Chapter Twelve
The days following the Resistance's meeting at Malfoy Manor were intolerable. Despite Lucius putting forth his finest efforts to keep Hermione distracted and her mind concentrated on more pleasurable thoughts, she could only focus and worry about the upcoming raid. She had dreams about it. Some were pleasant and triumphant and others were horrifying enough that she woke up screaming with Lucius' strong arms around her.
Only two full days had passed, but to Hermione, it felt as if time slowed down to unbearable speeds. As much as she felt at home in the manor and as much as she cared about Lucius, she was going stir crazy. Her body positively itched to get out and do something worthwhile. She was locked up in an elegant prison at Kingsley's request and Lucius' insistence, but that did not mean she had to stay there forever and be useless. It wasn't exactly like she was locked up in the Umbridge Home like Luna, Susan and several of the other girls from the DA. Likewise she wasn't locked up in Azkaban with Mr. Weasley, Terry Boot or Ernie MacMillan. She had the freedom to walk out the front door any time she wanted. Well, assuming Lucius wasn't there to stop her with a passionate kiss or a well-timed stupefy curse.
A part of her was angry with Lucius for keeping her so well protected. There were entire blissful days in his company where she forgot to be afraid or forgot to be outraged. He could keep her mind so completely occupied that there was nothing else in the world outside of their tiny bubble of existence. The matter had only gotten worse when their relationship changed and it ceased to be only her mind that Lucius kept busy with his practiced and delicious attentions. She was grateful she hadn't known such sensations existed when she was in school or she was certain she would've failed all of her O.W.L.s.
George frustrated her to no end as well. Two visits to the manor in four months and the second only because Draco made him. Did he not understand how positively infuriating it was to be left behind with no news? She knew George and Angelina were out there in the thick of it. Yes, their lives and their freedom were constantly in danger, but at least they were doing something! All she had learned to do was expand her repertoire of edible dishes and how to properly launder Lucius' expensive robes so the fine fabrics weren't damaged. And then George had the nerve to send her an owl warning her once again to be careful around Lucius! He wasted no time after their meeting in the kitchen to pen a note to her reminding her that romantic relationships developed under stressful conditions and isolation were not usually successful. The nerve of that man! His owl arrived only fifteen minutes after the three of them Apparated away from the grounds. He would be getting an earful from her the next time they were alone. How dare he?
Try as she might, Hermione could not stop herself from being angry with Neville as well. He was out there fighting against injustice and battling for a world in which his unborn baby could be safe in. She respected that her pudgy cheeked friend from childhood had grown into a brave and formidable man. He was the face of the Resistance, but couldn't be bothered to send even a short message to the woman who helped him pass all of his classes in school and who had formed the very rebellious school club that helped him form the basis of his defense training. No, Neville was too busy traipsing around the countryside with Hannah rallying support for their cause to take just a few minutes out of his schedule to tell her what was going on.
And Kingsley! Oh, how she would love to have that man standing in front of her! Four months and nothing. Not even a hint or a whisper of his whereabouts. He told her, promised her even, that her sojourn at Malfoy Manor would only be temporary. Four months was beginning to feel a lot like permanent. Yes, her feelings for Lucius had obviously changed while she was staying there, but it was the damned principle of the thing. Kingsley promised her that after she rested up she could leave and help join the fight. Where was the wizard now? Too damn busy to remember his promises!
It seemed to Hermione that there was a conspiracy amongst all of the men who loved her to keep her bound and stuck in the safety of the Malfoy ancestral home. None of them seemed in any hurry to allow her to leave her gilded cage. She had just as much right to place her life on the line as they did. Her planned involvement in the Umbridge Home raid was only going to happen because she forced George and Lucius to recognize her as an independent witch. How she wanted to hex them both when they decided for her that it would be too dangerous! She understood the consequences of what would happen to her if she was captured just as well as any of them. How many nights had she woken up in a cold sweat because of a nightmare about Antonin Dolohov? How many times had she almost been physically ill in his presence because of the fear that he would find out who she really was? Hermione understood perfectly well that she was Dolohov's war prize. While she couldn't make herself dwell on what that could possibly mean for her, she knew enough to know that she had the right to be back on the frontlines fighting for the world she believed in.
