up a blanket, the ice chest, an umbrella and an assortment of sand toys that were lying around. By the time the girls got there, they were out in the water; father and son, each astride their own surfboard bobbing in the ocean waiting for their wave. Michelle waved until she got their attention and they waved back.

"Honestly, Michelle, isn't Russell too young to be out on his own?"

"He's been on a board since before he could walk," she answered with a chuckle. "He'll be fine, Shane never goes too far from him. Come on, let's go for a walk.."

There was something comforting about the immensity of the sea. The two witches walked along the beach, sandals in their hands, letting the water lap at their ankles in a comfortable silence.

"I never get tired of the sounds the ocean makes." Hermione was gazing out into the vast body of water.

"I know what you mean." Michelle breathed in the fresh sea air. "I fell in love with it when we came here for our honeymoon and we never left."

"Sometimes it seems…" Hermione could not finish. How could she express that for her, the sounds of the seagulls, the crashing of the waves, and the hum of the breeze seemed to call to her, that there were days in which the ocean seemed more alive than she felt.

Even in this faraway town in California, the names of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were known. The people that lived here, however, were extremely respectful of her privacy and Michelle would never have dreamed of asking her about that time of her life if she was not so concerned for her. Seeing the sadness in her eyes, Michelle could not help wondering what had caused this witch to move so far away from everything she knew and loved.

"Do you keep in touch with Harry and Ron?" asked Michelle softly as she stooped to pick up a delicate shell.

"Before I moved here I asked Harry and Ginny to have a telephone installed in their home," Hermione said as she continued to look out into the sea. "I speak to them about once a month and they've been to visit me twice since I moved here. Last time they were here, Ginny insisted on learning to surf." She could not help but smile as she thought about her friend's daring. "Harry wouldn't even try it but she had a natural ability that blew both Harry and I away. It was as if she were born on a surfboard. She's something else. I don't think there are too many things she would be afraid of trying."

They walked further without talking, until Michelle asked, "And Ron? Do you keep in touch with him as well?"

It seemed that she had not heard, and Michelle thought the wind had carried her question out to sea until she noticed Hermione slowly shaking her head.

"No. I don't speak to Ron." The statement left no room for questions.

"You know, the offer still stands. Anytime you want someone to talk to, I'm available."

"Thanks. You have no idea how much that means to me." With her gaze on the horizon she added, "It's been a bit difficult being away from my friends and family."

"You don't have to be alone." Michelle took her hand in hers. "Shane, Russell and I can be your California family." The deal was sealed with an embrace.

Once they returned to their spot on the beach both witches smothered their skin with suntan lotion and settled down for some peaceful sunbathing, and, for Hermione, reading the book she had brought with her.

An hour later, the guys were back from surfing and everyone was hungry. They spent the rest of the day eating the fried chicken, sandwiches, and watermelon. Russell had them all making sand castles, and splashing in the water. By the time Hermione got back to her little cottage, she was completely exhausted, but she also felt a new sense of peace. She was certain that she would be able to put her memories away, file them in the deep recesses of her mind, and go about her new life.

She was wrong. They came back with a vengeance as she tried to go to sleep.

The day he had given her the ring was supposed to be the first day of the rest of their lives, but fate had other plans for them.

Telling Lucius and Narcissa had been much easier than she had ever thought. Voldemort's once right hand man and his wife had been drastically changed by the events of the war. Voldemort's indifference towards Draco's life opened their eyes to the truth about the cause they had been fighting for. They had witnessed firsthand the murders of both wizards and muggles at the hands of the madman they had sworn allegiance to, and the one thing they had learned was that everyone bled red. The relief they had felt when Harry killed Voldemort turned to gratitude, not only toward him but the two who fought alongside him.

They had both known of Draco's feelings for her long before they met them for lunch to announce their engagement, and she had been taken aback at the sincere acceptance she had received from his parents. It was not long before Narcissa began to talk about wedding plans.

