A/N: Here you guys go! A well deserved, long-awaited chapter! Sorry for the wait, we've lost five people at work in a matter of hours (literally two walk outs and three people quit in a 24 hour timespan a month ago) so it's been busy, not to mention they've started me on training for another position because of it so my time has been cut down. Enjoy!
...
She doubted the smell of liver would ever wash away from her hands. It made the second night of sleep very unpleasant, no matter how far away from her face she put them, that's all she could smell. Even in her dreams she was chopping the slimy, sticky organ all night, and found it hard to get moving on the third day after she woke up. Hermione had come to the conclusion that the leader, that snub nosed lady who had kept an extra eye on her, had been the one to make sure her potion had included it. Lots of it. The other girls around her had the less smelly contents, and it was hopeless to try and switch with them. They wanted nothing to do with it, and she feared asking for a change in potions; the leader would see a problem with it more than likely and finally have that chance to crucio her. So, she grudgingly continued to chop, making sure the slices were even and thin, just as the potion called for. Besides, smelly fingers were the least of her problems.
What she decided she needed to do was locate Severus. From there they could plan a possible escape and look for the piece of glass that could transport the both of them to another time. It had to be better than this, even if it was further in the future, when things had a chance to right themselves, when all of this would just be history. They could learn to hide and fit in with whatever survived. Even if on the off chance it threw them into the past, it would undoubtedly be better than this as well; at least they'd have a little bit of an understanding what was going to happen and could deal with whatever came accordingly.
She had seen Christy and Lori as they shared a bunk on the floor she had chosen and though they were still strangers, knowing their faces did bring a little bit of comfort to her. They hadn't tried to befriend her outright, but were showing tolerance when she'd saunter over to them after the floor became awake and everyone began to empty out into the street to head to the barn. They didn't protest when she followed behind them during their one break halfway through the day to a dirty mess hall, packed with what seemed everyone in that town. Not wanting to feel too needy, or give the impression of a lost puppy dog, as soon as they had their trays filled with what Hermione could only explain as 'goop,' she'd stood alone along an outer wall, tray held in her hand, watching everyone else seem to just fit in, as if this way of life had already become normal to them. When Christy had caught her eye and waved her over to the table she had sat down at, she couldn't have felt more thankful.
"Follow us around all day and then decide to eat alone? I don't think so." Christy pat the seat next to her. "Sit down."
"Thank you." Hermione whispered, but was sure Christy nor Lori had heard as they had gone back to chatting with each other. She hadn't noticed Adina across from her until she slid something across the table to her underneath a thin paper napkin.
"You'll need it. Trust me." She said.
Hermione lifted the napkin, a small and round plastic container filled with salt had been underneath and she took it.
"It actually makes the food edible." Adina took a forkful from her own plate and shoved it in her mouth, attempting to hide a grimace as if to prove her point. Hermione sprinkled a little on her own plate, replacing the napkin over the container afterwards, but didn't feel like testing it out, though she was starving her appetite just wasn't there.
"So how are you enjoying our little town?" Adina smirked before Hermione could even answer.
"It's...different."
"Is it? It's been so long since I've been out of it. All of it before this seems a dream." Adina ate some more, taking a large enough portion that nearly depleted her little pile of goop, more than likely a way to eat and be done with it.
"I know the feeling." Hermione said, "The past five years have gone so quickly for me, like they never happened." She smirked a little at her own joke.
"You lucked out arriving on the day of Harry's birth. That problem you caused with The Whip would usually be more endangering."
"The Whip." Hermione repeated, amused, and then blushed. "I didn't mean for it to happen." She whispered, uneasily remembering the cries of pain from the girls being crucio'd in front of her.
"No one ever does." Adina sighed. "It happens with everyone. Sooner or later they cause a bit of trouble, Christy there managed to spill her whole cauldron right before the end of the day when she first arrived."
"We were never supposed to bring that up again." Christy groaned, Hermione becoming aware that she and Lori had been listening after all.
"Spent the whole night scrubbing that floor with my hands until it shined my reflection in the dirt."
"At least you didn't have to ingest it." Lori broke in with a snort of her own. "Word of warning, you make a potion wrong and they make you take it."
"Good to know." Hermione nodded. Adina giggled.
"How long does The Whip hold grudges for? I have a feeling I'll be dealing with the lesser appreciated ingredients for a while." Hermione asked and Christy sent her a look of sympathy.
"We've seen it go on for a month, but that doesn't mean it's a real grudge." Lori answered, she pouted slightly and leaned closer to Hermione. "If she really didn't like you, you'd be in the dungeons."
Hermione lifted her head, Lori bit her lip.
"Last winter there was a girl who could brew a potion faster and better than any of us combined, I mean she was the real deal when it came to potion making. Whip overheard her telling her table that it was too easy, she pined for a more difficult potion. The next day everything had gone wrong, from her cauldron being dirty to her knife disappearing. Poor thing. Tragic, really. You see, when The Whip walked by her and inquired as to the lack of supplies in her bin, she turned around, wand in hand, and it malfunctioned-"
"-Exploded." Christy corrected. Lori nodded her head.
"-Exploded. Out of nowhere, sparks and smoke. She didn't cause it, couldn't have, there wasn't any time to even think about a hex. The Whip was as seething as she was bloody. Didn't stop her from marching the girl straight to the Ministry and the dungeons."
"The leaders all deny having a hand in the things that went wrong, but we know they set her up." Christy stated. Hermione was mortified, jaw slightly dropped and wide eyed as she listened.