To say that Hermione was frustrated and angry would be a serious understatement. When she woke up the morning of June 3rd, her nerves were vibrating with rage. The night before, just as she was settling into bed for a long night's sleep, Lucius brought up the subject of her staying home during the raid. It had been the largest and loudest fight since the beginning of her captivity months earlier. Lucius stormed out of the bedroom to retreat in his study with a stiff drink or several. Hermione left his bed for her own for the first time since Rabastan Lestrange's party.
She stuck her head under the hot spray of the shower head to rinse the shampoo out of her hair and to attempt to rinse some of the anger out of her head. With her eyes closed she stood under the fall of water for several minutes after the last bubble of shampoo lather ran down the drain. The sound of the water in her ears muffled all noise except the clanging within her own brain. She felt, rather than heard, Lucius come up behind her. He placed his large hands on her hips then leaned down to kiss her bare shoulders. Hermione suppressed the urge to shiver and moan in delight at the sensations he was eliciting with his mouth and tongue. She was still very angry with him. Very frustrated with his chauvinistic attitude of keeping his woman safe by keeping her at home.
"I'm still angry with you," she announced.
"I am aware," he replied, pausing for just a moment between kisses.
"You aren't going to change my mind."
Lucius forced Hermione to turn around to face him. He captured her mouth in a dominant, crushing kiss.
"I am aware."
He didn't say another word. Didn't try to convince her to stay at the manor. Never once apologized or begged her to forgive him. Simply taught her the valuable lesson that sometimes the greatest passion comes from fury and sheer aggravation. As they both lay on the shower floor some time later with the hot water still raining down on their bodies as they tried to catch their breaths, Hermione almost forgot to be angry with him. Almost.
"If I thought I could get away with it… if I thought you would forgive me when it was all over," Lucius said breaking the post-coital silence after several minutes. "I would lock you down in the basement until this was all over. Until Antonin was dead and the Dark Lord too. If I thought you would even let me, I would do everything in my power to keep you safe, Hermione."
She slowly rose from the floor of the shower to turn off the taps. There was a desperation in his voice that she could not bear to hear. Lucius let her walk away from the bathroom without following. Hermione needed to get away from him before she allowed him to trap her back inside the fairy tale they had been living. What they had been living was not reality. She was not some damsel in distress requiring the handsome knight in shining armor to protect her from the evil troll. She had to remember the truth. Remember that people she loved and cared about were dying and being tortured because a malevolent, insane half-Muggle wizard believed he had the right to build a quasi-religious empire where blood purity and cruelty were the basic tenets.
Hermione dressed in the room that had been her bedroom before she started sharing Lucius' bed every night. Even though it was only a month or so ago, the life that she lived inside this bedroom seemed to be part of another lifetime. Lucius made her forget what life was like without him. If she were truthful with herself, she was thankful for that gift. She never wanted to imagine a life without that beautiful wizard again. Hermione stood in front of the windows overlooking the front gardens and could not believe how much her life had changed in such a short period of time.
Lucius came up behind her once more. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her backwards into his chest. Hermione closed her eyes and exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her anger began to melt away with the simple act of her body pressed up against his. There would be more arguments in the future, she was positive, but this one was over. He did not have to speak a word and she knew that he was backing off. Consenting to her need to be a part of something bigger than the two of them.
"I will be careful," she promised.
He did not respond. Simply increased the pressure on her waist slightly and kissed the top of her head.
"The moment I am overwhelmed or think that something is not going right, I will come home."
"I will be waiting for you. I will always be waiting for you."