The first thing she had done when she got home was to send a message to Ginny and Harry letting them know about her engagement. She was not surprised to get a message back from Ginny asking her to meet her for lunch the following day.

She had been waiting for more than half an hour in the small restaurant in Diagon Alley, and Ginny still had not appeared. It was not like her to be late. Just as she was going to get up to leave, she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. The weight of the hand was so familiar that she froze in her seat. A feeling much like a boulder dropping to the pit of her stomach refused to allow her to turn in her seat. Her mind declined to believe it. Only the sound of his voice was able to break the spell.

"Hello, Hermione."

With a small gasp she looked up into a pair of brilliant blue eyes. The last year and a half had not really changed his appearance at all. His hair was a bit longer and he seemed to have lost a little weight, but other than that, there was very little change. The sadness that had clouded his eyes was still there.

"Ron. What are you doing here?" She could not believe her eyes. "When did you get back?"

He gave her a small smile. "Can I join you?"

"Of course, sit down. I'm waiting for Ginny." She absently fidgeted with the napkin on her lap. "She was supposed to be here a half hour ago. I'm not sure what's happened to her." Her heart could not seem to return to its normal rhythm.

"Yeah, well, she was at the Burrow last night when I arrived. After talking with her, I asked her to let me come to meet you instead. I wanted a chance to talk to you alone. She won't be coming."

"Last night?" It was now beginning to make sense. "You just got here last night? That's quite a coincidence."

"A coincidence?"

Hermione tilted her head. "Let's not play games, Ron. We've never had to in the past, so let's not start now."

"You're right," he conceded. "Mum owled me with some very disturbing news and I had to come see for myself if it was true or if it was all rubbish."

"You know better than that," she said. She looked away before she continued, unable to meet his eye. "You know that Molly has never spouted rubbish before in her life, so whatever you've heard is probably true."

If she had not known him as well as she did, she would have missed the tensing of his body; a clear sign that he was attempting to keep his self-control.

"Why won't you look at me?" he asked.

"What are you doing here Ron?" she asked, turning to face him "What brings you back after all this time? What do you want?"

"I want you to tell me that mum, dad, Ginny and Harry are wrong when the say you've taken up with Malfoy," he said through gritted teeth. "I want to hear that they misunderstood your owl post that said you're engaged to that git. I want you to tell me that there is no fucking way you would ever let that piece of Pureblood shit into your bed, much less agree to marry him." His voice was still deceptively soft but his eyes were blazing.

"You are amazing Ron. Who do you think you are?" Her voice was just as soft and deadly as his. "Let me be the one to say that your assumptions are wrong. I have 'taken up' with Draco. I am engaged to marry him. As to whom I do or don't allow into my bed, that's none of your business. You walked away, remember?"

"I know that! I know I'm the one that left; I'm the one who hurt you. But can't you see that I did it for you as much as for myself? We weren't good for each other. You know that."

"I understand that. I do. In the beginning it was hard because I refused to face the truth, but now I know that you did the right thing. You walked away before we destroyed each other and I'm grateful to you for it."

"All right, then, but I didn't sacrifice the only woman I ever loved so that she could turn around and end up with someone who can't possibly know how to love anyone but themselves, Hermione!" He kept running his hand through his hair as if trying to erase the mental images her words had branded in his brain. "Shit. I need you to listen to reason."

"No, Ron! Stop. You have no idea what you're talking about. You know nothing about who he is now, and in all honesty, you don't know anything about who I am now."

"No, Hermione, you stop. What the hell are you thinking? He was a Death Eater. Have you forgotten?" The more he talked the angrier he became; there were bright red splotches appearing on his face. "He was one of the bastards that caused us to fall apart. How could you? Where's your loyalty?"

She stood up and leaned over the table. "You dare speak to me of loyalty? My loyalty is with my family, my friends, and it is with Draco. Where's yours? Here? Australia ? Where, Ron? Tell me, because I'm confused." She gave him one last furious look. "I'm so sick of this. I refuse to listen to any more crap from anyone. Why can't you accept my decision? Why can't you trust my choice? I can't believe that his parents have been more supportive than my friends."

