When I first started writing this story, I thought I could update once a week, at the very least. Unfortunately, life disagreed with me.
But here's another chapter, and my deepest apologies for keeping you waiting.
Thanks for sticking to this story :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
There was a steady throbbing in her head. Not painful enough to warrant an outburst of swearing but annoying enough to wake her up from her slumber to get some pain relief potion from her bedside table in order for her to return pain-free to her said slumber.
She groaned and, still with eyes closed, reached out to her bedside table carefully so as to not awaken her sleeping lover.
Except that she found herself unable to do so.
Hermione shot open her eyes and tried to sit upright but was glued to the cold, stone floor. Her wrists were tied tightly behind her at an awkward angle and her ankles chained. Judging from her numbed fingers, she had been there for at least several hours. She struggled and wiggled her upper torso (the chains on her ankles were too heavy – she could barely move her feet) in an effort to somehow free herself from her binds.
She let out a frustrated growl and realised her mouth was gagged. Not only that, she could see nothing aside from darkness because her eyes were covered as well. Whoever did this wanted to make sure she would not be able to run away. Why did she not push herself to learn wandless magic? It would come handy for the present situation. She kicked herself mentally.
Hermione's brains racked itself assessing the situation, coming to the conclusion that she was kidnapped. She could feel anxiety and panic starting to build in addition to the 'voices' giggling in her head and struggled to keep them at bay, knowing she must be of clear and sound mind if she was ever to get out of this unscathed.
The brunette tried to estimate the duration she was unconscious. Unfortunately, as she was blindfolded, she could not see anything that might be of any indication that resembled time. If she had disappeared long enough, Fleur would surely notice it, unless the cashier line at the bakery was extremely long. But then, how long would it take anyway? If it were up to her, there were so many things she would change in the bakery.
Before Hermione could drift away in fantasising to revamp and make plans for the bakery she would most likely never to visit again, her thoughts were interrupted by a polite cough not far to her west. She tensed and focused her ears, wondering whether it was friend or foe.
"My apologies for interrupting your pleasant day out with your lovely lady but unfortunately there's a certain urgent business which I can possibly not delay any longer."
With a sinking feeling, Hermione thought to herself 'a foe'. She also did not recognise the man's voice, which added fuel to her increasing anxiety.
"While I am usually a proud host and love to offer maximum comfort to my guests, due to the nature of our…business, I have to apologise again for being an inconsiderate host," the man continued his rambling in a pleasant voice that started to irritate Hermione. Why did every villain she encountered loved to ramble on and on instead of going straight to the point? Did they never learn that such foolish habit was the number one cause of their downfall?
Hermione heard him approaching her in soft, measured steps. She assumed he either knelt or squatted beside her, because she could hear him whisper, "Thank you for your services in defeating the Dark Lord but you've outlived your usefulness. Now be a good muggleborn and let us proper wizards rebuild this world."
Hermione groaned. Another pureblood elitist. If she just nodded and pretended to be in agreement, she would definitely be home by dinner and the worst thing Fleur would do was to lecture her on being more alert the next time.
"You know," the man said in a conversational tone, "I've always believed that a person's greatest strength is also their greatest weakness. Take away your sanity and what do we get? A pretty hopeless muggleborn who just would not understand that her time on this beautiful earth is up."
Hermione's blood froze. Who was this man? How did he know about her insanity? Was he Umbridge's lackey?
"Your tenacity is the cause for Dolores' worries – you do remember Dolores Umbridge, yes?" Without waiting for a confirmation, the man continued, "But now my good friend Dolores can sleep in peace without worrying herself sick that our grandiose cause will be in flame. Ah, I hear her footsteps now."
Hermione knew the sounds of those footsteps – they were irritatingly familiar and evoked feelings of disgust and anger from within. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, somebody snickered. She ignored it and reminded herself to be strong.
"Well, well, who do we have here?" Hermione loathed that high-pitched, sing-song voice. "Miss Granger, you've been a very naughty child and what do we do to naughty children?"
Hermione had never wanted to swear so much in her life. Had her mouth not covered, she would let out a plethora of names and 'toad' would be the kindest of them all.
"Oops, I forgot that you can't speak," giggled Umbridge. "I have to thank you, Marshall, for keeping true to your words. Let's just get this over with so that I can focus on saving our beloved wizarding world. I'll be in my office if you need anything."
Panic built in Hermione and she took several deep breaths, trying to steady herself. She had a horrible suspicion on what was about to transpire. She cursed herself internally, wishing she'd listen to that blasted Mildred sooner. But what was done was done. She had to find a way to get away from all these, to return to Fleur's embrace.