"What happened to the girl? Did she get out?" She asked, but Lori and Christy only shook their heads.
"Never saw her again." Lori said.
"Phil mentioned seeing her right after. Didn't look good." Christy added.
"Does she send everyone to the dungeon that makes her that angry?" Hermione asked knowing all too well that the question was a little too straightforward, but an idea had begun to fill her head. Lori furrowed her brow at Hermione while Christy only shrugged.
"As far as we know, yes. There has been a time or two she's taken care of business herself, but one way or another the outcome of it isn't pleasant." Christy said and Hermione nodded, blindly taking a forkful of food into her mouth and not realizing it until she found herself forcing back a coughing fit. If it had tasted this bad now, she could only wonder how it would have tasted before sprinkling whatever it was Adina had given her onto it. She grabbed for her napkin, spitting out what she could in between coughing when a hand patted her back hard.
"The first bite is always the worst. You'll get used to it." Abe smiled down at her softly, then leaned against the table, his arms crossing over his chest.
"Having a good day?" He asked to no one in particular, receiving grumbles in reply. Hermione pounded at her chest with an open hand.
"We were just talking about The Whip and her cruel and unusual punishments." She said, finally able to breathe right again. Abe rolled his eyes.
"She's bad, but we have it worse in the other warehouse trust you, me."
There were a few scoffs from Lori, Christy's lip curled.
"Aches and pains from hard work and labor, at least you guys get to socialize a bit." Adina giggled slightly. "You couldn't even imagine having to go a full day without being so much as looking at your partner before getting the sharp end of a wand at your back."
"Torture, I'm sure." Abe agreed. Hermione watched the exchange smiling, it was playful given the tone they were bickering in, but her mind was elsewhere.
Opportunity had revealed itself, she only had to find a way to initiate the action of getting herself thrown into the dungeon. She'd have to come up with some way to anger The Whip enough to have her take her there. She was certain she'd find Severus there, if what Phil had said was true, the only thing she was uncertain about was the ease in which she'd be able to find him and get to him. Noticing the bickering had stopped, she turned to Abe and tilted her head.
"Have you heard from Phil? I've worried about him since he made the distraction." Hermione had worried about him, but only a little; after the night had passed, he hadn't been much in her mind at all.
"I'm sure he's well adjusted to his cot by now. As we said, he spends his fair share of time in the Palace."
"Right." Hermione nodded, then after a second of silence added, "they don't allow visitors, do they? I mean I have to thank him sometime for saving us."
"You very well know the answer to that question, don't you?" Abe answered sarcastically. Christy chuckled.
"That would be the day. Visitors in the dungeons. They want your stay there as grim and as lonely as possible."
"You think the food is horrible here. Just you watch, when he gets out of there he'll be feasting on this like it's ice cream." Abe grabbed the fork from Hermione's plate and lifted a glob of it out of her dish, letting it fall back down where it landed with a smack. Hermione swallowed.
"I think I'm going to head back early." Hermione said, her nose wrinkling at her plate and she rose from her seat.
"You can tell she's new. Such a hurry to get back to work." Lori teased. Hermione narrowed her eyes playfully. Abe stepped away from the table and walked with Hermione, waving a hand to the group as they left. They didn't get far before he stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"Does the dungeon get visitors? Really?" He asked under his breath, eyes surveying those around them. Hermione glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
"It was a sincere question. We should make an effort to thank him."
"Maybe so, but I think your judgement is better than that."
Abe grabbed her arm when they stepped out of the door. She turned around to find him looking deeply at her, studying her. She glanced away.
"I don't know how much you've figured out already, but Phil and I, we had been expecting you to show up sometime." He dropped her arm.
"That had crossed my mind." Hermione stared at him. "Or do you two make a habit of cornering new people in a tiny room right after they arrive?"
"We didn't mean to make you feel cornered. And no, we've only spoken to the arrivals that fit your description."
"Uh-huh." Hermione nodded. "Go on."
Ave sighed.
"Look, Phil's the one who should really be explaining this, he's more familiar with what has been happening. I can only give you information on what I know."
"Please enlighten me."
"It all comes back to the guy you know, Snape?" Abe watched Hermione at the mention of his name, she straightened up, nodding. "I've been kept in the dark about most of their conversations, but Phil had told me he met him in the dungeon, being thrown in there by a Death Eater who seemed to know who he was, mentioning that a girl should be showing up sometime to rescue him. If you knew Phil, then you'd know this would strike his interest, and after a few more visits down there he was able to coax from him about you."
"I need to get to him." Hermione said. "It's very important that I do and the longer I wait, I have a feeling the more difficult that is going to be."
"Snape said you were intelligent, one of the smartest witches he's ever met. I'm sure you'll find a way to get to him, but please don't rush this. Phil would have my hide if anything happened to you while he's in there."
"How long will he be in there?" Hermione asked. "I can't be expected to just sit around and wait for him to get out of there."
"I don't know how long they plan to keep him this time, but Hermione, there are ways, legal ways to get down into that building without some elaborate scheme having to take place."
An echo of a buzzer filled the air around them, the signal of their lunch break being over. Abe began to step away from her.
"I'll see you at dinner and we can talk more, okay? I'll help you get in there if you really can't wait, just don't go making a fool of yourself sneaking around to do it."
Hermione heaved a sigh and gave a lazy nod, turning in the direction of the barn, not looking forward to spending the rest of the day chopping liver.