A/N: Thanks everyone for your reviews. I've had some nice comments and messages about the dialogue I've written. My style is probably thanks to my love of interaction between people and that previously I've only ever written stories in the form of scripts with very little description. :)

This update is Chapters 14 & 15. It's the start of what I would call several mini arcs, but all working in the same direction and following on from each other. I refer to these two chapters as "Beginnings".

14

Hermione felt her chains around her wrists being pulled on and let out a deep-throated groan. Was she dead? Was she dreaming? Hermione thought the answer was probably no to both, and part of her was almost disapppointed, because it meant more time for further torment. After all her hopes, she knew the end was near; no time left. She didn't open her eyes, she was too tired. Let Felgate do what he wants to me. So what, if he decides to use magic on me now; what does it matter, let it be done with now. Let me die!

A memory came to her as if playing on a screen under her eyelids. It was of the moment Ginny asked her for another kiss, that night at the Burrow. Such bliss, such passion they stole from each other in that small moment. How she wished she had swallowed her pride and confusion and just went to her after receiving her all too brief letter that day. She had a heavy feeling in her stomach and assumed she'd been kicked or punched again, it caused the blackness and silence to return.

How much later it was when she felt the blackness recede she didn't know. Now she felt a pressing sensation to the wounds along her collarbone and then her arm. She let out a guttural growl of pain, knowing Felgate was splitting her open again.

"Bloody kill me," she was able to whisper.

"What?"

"Kill me you bastard. DO IT!" she said louder, panting.

"Hermione?"

"You heard me!" she almost shouted.

Hermione felt fingers brush gently against her jaw and cheek.

"Shh, it's OK," a woman's voice said. "You're safe now," the woman said while gently stroking the side of her face and holding her right hand.

It hit Hermione then, that she hadn't actually heard either Felgate or his house elf's voice since she had stirred this time.

She slowly opened her eyes and leaning over her was Ginny. Hermione's first reaction was that the whole thing was an illusion, with Felgate using legilimency on her, turning her own thoughts against her. She flinched from the woman who looked like Ginny, tensing up and looking away from her. She then saw that on the other side of her was Mrs. Weasley, holding clean bandages and a bottle of something.

Hermione slowly began to take in that she was no longer on a stone floor. It wasn't dark and damp and it felt like...yes...she was lying in a comfortable bed and this looked a lot like Ginny's room.

"What?" Hermione uttered. It had to be a trick. This was too good to be true.

"No, this isn't real. Felgate, you coward, let me see you," she rambled in a strained voice, tears now falling from the corners of her eyes.

"Felgate is dead, sweetheart," Mrs. Weasley said kindly. "Which is what you nearly were if we hadn't found you when we did! You've been here at the Burrow for five days now."

"What? How?" she asked, her head feeling about to burst with all the information and realization she had to work through. And yet, she felt very awake now and extremely alert.

"Your patronus, what else?" Mrs. Weasley said, smiling.

"But I didn't think it would work properly, and I didn't think you'd find me?"

"It was Ron," the older woman revealed.

"Ron?" she exclaimed, now feeling even more awake and inquisitive to the core.

"I know, it doesn't sound likely, does it?" added Ginny, with a large element of scorn.

"Harry found your help signal at your flat when no one had seen or heard from you for two days. Very clever, dear," Mrs. Weasley continued as she carried on wrapping a clean bandage around Hermione's left arm. "But it wasn't enough to know where to look. We all knew so little of Felgate. So Harry set to searching through the case files with Shacklebolt and some aurors, in case there were clues there, but there wasn't much beyond the fact the elf seem to love a particular old house in the country and thought about it frequently...but we didn't know where it was. Ginny returned from the start of her training, refusing to go back until you'd been found and Ron was pretty much the same too. Had Luna not been out of the country on an assignment I'm sure she would have come back as well, she seemed most upset that she hadn't been here when Harry saw her yesterday."

Hermione turned her eyes to Ginny, who held her hand again and smiled at her. She felt a little embarrassed that everyone had dropped everything and set to solving the case of her whereabouts; she was very glad, but still embarrassed. She turned her attention back to Mrs. Weasley.

"We were having lunch, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Arthur and I when your otter patronus dashed through our closed door," the older woman said laying a hand very gently on the top of Hermione's shoulder. "Ron immediately jumped up, rushed off and came back with his deluminator and somehow worked out to use it with your patronus." Hermiones eyes had gone wide.