Hermione spun around to meet his eyes and lost herself in his embrace. They stood in the window full of the early morning sun for a long time before a rustling on the grounds below disrupted them. Lucius pointed out a shimmery figure crossing the grass. When the smoky coyote reached the manor it rose in the air to fly through the closed window.
"'Mione. Sunset. Be ready."
Hermione must have changed her clothes a dozen times before Lucius finally dragged her out the bedroom. She couldn't decide what one would wear to a highly illegal, most definitely dangerous, massive prison break. That was never an outfit that Lavender Brown taught her to put together. She assumed that she would need to wear all dark clothes because it would be nighttime and she would need to be stealthy. But then she thought if her clothes were too dark then she could be overlooked and possibly hit by friendly fire. She finally decided that she would need to wear dark Muggle-style jeans, a dark navy blue long-sleeve shirt and comfortable shoes she could run and potentially kick a little arse in. Her hair was pulled back firmly in a tight braid. She learned early on that loose hair could be a major detriment in a wizard duel.
Lucius made sure that she had at least the opportunity to eat dinner. Her nerves, of course wouldn't allow her to consume more than a few bites. She couldn't tell if she was nervous or excited or terrified. Most likely it was a combination of all three emotions. Sunset seemed like it would never come. From the sofa in the study after dinner, she watched the sunlight slowly diminish through the windows. Lucius sat next to her with his arm around her shoulder and his heart in his throat. He said very little to her as the evening wore on. Hermione could sense the tension in his entire body. It didn't take a genius to see how worried he was about her. Part of her almost let him silently talk her out of going to the raid.
"What will you do when I am gone?" she asked when the silence was unbearable.
"I would be at your side if I could."
He took a sip from his glass. Wine was not enough for him that evening. Despite his assurances weeks earlier that he would likely never touch another drop of fire whiskey, Lucius was already on his second glass and it wasn't quite nine o'clock yet. Hermione knew that if she were to come back too late he would be very intoxicated. They sat in silence once more, neither knowing what they could possibly say that hadn't already been said a hundred times the night before. Hermione was determined that she would not start another argument with him. An angry, hostile Lucius was not something she ever wanted to see. An angry, hostile, terrified Lucius was even worse.
The sun was due to set at approximately 9:28 pm according to Lucius' mantle clock. The minutes ticked by slowly. Agonizingly slow. Hermione could feel her heart beating faster and faster the closer she got to the time when she knew a Resistance member would be arriving. When there were five minutes left before sunrise she jumped from the sofa and began pacing the study. Sophie and Cassius were annoyed with her disturbance of their evening naps, but did nothing more than just glare at her before laying their heads back down on the floor.
"You don't think it has been cancelled, do you?" Hermione asked when the clock signaled it was now 9:30 and there had been no arrival.
"I am certain that Mr. Weasley would inform you the moment they decided not to go through with their plans, if that is the case," Lucius assured her. He emptied the glass of whiskey into his mouth and started to pour another.
By 9:45 pm, Hermione was practically frantic. The sun was well and gone by then. Maybe there was a problem? Maybe the plan failed before it even had a chance to begin? Hermione imagined every worst case scenario possible in that quarter of an hour. Lucius merely watched her pace like a caged animal and sipped his whiskey. He was mutely praying that whatever folly the resistance had planned that evening was not going to happen. The last thing he wanted was to watch his Hermione leave the safety of his estate without him. She hadn't been by herself outside of his sanctuary since that freezing night when she was almost captured by Runcorn and Dolohov. He desperately hoped she would be able to take a little bit better care of herself this evening than she had that evening.
"Hermione, meet me at the gates."
The appearance of a small patronus in the shape of a squirrel appeared suddenly to the surprise of both Lucius and Hermione. Lucius could not stop the smirk that formed on his face. Hermione raised an eyebrow at the squirrel in wonder. She wasn't sure who it could belong to. The voice wasn't familiar. Lucius rose from the sofa and took her by the arm.
