'It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?' – Bram Stoker, Dracula


And so things go back to normal.

Whatever 'normal' can be.

Every day it's the same routine. I wake up. I get in the bath. I get dressed. And then I wait for Lucius to come and fetch me and take me downstairs to do my chores.

But there are differences to how things used to be. He never touches me these days. And he barely speaks to me, either, apart from when it's absolutely necessary.

And when I do my chores I do them alone. For some reason I haven't been allowed to see Ron ever since that night when the pair of us first kissed each other.

I tried to ask Lucius where he was, and if he was alright, but I just received a snapped answer.

'He's fine, Mudblood. You need not concern yourself over him.'

And when I asked him again, and tried to push him on why I wasn't allowed to see Ron, I received only a punishment for my trouble – a day without food.

I don't know why he won't let me see Ron. I can only guess.

I think my guesses are pretty accurate, though.


I lie still in my bed one night, staring up at the ceiling I can't see.

I can't sleep, but that's nothing new these days.

I think I can still smell him on my sheets.

The worst thing about lying here awake night after night is after a while I start to wonder why he hasn't come back again.

Perhaps he's just had what he wanted, and he doesn't need me anymore. Maybe that's it now.

Maybe he can just forget about it, now. Which must be nice for him. I know I'll never forget about it, never. It was too painful, too horrible, and too humiliating.

I bled for hours, afterwards.

A small shifting noise.

I flick my eyes over to the corner of the room, my heart thudding in my ears.

I wait, and I wait. I press my open eyes into the darkness, holding my breath, trying with all my might to listen as carefully as I can.

Nothing.

After what feels like forever I give up and close my eyes.

I need to go to sleep.


I scrub hard at a silver candlestick, my legs going to sleep from sitting cross-legged for so long.

This is my chore for today. Polishing silver-wear. There are all sorts of strange old things I've come across – music boxes, ornaments, cutlery. The old Hermione would have been pretty interested in having a proper look at them all, but now this is just something I want to get done.

Pick it up, clean it, put it back.

My fingers are aching like hell – they've cramped up so many times I've lost count.

I pause for a moment, close my eyes, and let out a sigh.

What is the point? What is the bloody point?

I push that thought down. I need to get this finished.

I open my eyes again, and I rub hard at the candle stick, absent-mindedly humming to myself.

I'm so lonely.

What if he is just finished with me? What will happen then, if I continue to think about him all the time while he just forgets about me?

He just wanted to win. That's all it was. And now that he has, will he laugh about it, while I spend every night cringing in fear?

I sigh, putting the candlestick down on the floor for a moment as I stretch my arms out either side of me, trying to ease the tension in my back.

I freeze. The door… I thought it was closed.

He's standing there, just… staring at me.

I hurriedly lower my head and start polishing again, trying desperately to ignore him.

I wish he'd go away.

'You can stop that now,' he says coldly. 'You are finished with your chores for today.'

Without looking up at him I put the candlestick down carefully on the floor.

He takes a few steps towards me.

'Stand up,' he says curtly.

I quickly do as he says, nervously tugging on the skirt of my robe. I force myself to look up into his face.

There's no expression there at all.

'You need to come with me,' he says shortly. 'Now.'

'Why?' I dare to ask.

One of his eyebrows raises a fraction. 'You needn't be afraid,' he says quietly.

He reaches out, but pauses before his hand can reach mine. For a few moments we just stand still, his hand suspended in mid-air.

A muscle twitches in his jaw, and he forces himself to grip at my wrist.

He pulls a small, familiar key out of his robes, and calls out in a loud, clear voice.

'The cellar.'

And we're pressing into a dark void with no air or space-

We emerge in a small room made entirely of stone, filled with a dark red light. I remember this room – how could I ever forget it?

His hand drops abruptly from mine. He doesn't want to touch me, he said once, any more than he has to.

It takes me a moment to register that we're not alone.

Draco is here, leaning against the wall. He glares at me, and suddenly I wonder whether Lucius was too optimistic in allowing his son to keep his memory of that evening when Bellatrix slashed my wrists.

'Well, isn't this a merry gathering?' Lucius drawls. I turn around quickly to see that he wasn't talking to his son. He's talking to Avery, who wears a small, cold smile on his lips. And just next to Avery stands Ron, who walks over to me, holding out his hand.

'Hermione, are you alright?'

He's going to touch me, to try and comfort me, but I can't… how can I let him, after what I've done?

How can I?

I step back from him involuntarily. He falters, his arm dropping to his side.