"I don't really understand it myself, I'm sure anything Albus Dumbledore invented will never be understood fully, but it guided the way and we found you with it," Mrs. Weasley said. "We were sure we were too late," she said, her voice breaking just a touch. Hermione could feel Ginny squeeze her hand slightly at that moment too.

"I don't know what to say," Hermione said in a quiet voice. "Wait, you said Felgate was dead? You did, didn't you?" she asked nervously, hardly daring to believe it, but hoping it was true.

"Yes, he's dead."

"Who? How?" asked a tense but enquiring Hermione.

"Well, we were going to take him alive. Harry, Ginny, Ron, Arthur and myself found him in that dark room he was keeping you in...more like a damn dungeon. There was no time to call for aurors but we knew Kingsley would want him alive if possible. We duelled for a while, and Ginny here was about to cast a huge reducto spell on his head...always lets her temper get the better of her, that one," Mrs. Weasley frowned at her daughter, who looked rather affronted.

"Anyway, she got pushed aside by Harry dodging a spell and clattered into Ron. Felgate turned around and was about to cast something on you; it was the big Unforgivable Curse. Green light shot out from his wand, but it kind of bounced off you and hit him back. He essentially killed himself."

Hermione wore an incredulous expression. "The Killing Curse bounced off me? What the...what?"

Mrs. Weasley looked at her daughter and back at Hermione.

"Well, tell her Mum," Ginny insisted.

"It seems...something or someone else had put a magical shield over you, once we entered the room." Mrs. Weasley had put the remaining bandages down and the bottle, and was sitting with her arms folded now. "But Harry says it's most improbable to be Felgate's elf because he says you and he met that very elf at the Ministry and he...he was pretty nasty to you, shouting death threats or something."

"Morty? Morty cast a magical shield over me?" Hermione asked. She smiled and even chuckled lightly, causing the other two women to look at each other questioningly.

"Hey, house elves are my speciality," she beamed at the other two women. "I think I finally got through to him. Where is he now?"

"Harry locked him up in the attic and set Kreacher to watch him when we got back, but he's at the Ministry now," Ginny answered her.

"I'd like to speak to him," Hermione stated.

"Is that wise?" Mrs. Weasley asked, not quite believing her ears.

"Yes. I know he wants to change. He seems to have saved my life. We owe him a chance," Hermione replied.

As Hermione smiled at how her tiring experiment on the elf had actually paid off, she didn't notice Mrs. Weasley growing more uneasy and suddenly very serious.

"Before we talk of anything else, there's one thing I need to ask you, Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said, sounding extremely serious now. "Forgive me, it's a bit personal. Would you prefer it if Ginny wasn't here?"

Hermione wondered what on earth it was. Surely the woman can't still be wondering if I'll marry Ron, can she?

"It's OK. Ginny can stay," Hermione answered without hesitation.

"I'm sorry to ask you. I didn't want to assume or go ahead with anything until I could ask you," the woman was rambling slightly. "But...did...did that man...touch you...," Mrs. Weasley was struggling for the words, half through embarrassment, half through the potential anger she was trying to keep under wraps expecting to hear a 'yes' answer. "...did he, rape you?"

Ginny's grip on her hand tightened almost painfully when the word 'rape' was spoken.

"Not...until that last day I remember. He wanted to mark me as his, in every way possible," Hermione said, shrugging her one good shoulder, staring down at the turn-back of the sheets on her chest, not quite able to look at either woman, tears threatening to fall.

Until that very moment she had almost forgotten, like it was something that had happened to someone else, then she could feel her sore groin again for the first time.

"My dear, dear girl," Mrs Weasley said, voice almost breaking again, as she held on to Hermione's other hand. "I'm so, so sorry we didn't find you sooner," she sniffed.

Ginny had a couple of silent tears rolling down her cheeks. It hurt her deep down inside to hear what Hermione had been through.

"Before that last day, I wondered if he thought I was butt ugly, or he didn't like girls!" said Hermione in an oddly calm voice.

"You are not ugly! Far from it!" Ginny exclaimed. "His loss," she sniffed, then quickly added. "...bollocks, you know what I mean?" the redhead lowered her head again.