"Allow me to escort you, my darling."
It felt strange to Hermione to be outside without any form of disguise. She walked a step or two behind Lucius just in case there was someone undesirable waiting for her at the gates. At the end of the long driveway, Hermione released a sigh of relief when she saw Ryan Sloane waiting for her. It had been his idea after all. No wonder George made sure she was Ryan's responsibility. No doubt he feared both Lucius' wrath and the wrath of the remaining members of his family if it were found that he was accountable in any way for something dire happening to Hermione.
"Good evening, Mr. Sloane," Lucius greeted, the damnable smirk still on his lips. "Adorable patronus. We were not sure who it belonged to."
Ryan smiled at Hermione before narrowing his eyes at Lucius' remark. Hermione thought it ridiculous to tease someone for the shape of their patronus. It was something akin to the color of their skin or the texture of their hair. They had no choice in the matter.
"I've always loved squirrels, Lucius," Ryan replied, daring the older wizard to say another word about his patronus with his eyes.
"Hello, Ryan." Hermione welcomed the young wizard with a quick hug. "I was getting worried."
Lucius did not even try to hide his displeasure at Ryan's familiar embrace of Hermione. He glared with an expression that had been known to drive older and more powerful wizards than Ryan Sloane crazy with fear. Ryan was only mildly annoyed.
"Sorry, Hermione. A few last minute details had to be taken care of first," he answered. "Speaking of, we should really get going. I don't like us being out in the open like this."
Hermione threw her arms around Lucius' neck and kissed him soundly. Lucius returned the embrace with an extra amount of fervor for the benefit of the other wizard. He wanted it to be very clear to Ryan that Hermione was his. After a few moments, Ryan respectfully cleared his throat. Hermione placed one more quick kiss on Lucius' lips before ending the embrace.
"Return to me, Hermione," Lucius whispered before releasing her.
"I promise."
Ryan gripped Hermione's right arm firmly in his left. With a curt nod to Lucius, he Apparated them both to the edge of what looked like an industrial business complex. Hermione was surprised by the locale. She wasn't sure exactly what she expected, but this certainly wasn't it. A relatively modest three story building loomed up ahead. There was a car park in front of the building that was completely devoid of any form of motor vehicle. She assumed that the park was simply a way to make the building blend into what must be a thoroughly Muggle area.
"This is the back of the building," Ryan explained, still keeping hold of her arm. "The entrance is on the other side. There is a single back exit, but you are not to get any closer to the building than where you are right now."
"What do I need to do?" She was extremely nervous.
"Disillusion yourself and keep an eye out. There are other witches all around the building, but most of them are already disillusioned. If you see anything out of the ordinary, anything that seems suspicious, send your patronus to me. I will be at the back exit and can get messages to everyone inside."
Hermione took a good look at the area around the building. She would've preferred it if they were in the Forbidden Forest. At least there she knew what to expect. This was concrete and steel. The nearest building was several hundred meters away from her, but she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that once the action started there wouldn't be a good place to hide.
"I'm going to head on to my spot," Ryan continued. "Remember. You just need to keep an eye out. If anyone or anything approaches you, leave immediately. The last thing any of us wants is for you to be captured."
There it was again. One more man in her life that didn't want her involved in anything dangerous. One more man in her life that was making decisions for her. She was getting very tired of the males of her species somehow making the blanket decision that she would never be able to take care of herself without their help. If they weren't so damn adorable, she would almost be willing to chuck them all out of her life.
Ryan disillusioned himself with a simple spell and disappeared. Following his lead, Hermione tapped the top of her head. The sudden chill of the spell always took her by surprise even when she was expecting it. As her eyes began to adjust to the darkness, Hermione got a better sense of what was going on around her. All of the street lamps and car park lights were out. She was reminded strongly of Ron's Deluminator and had to choke down a sudden influx of emotion.