She gave him one last furious look. "I'm so sick of this..."

She must have turned away too quickly, because she immediately felt light-headed, and she stumbled. Had it not been for Ron's arms, she would have fallen.

"Hermione!" His eyes were filled with concern. "Are you alright?"

She took a steadying breath and nodded. "I'm fine. I just got a little dizzy. I think I need to go and wash my face."

"Go on, then. I'll wait for you here." As she started to walk away, he took her wrist and whispered, "I'm sorry."

She nodded gently and continued to the ladies room. Neither Ron nor Hermione noticed the dark haired woman watching from across the room.

Once in the restroom, she hurriedly splashed water on her face trying to calm herself down. She was vaguely aware that someone had walked in. Looking up into the mirror, she saw a familiar looking woman glaring at her with a sinister smirk on her face.

"Auror Granger. I've been waiting a long time for this." The woman quickly and expertly cast a body binding curse at her. She hurriedly rummaged through Hermione's robes until she found her wand and discarded it on the floor before disapparating them both away.

The room they arrived at was cold, dark and filthy, and the only illuminating beam of light was streaming in from an open door. It was completely devoid of windows. The unmistakable stench of urine and faeces assaulted her causing her to retch violently, and as she vomited on the floor, the light-headedness she had felt at the café returned.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to get control of her swirling thoughts. She had no idea where she was, but she was aware that she was in trouble. She had realised that as soon as she had looked into the hate-filled eyes of Gloria Anglis in the mirror. Her wand was on the floor of the loo back at the café, so she knew that she would have to use her head to get out of this; she would have to remain calm. She felt the curse that had been binding her slip away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Clutching her stomach, she tried desperately to stop gagging. A furtive look around told her that there were others in the room.

Before she could form another thought, she heard the woman calmly cast the Cruciatus and immediately felt an excruciating pain rip through her as she crumpled to the soiled floor. It was as if every nerve ending in her body were on fire. On and on the pain went. It seemed an eternity before the curse released her.

As she lay in pools of her own vomit, her body still screaming in agony, a well place kick into her ribs propelled her onto her back.

"How does it feel, Mudblood? How does it feel to finally be where you belong?" The woman's voice was loud and shrill, but to Hermione's pain-blurred mind, it seemed to come from far away.

"Now, now, Gloria, you mustn't kill her yet" said an unfamiliar female voice. Beads of perspiration dotted Hermione's brow as she fought to control some twitching in her limbs. She could smell the throw up in her hair and on her face.

As the pain began to subside a little, she tried to get her bearings. Who were these people? It was apparent that they were Death Eaters, but their identities were completely unknown to her. Using all her strength, she pushed herself first onto her hands and knees, and then to her feet. Wobbling a little, she looked around at the hooded figures in the room and spat on the floor.

"Who are you?" She could barely manage to gasp out the words. "What do you want?"

The second woman stepped forward with a menacing sneer. "Did you honestly believe that you'd won?" Her voice remained even, but her face was contorted with unadulterated hate. "Did you think you'd get to ride off with your Prince Charming while we sat and watched our husbands and sons rot in Azkaban?"

"He's a Pureblood and she dared touch him," another unknown voice called out from among the ring of hooded figures growing tighter around her. The faceless woman rushed forward and backhanded her with such a force that Hermione felt her lip split. In the span of a second the crowd closed in on her and began to pummel her. She felt the blows on her head, back and stomach. There was not much she could do but to hunch down and cover her head.

"Enough!" The command was spoken by Gloria Anglis. "Let's get this done." With a flick of wand, she rendered Hermione incapable of speech as pain exploded in her head. She doubled over with her hands on her temples trying to keep from falling over.

Just as she thought she they could not inflict anymore pain, she heard the shout.

"Sectumsempra!"

Her screams, mixed with the maniacal laughter of the others in the room was the last thing she heard before succumbing to darkness.