Mrs. Weasley gently patted the side of Hermione's cheek with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry I had to ask. It's just that the sooner I knew, the sooner I can make sure nothing...well, develops from it," she smiled kindly at the brunette, although blushing a little.

"I'll go and mix up a potion for you and talk to Harry about the elf," the older woman said, rising up from her seat. "You watch her, Ginny".

Hermione rolled her eyes "I'm hardly going anywhere am I?" she said flabbergasted. Mrs. Weasley just uttered a couple of 'tut tuts' and left the room.

It was silent in the room for a time, neither Hermione or Ginny knowing how to start talking.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said first.

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Sorry? Bloody hell woman, what have you got to be sorry about? You nearly died at the hands of that madman turning you into a human kebab. It makes me sick to the stomach to think about what he's done to you!"

"I just meant, I wish I had replied to your letter. I wish I had met up with you. I was being stupid and proud," Hermione turned her head away again on the pillow.

"Forget it Hermione. You're alive, that's all that matters."

"I can't forget it, I'm alive because of you," Hermione still didn't look at Ginny.

"Hardly! It was Harry, Ron, Mum and Dad. I was just a weeny bit of help," the redhead said modestly.

"No. I'm alive because of you Ginny," Hermione took a deep breath and turned her head to look at the woman again. "Not long after it all started happening...everytime that man...," she couldn't quite describe it. "...every time he visited me, I thought of you. Every time I saw blackness approaching, I saw you. If it hadn't been for you, I would have given up days ago."

Ginny had another tear rolling down her cheek, and she was still holding Hermione's hand almost fiercely.

"Some friend I am? I should have found you sooner! I should have got to you. Instead my bloody brother does it with a couple of clicks from that blasted device!" Ginny said angry, more tears joining the previous one on her cheeks.

"Your brother can be amazing sometimes, Ginny!" Hermione smiled. Ginny rolled her eyes. "The point is, I was found and I'm here now. Please don't be angry with yourself."

There was a silence, as both women became accustomed to the fact that Hermione just being here now, was something to be pleased about and to have no regrets on. Ginny was looking down studying her hand clasping Hermione's.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked in a very quiet voice. "Before all this happened, Harry told me that you had split up?"

Ginny raised her head sharply. "Oh yes. I did what I said I'd do," she hesitated. "Did he...did he say anything else?"

"Now what could Ginny Weasley be asking me about?" Hermione chuckled. "Maybe something about me rushing off upset, because I was trying to PROTECT him from your slutty ways and that I was worried he would be hurt by you, by any chance?"

The younger woman had the grace to blush and dipped her head again. "I...I...well, I... he jumped to conclusions and I didn't...I...didn't correct him."

Hermione snorted derisively, but amused. "Forget it! It's hardly the biggest issue after all that's happened is it?"

Ginny lifted her head again, still blushing a deep shade of Weasley-red but was able to smile at her, if a little guiltily still.

"Ginny?" asked Hermione softly. "I know this...this ordeal...it...it might change things," she seemed unable to go on.

The redhead moved her gaze back to Hermione's face and looked at her intensely, wondering what the brunette was going to say and fearful of it at the same time.

Hermione ploughed onward. "Are you still willing to give 'us' a chance?" she dropped her brown eyes down again. "You know, to be together? I know it's weird that I should be asking about it now, with what you know about everything, but you were on my mind the whole time, I thought of nothing else. I guess now, I feel a bit more desperate."

The redhead didn't answer, and with Hermione not able to bear looking at her she felt her heart sink again.

"I understand if you don't. If you just want to be friends or want some space for yourself...or...," but Hermione didn't get to finish her sentence. Ginny had leaned over and placed a tender kiss on her lips, cutting off whatever else the brunette had tried to say. Ginny sat back down again and brought Hermione's hand to her her lips and kissed her knuckles.

"Um, is that a yes?" Hermione asked, finally able to look the woman she loved in the eye again.

"I thought you were the brightest witch of our Age?" Ginny teased.

"I lost so much blood, maybe some brain cells seeped out with it!" Hermione laughed.

Ginny wasn't laughing though, her eyes were full of tears again.

"Don't!" The redhead became tense. "I nearly lost you, before I truly found you. I ached for you. I've never felt that way about anyone before. When I saw you lying there, in that awful place, blood all over you, I thought we were too late. When Mum said you were still breathing I could have danced a jig, then felt punched again when she said it still might be too late; you had a bad infection that was spreading and had lost sooo much blood."