The brunette heard the man called Marshall rose and walked away slowly and said in an amused tone, "My deepest apologies for what's in store for you, but you could've avoided all these had you just kill yourself like you were supposed to. Oh well, at least those creatures will be happy to finally able to devour you. I promise it won't take that long – as long as you don't fight it. Don't worry, trying to delay the inevitable will still get you killed. The esteemed Potter and troop will never be able to guess what's actually happening. Sweet dreams, Miss Granger."
There was another man's voice, starting to chant in a deep, slow tone. The brunette was startled, not sensing his presence. Who was that? Had he been there since the beginning? Or did he come with Umbridge?
Hermione suddenly let out a howl, her head was shattering into a million pieces. Cold wind enveloped her, making her shiver. But inside of her, it was boiling hot. What sounded like laughter of a choir of a thousand people rang in her ears and they started singing '…it must have been love, but it's over now. It must have been good, but I lost it somehow…'
No, Hermione wanted to scream and drown out the voices, it's not over yet. I haven't lost yet!
Bellatrix was giggling in her left ear. "Little Muddykins is here wanting to play. Awww, I am touched."
I don't want to play with you, Hermione shouted internally, fuck off!
But since when had Bellatrix listened to anyone? "How does it feel, knowing nobody is able to save you?"
There was a searing, hot white pain that blinded Hermione. She struggled to stay conscious, to anchor herself on the land of the living.
Think of Fleur, the brunette told herself. Think of her smiles, her laughter, her delicious cooking…
"Little Muddykins is dying," Bellatrix sang cheerfully. The choir resumed its laughter. "Her halfbreed lover knows nothing."
Something clicked in Hermione's mind. Umbridge and that Marshall guy did not seem to realise Mildred managed to track down the soul killers' sender. Hermione frowned. But if they did not realise it, then why did they kidnap her to expedite the process?
Hermione tried to stay positive, clinging to a sliver of hope. If nobody realised that Fleur and the rest of Hermione's friends knew what was going on, then the cavalry would soon barge in. That had always been in the case.
Except in the past, Dumbledore had a hand in them, a pessimistic voice told Hermione. She tried to ignore it, not wanting to fall deeper into the sinking miserable, helpless feeling she was falling into.
"Muddykins, your life force shall be our feast tonight," Bellatrix giggled.
Then all was dark.
Harry grunted as he was roughly pushed against the walls.
"What the fuck did you do?" snarled Fleur.
"Look Fleur, we only tried to follow a new lead we found and the next thing we knew 'Mione's disappeared," Harry tried to explain as calmly as he could. Fleur's pupils dilated, colours alternating between her usual electric blue and golden. He found it highly unnerving.
"So she disappeared because of something you did," Fleur was enraged. "You blood – "
There was a loud bang and Harry heard the distinct 'thud' of Fleur being flung across the room. A moment later, everybody looked at Luna's innocent face.
"So that's what that spell was for," Luna said in a surprised tone.
"What the hell do you – "
"Fleur, stop with this madness," Gabrielle restrained her raging sister. "There's no point in pointing fingers. Right now we must stay calm and locate Hermione. Her life is in danger."
"We're all here for Mione, Fleur," Ginny said softly. "None of us would do anything that would bring her to danger. But unfortunately, something has happened and we don't know what exactly. Can you unleash that rage to the toad and her tadpoles instead?"
Fleur let out a short scream and took a deep breath, her hand combing through her silky hair. She gritted her teeth and nodded curtly.
"Thanks, sis," Gabrielle gave Fleur a quick hug. "We'll get her back soon, I promise."
"Alright, so let's quickly recap to make sure we're all on the same page and then let's start throwing useful ideas," Malfoy said in a business tone. "Lavender, take down notes."
"I'm not your secretary, Malfoy," she grumbled but dutifully readied a parchment.
"We found a lead, a muggle recording, which led Harry and Malfoy to some ministry worker's office, and they found a suspicious diary which still can't be opened, and they returned to said ministry worker's office to find more clues but that worker had disappeared, and at the same time you and Hermione went out for a stroll and while you were in the bakery Hermione got kidnapped and now we're here at The Lake trying to figure out this problem without turning it into a full-scale international manhunt," Neville said rapidly in one breath. "Did I get it right?"
"Why are we taking minutes of this?" nobody paid attention to Lavender's grumbling.
"So, thoughts?" Malfoy asked the room.