She could see a perimeter around the building made up of shadowy figures that she could only make out when they moved slightly. The night air was eerily quiet. Somehow she was expecting this to be more like the night of the Battle for Hogwarts. That night had been full of screams, spells and noises she heard over and over again in her nightmares. The complete lack of any noise at all was disconcerting. Hermione kept an eye out for any seemingly unusual activity around her. From her vantage point nothing appeared to be happening.
Hermione held her wand in front of her prepared to do whatever might be required of her. She couldn't help glancing up at the building ahead of her that held so many of her loved ones. What was it like inside? Lucius had given her a description of what he found inside, but he couldn't exactly explain what it must be like to be a prisoner. She was worried about Luna. Lucius said that she would be ready to have her baby any day now. Draco promised his father that he would try to get a message to him when he learned that Luna had her baby. Lucius had heard nothing so far. Either she was still pregnant or Draco had been unable to get away. Hermione prayed that she hadn't had her baby yet. If she was still pregnant and this evening was a success, Luna would be able to keep hers and Draco's baby. She was certain that given the choice Luna would wish to do so.
About ten or twenty minutes after she arrived, Hermione saw a small group of men and women surround the outside of the building. She assumed they were the curse breakers because they all began to raise and wave their wands in unison. Almost immediately the building began to shimmer and crackle. It would've been beautiful if it wasn't also terrifying. There was no way to keep the ward breaking a secret. If the wrong person was looking at the building just then it could all be a failure. The curse breakers began another series of some of the most intricate wand waving that Hermione had ever seen. Even from the distance she was at she could see that they were completing actions she did not even know were possible. The building shimmered once more and began to glow. Hermione tried to keep her eyes focused on the area directly behind her and around her, but the actions of Bill's team were too fascinating to not watch. After about ten minutes, the entire building glowed bright orange and the wards around it began to crack. Another few minutes and the building was completely insecure.
The real action began the moment the wards and other protections were breached. Dozens of wizards immediately Apparated to the building. They must have been somewhere nearby where they could see the wards crack. As soon as the wizards began blasting through the entrances and entering the building, the team of curse breakers turned around to encompass the entire area with protection spells. Hermione was just a little too far out to be included in the protective bubble. She assumed the team was creating anti-Apparition wards. That would prevent her from being able to escape at the last second and that was the first and only promise George made Lucius. He promised that Hermione would be able to escape if necessary. No doubt the very spot that Ryan brought Hermione to had been previously decided upon by George. He wanted her as far from the action as physically possible.
While it was encouraging to see that the Resistance was very well prepared for this raid, Hermione couldn't deny the fear that suddenly struck her in the stomach. If something were to go wrong she wasn't sure she would be able to leave in time. She wanted to know what was happening and couldn't be sure she would have the strength to leave without knowing how everyone fared first. Running away from the Battle for Hogwarts and not knowing the after effects of it for nine months, wasn't something she was prepared to experience again.
Shouts and shrieks echoed through the night air. It was hard to see in the darkness, but Hermione could see that people were being removed from the building. So far it seemed that everything was going according to plan. Small clusters of people began disappearing from the protective area. She could only assume the portkeys that Percy had organized were being put to good use. Curses and hexes were being thrown around the area. There were still people inside the building putting up a fight.
Hermione turned her back from the chaos. She was supposed to be making sure that no one was able to sneak up from behind. It gave her an excuse to not watch the action. As much as she claimed she wanted to be involved, she was starting to regret her decision. She was so nervous about what was happening that she could hardly breathe. Remembering Lucius' request of her, she seriously considered Apparating back to the manor. It was only the realization that she would be unable to forgive herself for her cowardice that kept her from leaving.