The horrifying pain that made her lose consciousness also yanked her back from that abyss. It felt as if she had been cut in half. For a paralysing moment, she thought back to the time she had been tortured by Bellatrix. Her hand instantly went to her abdomen and with a hiss she pulled it back. Her shirt was ripped and the flesh on her stomach was torn. Her clothes were soaked with what she knew was her blood. Her head was splitting, of that she was sure, and opening her eyes was a chore she was not sure she could accomplish. There was absolute silence, only the sound of her shallow breaths could be heard. With a determination that was an integral part of her, she forced her eyes open. It was a few moments before she could discern anything, because the room was completely dark, and the only way she could tell she was in the same room was by the stench. Fighting back the revulsion she felt, she attempted to get to her feet. Her whole body ached but she ignored the aches as she frantically searched for a way of escape.

Feeling her way around, she ran her hands along the wall, hoping for a hidden door. The room had no windows and the only way out seemed to be the door that had been open before but was now firmly shut. She knew that the door would be locked so she didn't even attempt to open it for fear of alerting them that she was awake. She was able to keep her panic at bay by remembering that Draco would find her. Harry and the rest of the ministry kept a close eye on anyone connected to the Death Eaters they had apprehended. They would know what to do. For the present, all she could do was to stay alive.

She was losing a lot of blood and she could feel herself becoming weaker, so, after what seemed like hours of searching, she came to the conclusion that the only way out of here would be through the very door that separated her from the ones who had brought her here in the first place. She tentatively tried turning the knob and was surprised that it turned; they had left it unlocked. Why would they leave it unlocked? It seemed too easy. Did they believe that they had killed her?

With a sense of trepidation, she slowly opened the door. The passageway was dark but there was light streaming in from an open door at the end of the corridor. Painfully she crept towards it, trying to stifle the urge to scream in agony with each step she took. She could hear angry murmuring as she got closer.

"What the fuck were you stupid bitches thinking?" She did not recognize the voice of the man she heard yelling. "I told you that you were being watched and you still went ahead with this harebrained scheme!"

"We don't care! They'll never know what happened to her." The voice belonged to the woman who had struck her in the face. "We'll take care of the body. Gloria was right. That whore is the cause of all our problems."

"You're insane. You are the cause of all your problems now! Don't you understand that they'll be looking for her?" the unknown man said. "They'll never stop searching for her and I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when they figure out what you've done to her."

Hermione felt herself slide down the wall that she had been leaning on. Her legs had lost all strength and holding arms around her middle, she could feel her where her flesh was hanging, ripped apart by the curse that Anglis had thrown at her earlier. She knew she was losing consciousness again, and prayed that Draco would get to her before the crazy women in the next room did.

The shouting suddenly grew louder, the women began to shriek and she could hear them trying to run. There were flashes of red and green illuminating the hallway where she lay. Curses were flying all around and she knew he was there, knew he had come for her. She could no longer make out what they were saying but she could have sworn she heard Ron's voice. It took all her strength to lift her head.

"Where is she?" Ron's voice bellowed as he rounded the doorway. He froze as his eyes met hers. Draco came next. His eyes, the colour of cold slate, were murderous as he took in her condition; the pools of blood smeared down the hallway and on the wall, and the bruises on her face and body. The last thing she heard before she blacked out was his order to Ron for him to take her to St. Mungo's.

The bright lights were burning through her lids. The voices were all unfamiliar. She wanted to open her eyes, but they refused to cooperate. Their words made no sense.

"We couldn't save the baby…"

"…too much internal damage."

"they're all gone…"

"I don't know if I can help him…"

It took too much effort to understand, so she allowed herself to drift off again.

Ginny's face was the first to come into focus when she was finally able to open her eyes. She was sitting by her side, her eyes closed, head lying by her own, as if she had fallen asleep while watching over her. Her head still felt as if she had been hit with a hammer, but the agonising pain that had ripped through her body was gone. The bed she was lying in was clean and the air smelled sterile; she realised she was in the hospital.