"Run down the list of Umbridge's known and suspected properties," Pansy suggested. "Harry can use his Auror's authority to break into each of them."
"I wish they're that stupid and incompetent," Fleur snorted.
"At least I'm trying to think of something, miss dragon," Pansy shot back.
"Ladies," warned Gabrielle.
"Magical trace around that bakery?" Ginny asked.
Harry shook his head, "That was the first thing I did and the web is too complicated. They're good, they know their stuff. If we try to trace that it will take weeks – too many destinations they went through to cover their tracks."
Fleur growled.
"Hey Fleur, if I remember correctly, didn't that friend of yours tracked down those evil spirits' killers and that's how we know Umbridge is the culprit? Can she do the same but track down those spirits' current location instead?" Ron asked.
Fleur looked at him like he had grown horns on his head. Ron shuffled awkwardly under that intense glare.
"Just a thought," he muttered.
"That was actually genius, why didn't I think of that before?" Fleur shot to her feet, gave Ron a quick peck on his cheek and ran toward the door. "What are you guys doing? Come on. Only Hermione can bring people here, remember?"
As one, all of them raced to the door.
The grotesque shape barely passing for a man covered in sticky, gooey purple pus gave out a low groan ten metres away to Hermione's left. It was propped against a boulder, unable to move. Its groans were pitiful, drawing sympathy from the brunette.
Hermione, ever the curious, wanted to take a step closer to figure out what the being was, but she was apprehensive. What if it was a dangerous creature? What if its plans were to lower Hermione's guard and kill her in one fatal strike?
"Can't stop being nosy, can you, mudblood?" Bellatrix sauntered up to her out of nowhere, crunching an apple slowly.
Startled, Hermione spun and faced the deranged lunatic. The brunette stared at the fruit in Bellatrix's hand, her mouth watering. How long had it been since her last meal?
"Don't lay your filthy eyes on me," shrieked Bellatrix, throwing the apple viciously to Hermione and struck the brunette square on the forehead.
The force of the throw caused Hermione to stagger backward and she felt a lump started to form on where the apple landed.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" as soon as those words left her mouth, Hermione regretted it. Facing Bellatrix unarmed and with nothing to cover her, Hermione was in serious danger. She immediately took several more steps backward, putting as much distance between her and the slowly approaching Death Eater. Unfortunately, that meant closing her distance to the grotesque figure which might or might not be dangerous. Hermione realised this fact only when her feet bumped against something hard, warm, and gooey.
The brunette let out a gasp and jumped away. Was the purple pus some sort of fatal disease? While she did a short stint as a cat in her second year in Hogwarts, she did not want to turn into a purple humanoid…thing.
"How are you still alive?" Hermione could kick herself for not realising this sooner. She was obviously either hallucinating or having a nightmare. "More importantly, why are you in my dreams? Get out. I am so over you and your insanity."
"Miss Bossy Mudblood thinks she can order me around now, doesn't she?" cackled Bellatrix. "What makes you think you are in your dreams, hmm?"
Hermione furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about? This is a dream. I was kidnapped and fell unconscious."
Bellatrix grinned and it was not a pretty sight. "Somebody seems to forget why she is here."
The Death Eater's grinning face morphed into a black, faceless shadow with only a set of brilliant yellow sharp teeth plastered on it. Her body followed suit, transforming into an elongated dark shadow.
"Tick tock," the disembodied voice of Bellatrix emitted from the transformed body of the Death Eater. Two silver jets of light shot out from her hands aiming at Hermione.
Before the brunette could react, the purple grotesque humanoid that had been groaning in pain got to its feet quick as lightning and brought down the brunette, smothering her with its sticky pus.
Oh god, mum's going to kill me, this is so unhygienic, was Hermione's first frantic thought. The next moment, she realised that her parents still had no idea of her existence. That sobered her up to the situation at hand.
"You're just delaying the inevitable," Bellatrix's disembodied voice cried in anger. "Nothing will stop us."
When the grotesque purple humanoid bellowed its defiance, Hermione realised that the gooey creature was trying to protect her. She had no idea what that was or why it did that but having a friend in this nightmare was a bonus. Even if that friend happened to be gross.
Fleur tapped her foot impatiently. Nearly two hours had passed but all Mildred did was sitting on the carpeted floor, head clutched between her hands, eyes shut tightly, and muttering softly in a language Fleur did not recognise. The blonde wanted to scream at Mildred for wasting valuable seconds but Fleur needed her to figure out where Hermione was held.
The wait was torturous.
