A week after her first intercourse with Barty, Hermione had learned to be more obedient. She was more or less used to the threats he constantly made. But it was almost like as if he had also grown more used to her. He liked her snappy remarks, it only gave him a reason to hurt her. And apparently, he also liked to touch her. A lot. She didn't know if it was because he was really attracted to her or because he knew that she didn't like being touched by him, but Barty certainly seemed to enjoy himself. And she was letting him. Only to protect her parents from him.
Hermione had not heard anything about the Order since she had been captured by the Death Eaters. She had no idea what was going on, if they were looking for her, if they were still alive… She did know that Harry and Ron were probably on their way to find the Horcruxes by now. The new schoolyear had started already, and there was no way that they would be wasting time. But it also meant that she had to contact Harry and Ron very soon, to lead them straight into Voldemort's arms.
"Good morning, my little witch," Barty grinned widely when he noticed Hermione entering the dining room.
Hermione choose to ignore him, walking straight to the opposite of the table to sit down there. As far away as possible.
"My, you are even more rebellious in the mornings… Maybe I should try how much fun you are in bed in the early morning," Barty chuckled, but Hermione only shot him a furious glare.
"Don't give me that look," Barty warned her.
Hermione quickly made sure that her face was showing less annoyance, and she even managed a small smile. Winky brought her a plate with bread and cheese, and she just wanted to make herself some breakfast when suddenly she heard some noises coming from the hall. Barty immediately shot up, glaring at Hermione as if she was the one that was walking in the corridor.
"Have you been contacting someone?" he hissed venomously.
Hermione quickly shook her head and she glared back at him.
"How am I even supposed to do that? You have locked me up here," she shot back.
Barty hold his stare for a couple more moments, but then he drew out his wand.
"I hope for your sake that you are speaking the truth, Granger," he growled, and he walked towards the door, his wand in front of him.
Barty kicked the door open with his foot, so that he could still attack whoever it was in the hall. But Hermione didn't have to wait long to see who it was, because as soon as the door was kicked open, a small man appeared in the door opening with a shocked expression on his face. Barty put his wand away and he grabbed the man tightly by his collar, dragging him inside.
"Sneaking into my house, are we, Wormtail?" he asked coldly.
"I-I d-didn't think you were…"
"No. You didn't think. Maybe you should think in the future. I could have killed you. Not that anyone would have cared if I did…"
Hermione really hated Peter Pettigrew, but she almost felt sorry for him at that moment. Barty looked as if he was going to kill him, and Wormtail was certainly afraid for that.
"Why are you here?"
"T-to bring you a m-message from the Dark Lord, sir," Wormtail said.
"Well? What message?"
"H-he wants you to check on the Carrows at Hogwarts. It has been said that they have been using the Cruciatus Curse on first years during the first week. The Dark Lord does not approve, he wants them to teach the Curse, not to use it on them."
"And why, of all people, did he send you?" Barty questioned.
"He… he trusts me?"
Barty leaned in, staring the smaller man directly in the eyes.
"Well, I don't."
"I came back for him! While no one else was there!" Wormtail defended himself, sounding braver than he looked.
"Not out of loyalty, you filthy rat. Just like all the others. I don't know why the Dark Lord is still putting up with all those traitors. Including you. If it were up to me, you would have all been dead by now. Or very seriously injured."
"Are you threatening me?" Wormtail whimpered, though Hermione wondered if it was meant to be a whimper.
"Tell me. Why are you really here?"
"To send you the message!"
"Are you up to something?"
"No! Honestly!"
"I don't think the Dark Lord would ever send you to bring a message to me. He would have come himself. Or someone else, if he was too busy. But not you," Barty said, advancing on Wormtail so that the small man had to walk backwards. "If I find you stealing something, or touching anything that doesn't belong to you, or trying make a fool of me, or something else I won't like, then I swear…"
Barty now had Wormtail against the wall, glaring down at the trembling man.
"… you will be very sorry."
Even Hermione was scared right now, even though she had no reason to be. There was just something about Barty that made her nervous. No matter what he did. She saw Wormtail nodding eagerly, and Barty stepped away from him.
"I need to check the potion first. We will leave as soon as I am ready," Barty announced, and after giving Wormtail a death glare, he left the room.
Hermione eyed Wormtail, who was still not quite at ease. And she couldn't blame him.
"He doesn't like you very much, does he?" Hermione said.
"I wouldn't talk if I were you. At least I am not a Mudblood," Wormtail sneered.
That made Hermione very angry. How could he say that? He was no better than she was, he was a traitor on both sides. He had no friends, and she had every right to hate him. And suddenly she wished that Barty would have tortured him. She almost wanted Barty to come back just so that he could torture someone else for once.
"How dare you?" Hermione snarled.
"What? It is the truth. In Barty's eyes, you are the filth in this house, not me," he grinned.
"You've got some nerve suddenly. Only a few moments ago you were trembling against that wall, you were addressing him with sir, and now you are pretending to be a man? Don't make me laugh. You are pathetic. You are a traitor, and you are disgusting."
Wormtail shrugged as he took some toast off the table and started eating it. Then he sat down in the chair next to her.
"I serve the Dark Lord now, so Barty can't hurt me…" he told her.
"Oh? You seemed to be pretty afraid just a minute ago."
"Shut up, Granger. You know nothing."
"And I don't believe he gave you permission to eat anything?"
Hermione was just irritating him, trying to get under his skin. She just hated him enough to do that. If she had her wand with her, she would have gone even further. She might have injured the bastard.
"The boy won't mind. Shut up before I curse you."
Hermione snorted. "I'd like to see you try."