Gently reaching up, she placed her hand on her friend's face. Ginny's eyes snapped open.

"Hermione, you're awake." She sat up and took her hand in hers. "We've been so worried." She had never seen Ginny cry, but her friend's eyes were suspiciously moist.

She wanted to reassure her, but she was having trouble speaking. Her voice sounded thick and raspy to her own ears.

"I'm fine." It was all she could manage. Looking around she saw George sleeping in a rocking chair at the other end of the room.

There were so many questions she needed answers to, but she did not have the strength to ask them. Before anything else could be said the door to her room opened. Harry walked in followed by Ron. Both men looked as if they had not slept in days. Her eyes darted back and forth between her best friend and her ex-boyfriend.

"Look, guys. Who do you think decided to wake up and join us?"

George woke up and hurried to the other side of the bed. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her brow. "Oi, you gave us quite a scare," he whispered.

"Sweet Merlin, Hermione," Ron said, standing by the foot of her bed. "I'm sorry. I went to search for you when you didn't come out of the loo after five minutes."

"Ron found your wand on the floor and was able to get help quickly." Harry went to stand beside Ginny and took Hermione's hand in his. "I'm just glad that we had Aurors following Gloria Anglis for weeks or we wouldn't have had any idea where to begin looking for you."

"I should have followed you to the loo; I would have never left your side if I'd thought for one minute that you were in danger."

Pushing herself to a sitting position, Hermione looked at all three of her friends and asked the only question that she wanted an answer to. "Where's Draco?"

They all looked at each other, no one wanting to meet her questioning gaze.

"Harry," she said, her throat sore from all of the screaming she had done. "Where is Draco?"

"Look, Hermione, you've had a hard three days, why don't-"

She didn't allow Ginny to finish her sentence.

"Where. Is. Draco."

"I think it would be better if we wait until your mum gets back." Ginny honestly thought that she would be better able to handle the news if her mother were by her side. "She should be here soon, she only went to get something to eat."

"No. I want to know where he is. What have you done?" Her eyes immediately found Ron.

He raised both hands up in surrender. "I didn't do anything, Hermione, honestly." He turned to look at Harry. "Tell her. She needs to know. Everything."

She turned to face the one person she could trust to tell her the truth. Her eyes met his in a silent plea.

Taking a deep breath, Harry began. "I contacted Draco as soon as Ron told me what happened. He was very calm until we arrived at the house they were keeping you at." Looking nervously at Ron, and then back at her, he continued. "After the initial fight he followed Ron into the hall. When he saw you on the floor, when he saw all the blood, your busted face, he lost it. He told Ron to bring you here and then calmly walked back into the sitting room where we were holding the witches who kidnapped you." Harry took another deep breath. "Hermione, if I could have stopped him I would have, but it all happened so fast. He walked in and began killing the women one by one, the killing curse was spewing from his lips faster than I would have ever imagined. By the time I was able to disarm him, he'd already killed four of them."

"Where is he, Harry? Take me to him."

"I can't, Hermione. You can't leave the hospital yet."

"I'm fine," she said as she tried to get out of bed. "Take me to him!"

Ginny's next words stopped her. "No, Hermione. You're not fine… you lost the baby."

Wide brown eyes collided with emerald ones. Harry could not look away. Her heart knew what her mind refused to acknowledge.

"Baby?"

"There was a baby, Hermione. The healers did everything they could to save your life but the child was gone before we even got you here." He would not keep any of it from her. "They assure us that you'll be able to have more children, but for now you have to rest, you have to let your body heal."

They'd had a baby. Their child had been ripped from her before she had even known of its existence. Her tears began to fall and she was more frightened than when she had been held captive. She knew she was an instant away from hysteria and she wanted Draco to hold her and tell her it would be alright.

"Why isn't he here? Harry? I need him."

Looking into her eyes, Harry said, "He can't be here Hermione. He's being held in Azkaban."