"Time is of the essence. We need to leave now, people," Mildred said urgently.
Fleur did not even try to hold herself from rolling her eyes. Every time she tried to hurry Mildred, that blasted woman would hiss back at her. But now Mildred was the one acting as if everybody else was wasting time. Unbelievable.
"We don't even know where we're supposed to go," Ginny said, irritated, giving Mildred a dirty look.
Since the moment they stepped into Mildred's latest rented room, she had not made a great impression. Between her comments of managing to lose Hermione from their grasp, blaming Harry and Malfoy for not planning things carefully, and muttering audibly about the lack of useful knowledge Hogwarts taught to its students, it took Ginny a great deal of self-discipline to not hex the annoying woman to next week. How was Fleur friends with Mildred was a mystery to Ginny.
"Can anyone here read minds?" Mildred ignored Ginny's comment.
"I'm a much better Occlumens but I can do a little Legilimency." Malfoy checked his perfectly manicured fingers, being his haughty self. Being a Hogwarts graduate and the ever-proud Malfoy, he felt insulted with the insinuation that the Malfoys sent their heir to a sub-par school. Ginny just wanted to sock both Mildred and Malfoy. Why did irritating people had to be gathered together during crucial moments?
"Good. Hold my arm," Mildred ordered, still closing her eyes. "Everybody else, hold his hands or something. I'm going to focus on a place nearby to where Hermione is kept, and you're going to read my mind and Apparate all of us there."
"You're insane," Neville told Mildred. "That's dangerous, we could get ourselves killed."
"At least it's not as painful as getting splinched," Ron added helpfully.
"You can't just Apparate to a place you've never been before," Malfoy shook his head. "You don't even know the name of the location."
"But I know where she is," Mildred gritted her teeth. "What is the point of learning something if you can't tweak it to suit your needs? Merlin, Hogwarts' education is so bad. Why Voldemort bothered to try to conquer that place beats me."
"I will hex somebody soon if we don't start to move," threatened Fleur hysterically. She was visibly tensed, with sparks shooting out of her wand frequently. Everybody gave her a wide berth.
"Fine. I'm not going to lecture any of you why it is very possible to Apparate to a place you don't know because Hermione is dying at this moment and it is so bloody difficult to try to stall her attackers so can somebody just follow my orders before Fleur kill us all?"
Perhaps it was Mildred's desperate tone; perhaps it was Fleur's dangerous aura; or perhaps it was the adrenaline coursing through everybody's veins. But Malfoy did as was told, and the rest of the group held on to him as he Apparated all of them to the location Mildred showed him in her mind.
They landed softly on the ground, and Ginny gasped for air, having squished uncomfortably.
"Oh crap, there's blood from his nose," Ron exclaimed, shaking Malfoy's body rather roughly, trying to wake the unconscious figure.
"Leave him be," Mildred instructed. "He's just exhausted."
"Just exhausted? Really, just exhausted?"
Pansy and Lavender had to physically carry Gabrielle away from mauling Mildred.
"He is fine, trust me," Mildred rolled her eyes. "Alright, that innocent-looking cottage in the distance? Yes, that's where Hermione is being kept. I need two persons to be here to help and protect me. Everybody else can go ahead."
"Help you with what?" asked Harry.
"The soul killers are already starting to eat Hermione's life force," she explained. "I'm doing my best to stall them and it's exhausting. I need one person to look after the unconscious boy and another to share some magical energy with me to make sure Hermione will still be alive when you lot rescue her."
"I'm staying, I don't trust you with Draco," Gabrielle snarled.
Fleur's relieved sigh told Ginny that the blonde was happy her sister was not jumping into the front line.
"Would some knowledge or experience dabbling in dark magic help?" asked Pansy.
Mildred nodded.
"I'm more useful to you than the rest here – minus the unconscious boy," Pansy decided.
"I'm going to scout for a bit. Everyone wait here," Harry switched into his Auror mode. "And I really mean wait here. I'll be back and we'll make a plan."
"We're just wasting time," Fleur protested, trying to free herself from Ginny's and Luna's firm hold.
"We'll waste more time if we don't make a proper plan," Harry insisted. "Just give me a few minutes."
Fleur swore under her breath. "This was why it took Britain so long to get rid of Voldemort," she muttered.
"Fleur, I understand you're very upset about the situation but we all are worried as well," Ginny tried to speak as calmly as she could. "All of us need to keep a level head, alright? If we barge in without a plan they might slip away with Mione and I don't want that."