Hermione found tears leaving her own her eyes again. "Sorry Gin. I think it will be a while working through this don't you? And not just for me."

"Yes. But you'll have my family there for you, even including Ron, and you'll have me," she kissed the back of Hermione's hand again.

Mrs. Weasley came bustling back in, causing Ginny to drop Hermione's hand quickly. The older woman looked at both of them, seeing that they had both been crying since she had left.

"Everything alright?" she enquired, setting down two mugs on the bedside table.

"For the moment," Ginny replied. "We were just talking about the fact that it might take all of us a while to get through this."

"Yes dear, it will. But we have each other, don't we?" she put an arm around her daughter and smiled down at Hermione. "Drink all the contents of that blue mug and it will sort...any...er problems out."

Mrs. Weasley moved to sit on the side of the bed and held Hermione's hand again.

"Do you hurt anywhere else, love? You know, from...where he's been?"

Hermione couldn't speak, for fear of breaking into sobs, so she just nodded. Mrs. Weasley could see the trouble she was having and could guess where she hurt anyway.

"OK, my love," the older woman said kindly. "It just so happens there's a spell to help that. It was devised in medieval times when...well, when this kind of thing was unfortunately more common. Because of the nature of the injury and the manner of it, there is a spell that can heal that type of injury almost straight away."

Hermione was relieved. It was dreadfully awkward and embarrassing, but she was relieved that Mrs. Weasley seemed to know what she was doing, as she immediately drew out her wand and muttered something under her breath, which Hermione didn't hear; within minutes she couldn't feel the soreness between her legs and everything felt fairly normal again down there.

"Thank you," Hermione said, timidly and slightly ashamed. "I don't know what else to say."

"You don't have to say anything Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said with a weak smile. "But you're going to live with us for a while. I insist!"

Hermione had been about to refuse, but she thought about her little flat and what had happened there the last time she was there and she hated that she actually felt fear about being alone there. It only hit her just now, that she couldn't deal with it.

"Thank you," the brunette managed. "I don't know if I could face going back home for a while yet," she admitted to the two women. "It's so bloody stupid. I can face Voldemort and some bastard cutting me to shreds, but I can't face my flat?" She turned her face away from the other two, ashamed for feeling so weak.

Ginny got hold of her hand again and Mrs. Weasley bustled around the other side of the bed and gently placed her hand over Hermione's other hand. She leaned over and placed a kind, motherly kiss on her forehead.

"It's not stupid at all, dear," the older woman smiled at her. "You're family, and family stick together."

"I'm so sorry," Hermione suddenly said.

Mrs. Weasley was about to ask her the same thing Ginny had. "What on earth have you got to be..."

"No. I'm sorry about Ron. He's a good man. I wish I could have been truly a part of the family."

"Don't talk nonsense dear, you ARE truly a part of this family and always will be," Mrs. Weasley beamed at her. "What happened to you was like a hit over the head with a beater's bat for me. I'd been so selfish and mumsy. I didn't think about what you really wanted and what was right. I'm the one saying sorry here, as it should be! There's nothing for you to be sorry for, OK?" she almost glared at the girl lying there. "OK?"

Hermione nodded. "Are Ron and Harry around? I'd like to see them if they are?" she asked her virtually adopted mother.

"Heavens, I've had to nearly bar the door to stop them trampling in to sit at your bedside," laughed Mrs. Weasley. "I'll go get them." She bustled off again, skirt and apron flapping.

Hermione grinned at Ginny. "I don't think now is the time to tell her that I have the hots for another of her children is it?"

Ginny snorted with laughter. "She'd probably think it was George or no NO! She'd get excited and think Charlie finally had something to pull him away from those dragons!"

It felt good to laugh, even though it hurt Hermione's injured body to do so.

The door opened again and in walked Harry, followed by Ron. Both men looked pale, well paler than normal, and had bags under their eyes from obvious stress and lack of sleep.

"Alright Hermione?" Harry asked a little lost for what to say. "I mean, of course you're not alright, exactly..."

"Hi Harry. Give me a bit of time and I'll be fine," she said brightly.

"Hi Herm," Ron said in a very low voice, looking down at his feet.