More and more people were pouring out of the building. Groups continued to disappear. Hermione couldn't be sure how much time had passed since the assault on the building began, but based on the position the moon was in up in the sky, it couldn't have been very long at all. Time seemed to creep by slowly. Her heart was beating so quickly she feared she was about to have a panic attack. If this is how she felt so far away from the main part of the action, what was it like down there? Memories of the final battle swirled around in her mind. Adrenaline was the only thing that kept her moving that day. Even being in the thick of the fighting she hadn't had the opportunity to be scared. Her mind and her wand arm had been too preoccupied. Part of her knew that if she had something to focus on she would be able to calm down.
Her pulse was racing and her head began to spin. She couldn't believe that she was about to admit to herself that Lucius was correct. While she wanted to be involved in the fight, this standing around and waiting for something to happen was maddening. The small dinner Lucius forced her to eat earlier in the evening made its way up before she knew what was happening. As she was bent over expelling the contents of her stomach, she began to hear the distinctive pops of Apparition around her.
There was nowhere for her to hide. At least in a forest she could've hidden behind a tree or been able to climb up one. In this industrial park there was nothing. Hermione looked around her. Figures wrapped in dark cloaks and masks were Apparating around the entire perimeter of the warded protection bubble. She was still a little too far away from the bulk of the action for anyone to notice her yet, but she knew it would only be a matter of time. Already there were new arrivals in the long dark robes trying to break through the protective enchantments. They were struggling to overcome the spells, but Hermione could see that there were breaks starting to form.
She turned around to see what was behind her. All of the attention was focused solely on the action near the Umbridge Home. There was no one behind her. Even with a disillusionment spell on her she knew that if she moved too quickly in an attempt to Apparate, she would be spotted. Her only option was to walk slowly and carefully away from the scene, hoping and praying that no one spotted her shimmering in the moonlight.
"Get those wards down now!" Someone shouted only a few meters from Hermione. She could practically smell his breath. The voice sounded vaguely familiar but she had no desire to get close enough to figure out who it was.
Hermione could tell by looking towards the back of the Umbridge Home for Young Ladies that the trickle of people who had been filing out of the building for the past half an hour or so had slowed down considerably. Groups around the area were still disappearing as the portkeys were activated. From her perspective it seemed that most of the unfortunate inhabitants of the prison had been released. Only a handful or so of figures were still coming out of the building. She knew that the bulk of the action was complete and no one would fault her for getting out now.
She surveyed the area directly behind her away from the building. There did not appear to be anyone in the background. All attention was on the building. Keeping her eyes focused firmly on what was happening ahead of her, Hermione began to slowly walk away from the area backwards. She was anxious to send her patronus to George and the others, but knew that any spell at this point would give away her location. When she backed up about twenty or thirty meters, she saw a large industrial size rubbish bin. Sensing that no one was looking in her direction, Hermione rushed to hide behind the large bin. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she pointed her wand towards the direction of the action and peeked around the corner.
"Expecto Patronum!"
The silver otter that she first discovered in the Room of Requirement during a DA meeting shot out of the end of her wand. It floated in the air over to her. She whispered her message to George and sent it shooting off towards the ensuing chaos. Her patronus flying over the heads of the robed figures created a stir, but no one could tell where it came from. She hid back behind the bin, closed her eyes and exhaled her relief.
"Hem, hem."
Hermione opened her eyes little by little at the disturbance. The moonlight shone just bright enough for there to be no question who was standing above her. Even her damned bow was lit up by the moonlight. An eight inch birch wand was pointed in Hermione's face. She had no idea where Dolores Jane Umbridge came from. Must have appeared when she was distracted sending her patronus.
"Expelliarmus!"
She should have been expecting the basic disarming spell she learned during her second year at Hogwarts. It was a Standard Book of Spells, Grade Two spell. As her brand new cherry wand with the dragon heartstring core flew out of her hand into the waiting paw of the most hated former Hogwarts Headmistress, Hermione felt more distraught than she had since the day she was tortured under Bellatrix Lestrange's wand. She was completely unarmed and at the mercy of the woman she hated most in the world.