"Not to mention there are too many Blumbidingers around here," Luna grumbled.
"I want to smash something too but now is not the time," Ginny decided to not ask Luna to explain herself.
Fleur grunted her assent. Ginny had a good point. Losing Hermione for the second time might spell fatality for the brunette and Fleur could not let it happen. She was already blaming herself for letting Hermione out of sight for a moment, and she would never repeat that mistake again.
As Fleur had no idea where Harry was exactly, she just stared at the little unassuming cottage at the distance, with smokes coming out of its chimney. It looked like a typical cottage at the peaceful, laid-back countryside, promising a life of quiet and rest.
"Mildred, are you sure this is it?" Fleur was doubtful. "Wouldn't they be hiding in an unplottable house or some menacing fortress?"
"Yes this is definitely the place," Mildred sighed, massaging her temples, eyes shut tightly. "Why would you doubt me? Have I ever led you to the wrong location?"
"Well it just doesn't make sense because – "
"Shut up," Mildred shushed the blonde who immediately snarled, "I keep on telling you Hermione is dying and I can't concentrate on preventing her imminent death if you keep on bothering me with stupid questions."
In retaliation, Fleur just hissed back. When all of this was over, she swore she would kick Mildred in the ass for that.
"Harry's back," Ginny tugged at Fleur's sleeve to distract her attention away from plotting revenge on Mildred.
"Right, it looks simple but it's complicated," Harry told the gathering friends. He looked tensed, which Fleur interpreted as bad news. She did not like it. "Two entrances: one front door and one back door. No guards, which means the place is heavily warded. No visible movements inside, and I'll bet my Firebolt 3 that they have a secret basement which is where Hermione is kept. Fleur and Ginny – you guys take the back door. I have a hunch that it will lead you straight to the basement. Luna and I will take the front door. Neville, you guard the back door and Lavender, you guard the front door."
"Harry, you're nuts, mate," Ron looked confused with the division.
"Fleur was a curse-breaker, she'll know how to work around the wards," Harry explained in a hurry. "Luna can see er… different things so she'll be great to help me. Besides, do you want to be with two extremely pissed women?"
"You have a good point," Ron readily agreed.
"Hey Gabrielle, when Malfoy wakes up, I need the both of you to go to the cottage as well. Decide among yourselves whether to storm inside or swap guard duty. Right guys, let's go!"
"This doesn't sound like a sophisticated plan of an Auror but whatever, let's go," Fleur grumbled, finally able to unleash her pent-up anger and anxiety.
The blonde Apparated quietly to the back area and a moment later she heard Ginny and Neville Apparating next to her. Ignoring the other two, Fleur paid undivided attention to the wards that were keeping her away from her sweet Hermione. Exhaling, she closed her eyes and tried to find the rhythm of the wards, the buzz that brought them to life.
The currents flowing from the wards felt extremely familiar and Fleur was brought back to the time she was trying to break into a forgotten, ancient vault in the heart of Gobi Desert. It took her three months then to unlock the first layer of the intricate puzzle protecting what turned out to be an empty vault with a short parchment containing the words 'did you have fun?' Fleur was so mad at the ancient prank she refused to accept tasks from anywhere in the region for the next couple of years.
Fleur shook her head. It was not the time to reminisce about ancient pranks.
The blonde found the 'lock' of the rhythm and channelled her magic to unlock it. Much like physical lock picking, it required delicate 'fingers' and extreme patience. While patience was the one thing Fleur excelled at, she could not be patient when it came to Hermione's safety. The longer she spent time on these wards, the less time Hermione had on earth.
As with her other curse-breaking session, Fleur consulted with her inner Veela, her ancient legacy. It connected well with nature and the natural magick, which modern wizards had forgotten. While most of her peers depended solely on experience and memorizing runes as well as enchantments to break wards, Fleur depended on her Veela to guide her instincts. That was the only thing the blonde felt her Veela was useful for. Fleur did not like the Veela, for It was primal and demanding. Oh, the countless times her family berated her for not acquainting with her Veela! But Fleur refused, frightened by Its force. Fortunately, the Veela never forced Itself to come out, happy to be lying dormant. And Fleur hoped it would stay that way forever.
Fleur shook her head again. She needed to focus fully, not let her mind wander.
With a satisfying 'click' that only she could hear, Fleur grinned triumphantly and pushed the invisible wards away.
"Shall we?" Fleur invited Ginny.
Ginny responded with an evil grin and together the both of them blasted the back door and charged inside, yelling their war cries.
Heavens helped those who stood in their path.