"Ron. I wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for you and your quick thinking with the deluminator." He looked up at her. "Thanks Ron. Nothing I say is enough, but it means a lot to me." She detected a quirk upwards of his lips to one side of his mouth.

"Hermione, are you sure you really want to see that cranky old elf?" Harry asked in a way that suggested he thought her too unwell to make good decisions.

"Yes I'm sure." Harry was about to protest but she cut right over him. "Who do you think it was, got me my wand to send that patronus? I sure as hell didn't walk and find it...because hello? I had my wrists and ankles chained?"

"The elf brought you your wand?" Harry asked, eyebrows high up over his glasses, eyes wide.

"Yes. I think I was getting through to him, because he started hitting himself over the head a lot," Hermione said thoughtfully.

Ron chortled. "Perhaps he attended the 'Dobby School of Self-Harm'?" A glowering look from Ginny shut him up straight away.

"OK, if you're sure. We'll arrange it soon, when you're feeling better," Harry sighed. "I'll put on my body armour first" he said only half-joking.

"Harry, just take Kreacher with you," Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

It almost felt like old times, with the banter and Harry and Ron coming out with the type of things they always did. The difference now, compared with early Hogwarts life, was that she wanted to be alone with Ginny, not Ron now.

Hermione's eyelids were getting heavy and Ginny seeing this, got up and prodded her brother and her ex-beau out the door. They waved back at their friend and said their goodbyes as they were herded back out onto the landing.

Mrs. Weasley came back in the room with Ginny at her heels. She picked up the clean bandages again, which she had been holding earlier.

"Hermione?" the older woman asked softly, the brunette close to dozing off. "I'm sorry dear, but I have to change the dressing on your stomach. It won't take long, and then you can sleep."

Mrs. Weasley pulled the sheet back and carefully lifted the T'Shirt Hermione was wearing. There was a large square white dressing covering most of her stomach. Ginny sat down beside the bed and held Hermione's hand as her mother eased the old dressing off, causing Hermione to wince a little.

Hermione looked down at herself as best she could. Due to the dark, dank conditions of the room her captor had held her in, she hadn't seen the damage to her abdomen properly. What she saw horrified her. Along with four slashes, which were already beginning to heal, she was black and blue and purple with bruises.

She gasped in shock, partly because she couldn't remember getting all four gashes. Ginny squeezed her hand; she had seen these wounds before, but it still broke her heart to see them each time and to see Hermione affected by them now.

"Soon be done," Mrs. Weasley said, as she used some of the contents of the bottle, which obviously contained a potion of some sort, and dabbed it onto the new dressing and placed it over the area, covering up all the wounds, fixing it into place with some magically applied medical tape.

"There we go," the older woman said, after pulling Hermione's T'Shirt back down and smoothing the sheets back in place. "Now you can get some sleep." The woman grabbed the old dressings and left the room. "Drink the contents of that other mug, the green one. It's a sleeping potion. It makes sure you don't dream too."

Ginny rose from her seat. "Sleep well Hermione." She was about to lean over and place a kiss on her forehead when Hermione grasped her hand tightly.

"Don't leave me! Please don't leave me, not yet?" Hermione asked desperately fresh tears building in her eyes.

"Hey, sh sh. It's OK," Ginny sat back down, gently brushing strands of Hermione's hair from across her forehead, her heart dropping like a stone, to see such a confident and intelligent woman like Hermione, so hurt and frightened. "I'll stay. I'll be right here, OK?"

"I'm being a pillock Gin. I know I am," Hermione settled down again. "I'm just not ready for you to go, when all I've thought of for days is thinking I'd never see you again."

Hermione drank from the second mug and closed her eyes, but soon opened them again and looked back at Ginny.

"See? I'm still here." the red-haired woman smiled.

"Gin?"

"Yes?"

"Where have you been sleeping, while I've been here?" Hermione asked.

"I've slept up in Charlie's old room and Mum stayed in here with you."

"Would you sleep in here tonight? Please?" a blushing Hermione asked, feeling like a little girl and annoyed at how weak she sounded.

"I'll have to work it out with Mum, but I'm sure I can now you're past the worst dangers."

Hermione smiled warmly, and felt a sense of contentment, a feeling she hadn't felt a lot of lately. She closed her eyes again, in safety, holding onto Ginny's hand.