"Maybe I won't have to if you are nice to me," Wormtail sneered.
That remark came eerily close to what Barty had told her over and over for the last week. Every time he wanted her under him in her bed, he told her to be nice. And she had put up with it, because she knew the dangers of not obeying him. He would torture her and have his way with her after that, rougher than he would have been in the first place. But she wouldn't allow someone like Wormtail to talk to her like that.
"Get away from me, or I'll call Barty," Hermione hissed, hoping that that would make him reconsider his words.
"Oh, really? Do you think he cares about what happens to you? Do you think he will protect you? He will only be angry with you for calling him for nothing," Wormtail said.
She saw Wormtail coming closer to her, and she closed her eyes, her brains working at top speed. There was a possibility that Barty would be angry if she called him, but maybe that was a better option than letting that rat come anywhere closer. Or maybe she could call Winky. She would help her out maybe. When she felt Wormtail's hand on her cheek, she opened her mouth to call for Winky's help. But she didn't need to shout, because some force already had torn Wormtail away from her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Wormtail on the floor, his toast spilled over his clothes. And then Hermione saw Barty towering over Wormtail's body. He was positively livid, if not even worse than that. His fists were clenched, his teeth gritted, and his eyes were black. His anger was radiating from his body, he was practically seething.
"What did I tell you?" Barty growled at the man on the floor.
Hermione felt slightly relieved to see Barty there, but at the same time she was scared. She didn't know why, though. She didn't mind him torturing Wormtail. That rat deserved it.
"Do not steal anything and do not touch my properties. And what are you doing only five minutes later? I find you here, eating toast and touching the girl," Barty continued, his voice cracking due to his barely contained anger.
"I-I am s-sorry!" Wormtail squeaked, trying to crawl away.
Hermione couldn't help grinning at that. She didn't feel sorry for the man at all. It was very rare for her to feel this way, she had never wished someone dead before. But Wormtail deserved everything that was coming to him. Maybe she could even fuel Barty's anger even more. Just to make sure Wormtail would regret his mistakes.
"You seemed to be a lot braver, while Mr. Crouch wasn't here. Didn't you say that he couldn't hurt you? Didn't you say that that boy wouldn't mind if you just took what you wanted?" Hermione grinned.
Apparently, her remark had brought her the desired effect, because Barty started shaking with anger right now. He stepped closer to Wormtail and he pressed his foot on the rat's throat.
"Is she speaking the truth, Wormtail?" his venomous voice sounded.
"N-no! I-I would never s-say such a thing!" Wormtail whimpered.
"I think you are lying to me. You see, Peter, there is a reason why the Dark Lord favours me. There is a reason why he treats me as his own son. I am loyal to him, unlike you. And besides that, we don't have to think long about who the more powerful wizard is here in this room, do we?" Barty snarled, increasing the pressure on Wormtail's throat. "Believe me when I say that he won't mind if I kill you right here."
"Y-You can't!"
"Oh, I can. No one talks about me like that. No one. Certainly not behind my back. Because when I find out… you are in grave danger…"
"I-I am s-sorry!"
"About what?"
"Calling you a boy!"
"Oh, so you admit it, then? Well, this little boy is going to make you scream…"
"And I am s-sorry about eating the toast and touching the girl!" Wormtail screamed desperately.
"Good. Because I don't like it when people touch my property without my permission. You got that?" Barty asked with a low voice.
"Y-you c-care for the M-Mudblood then?"
"I don't think that is even any of your business, do you?"
"N-no, of c-course not, s-sir!"
"Then why did you dare asking me such a question?"
Wormtail swallowed when Barty's boot decreased some of the pressure on his throat. His question left Hermione wondering. Barty had not given him an answer, did that mean he actually cared about her? No, that would be stupid. He was hurting her. He never cared about her.
"Crucio," Barty's cold voice sounded and he started torturing Wormtail.
The man was already begging for Barty to stop after one minute. That just proved how weak and pathetic the rat was. Hermione knew how terrible Barty's Cruciatus Curse was, but she had been going through quite a lot of them, and never had she started begging him already after the first minute. She was stronger than that.
"Have you learned your lesson?" Barty asked softly when he lifted the curse.
"Yes! Please! Not again!"
"CRUCIO!"
The curse was even more intense now, Wormtail couldn't even find the strength to beg for mercy anymore. Hermione knew how it felt to be hit by that curse while Barty was so furious. But if she could survive it, then so could Wormtail. There was no reason to feel sorry for him.
"You do not get to say what I should or should not do, understood?" Barty hissed, not lifting the curse this time. He was just consumed by his own fury.
Of course Wormtail couldn't answer him. The pain was too intense. There was no way he could form words with his lips right now. But Barty wouldn't grant him any sympathy.
"ANSWER ME!" he bellowed.
"Y-yes!" Wormtail squealed.
A few moments later, Barty decided that it had been enough and he lifted the curse finally. Wormtail was still on the floor, completely exhausted.
"Have you learned your lesson?" Barty repeated.
"Y-yes…"
"Speak up!"
"Yes!"
"Get out of my eyes before I kill you."
"I-I can't…" Wormtail whispered, lying broken on the floor.
"You can if you know what is good for you," Barty spat, and when he saw that Wormtail still wouldn't move, he shouted, "LEAVE!"
That made the man stand on his feet. Hermione could see that he was in a lot of pain, but apparently he loved his life too much to stay on the floor. She was sure that he had learned his lesson. He would never think about rattling Barty's cage again. She was silently very satisfied with the result, she was glad that Wormtail didn't get away with it unpunished. But the downside was that she was now left alone with a dangerous and psychotic murderer who was very cross.