"My, my. I never expected when I heard there was an attack on my greatest achievement that I would find myself face to face with the infamous Hermione Granger." Umbridge's voice had not changed since the day Hermione led her out to the Forbidden Forest. Based on the glint in her eye, it appeared that Umbridge had certainly not forgotten who was responsible for her meeting with the herd of centaurs. "Won't the Ministry be excited to hear that we finally have you within our grasp?"
"Your greatest achievement, huh? What a sad life you've led." Hermione wasn't going to keep her mouth shut just because Dolores Umbridge had a wand in her face. She was disgusting and Hermione was going to tell her.
"I have nothing to be ashamed of. Because of me, traitors have been able to provide children to worthy magical families."
"You are repulsive, Dolores. Someday soon you are going to get what is coming to you."
Umbridge brought her toad face closer to leer down at Hermione with a scowl. The hate in the witch's eyes was overwhelming. Hermione knew that she was in deep trouble. The birch wand was almost poking into her eyes. She had a desperate plan formulating in her mind. If it did not go off as she hoped it would, Hermione would be dead by Umbridge's wand or carted off to be turned over to Lord Voldemort and then to Antonin Dolohov. She had zero room for error.
"I've been hoping to come across you again since that day at Hogwarts," Umbridge whispered. "I am going to make it so you wish you had never stepped foot in our world, you filthy Mudblood."
Hermione grabbed for Umbridge's wand. Dolores struggled, but she was able to pull it out of her porky, ring-covered fingers in two very distinct pieces. Umbridge shrieked when she realized her wand was broken. Hermione used that brief moment of despair to bring her right foot firmly into Dolores' stomach. The squatty witch screamed and keeled over, clutching her midsection. In the darkness Hermione couldn't tell where her wand ended up. It didn't matter. She had another wand. Even though she promised Lucius she would never use it again, this was an emergency. She would worry about the consequences once she was out of this situation.
She reached down into the bag still stuffed inside of her bra. It only took a moment for her hand to clutch her old, familiar wand made of vine wood. With a swift motion, she pulled it out of the bag and pointed it at the flailing and screeching witch. For the first time in her almost twenty years, Hermione was tempted to use the Killing Curse on a human being. Her hate for this woman was strong enough that she had no doubt that she would be able to complete the spell. She would use it too if she thought the old bag might actually feel some pain.
"Sectumsempra!"
Great gashes appeared all over Umbridge's body. The witch screamed in pain. Hermione repeated the brutal spell created by the Half Blood Prince at least three more times. The asphalt that Umbridge was laying on began to turn dark red as her blood pooled around her body. Her screaming ceased. Soon even her whimpering ended. Her skin was deathly pale. It didn't take a certified mediwizard to know that Hermione had just committed murder.
A pop of Apparition startled her back to reality. Immediately two wands were shoved into her face. She was really getting tired of being at the pointy end of so many wands that evening. One of the wizards was a complete stranger to her, but the other was Albert Runcorn. After an initial inspection of the area, Runcorn's astonished eyes met Hermione's. No doubt he was taken aback by the now cooling body of his former boss.
"Find Dolohov immediately!" Runcorn shouted his order at the unknown wizard. Hermione felt her stomach begin to churn. She knew there was no way she was going to get out of this mess without a miracle.
In mere moments a large, masked figure in the dark familiar Death Eater robes that Hermione had grown to fear came into view. The figure flicked his wand and both Hermione's old wand and her new flew into his open hands. A firm hand covered in a leather glove grabbed Hermione's arm so tightly it hurt. She let out a squeak of protest at the sensation.
"We've been searching for you for a long time, Miss Granger," Albert Runcorn said with a smile. "Thank you for using your wand and leading us directly to you."
The Death Eater pulled her roughly into his chest. With his arms tightened around Hermione, he turned with determination and deliberation to take her with him to destination unknown.