'What's the matter?' he whispers.

'She's fine, Weasley,' Lucius says coldly.

'Brought her to see the show, Lucius?' Avery asks.

'What show?' Ron asks exasperatedly. 'What are you talking about? Why are we here?'

'Do you really want to know why?' Draco sneers.

'Yes, I really want to know why!' Ron retorts.

Lucius rolls his eyes. 'Draco, don't antagonize the boy. You know what he can be like when he gets himself worked up-'

'You're one to bloody talk!' Ron snaps.

Silence. Lucius and Ron glare at each other. Avery smiles a pleasant smile.

'We have news of your parents, Ronald,' he drawls. 'Do you want to hear it?'

Ron goes very white, and swallows sharply. 'What...' He clears his throat. 'What's happened to them? What have you done?'

I slip my hand into his. He in return holds onto my hand so tightly I feel like the blood is being cut off from my fingers.

'We haven't done anything. It is what they have done that matters,' Avery says.

Ron shakes his head, uncomprehending.

'We have not asked for much of them in return for your safety, thus far,' Avery goes on. 'A little information here, a little errand there. But yesterday we asked them to do something that apparently does not sit too well with them. In fact, they begged us not to make them do it.'

A long silence spreads out. Ron's breathing is shallow, I can hear it.

'What did you ask them to do?' Ron whispers.

'Some necessary business,' Avery says, spreading out his hands in supplication. 'Business that should have been nothing to them in comparison to losing a son. But then, they have five to spare, don't they? I'm sure that made their decision an easier one to make.'

He shrugs: a meaningless, joking gesture.

I realize now what there is to fear of Avery. He sees no difference between things and people. I don't think I saw it plainly before, but I do now.

I look to Ron. He's gone pale, and he's pressing his lips together. His eyes are bright and shining.

'It doesn't mean they don't love you, Ron,' I whisper. 'He didn't say that they refused to do it – it just sounds as if they're reluctant to do something-'

'What's it to do with you, Granger?' Draco snaps.

'We believe that it is necessary for us to show your parents just what their reluctance has cost their youngest son,' Avery concludes. 'Nothing personal, you understand. It's just... duty. And duty can be... unpleasant at times.'

I hear a step behind me. Lucius has either moved closer to me, or further away.

Avery's face twitches into a small, cold smile. He walks over to the door, which swings open as he flicks his wand at it.

'We are ready for you now,' he says quietly, and as he comes back into the room he is followed by two struggling figures. One is Bellatrix, her face lit up, enjoying the challenge as she drags the other person into the room.

Ron's grip on my hand tightens so much it feels like he's going to crush my fingers.

Bellatrix throws the girl onto the ground, before she turns and walks over to the door, shutting it and locking it with her wand.

The girl lifts her head up, slowly, her eyes blazing with hate from under her flaming hair.

'Ginny!' Ron calls out, his voice cracking as he drops my hand from his.

As she turns to face her brother her hard eyes melt into tears. She pulls herself to her feet as he strides over to her, and the pair of them throw themselves into a hug.

'I thought I'd never see you again!' Ginny says, her voice cracked and muffled.

Ron holds her yet tighter to him, almost lifting her off her feet in the hug. He whispers something into her hair, some private sibling communication, and she giggles weakly.

None of the rest of us should be here. This is a private moment.

Every hair on the back of my neck prickles up. Lucius is… closer now, I think.

I turn to him. 'Why have you brought me here?' I whisper.

He ignores me, and looks at Bellatrix. 'How on earth did you manage to get hold of her? Hogwarts is guarded all hours of the day.'

'There was a Hogsmeade trip on this afternoon,' she says. 'I went along in the invisibility cloak and I found her in the Three Broomsticks with a couple of friends at about six o'clock. She went to the bathroom, I followed her in, and from that point onwards it was easy.'

Ginny breaks out of her hug with Ron, her eyes hard and blazing as she rounds on Bellatrix.

'I came here because you threatened to kill Neville and Luna if I didn't, that's why it was easy for you to bring me here!' she hisses. 'If you'd have had the guts to fight me, then it might not have been so easy.'

Bellatrix laughs delightedly. 'What, do you think that a little girl like you could have defeated me? Me?'

Both Avery and Draco laugh, but I don't hear Lucius do the same.

He would have done, once.

'You didn't even give me the chance, did you?' Ginny shouts, her face red. 'But what else can I expect from people like you? You're all cowards, the lot of you. A bunch of sneaking Slytherin cowards!'

She still cares about the Houses. I feel so sorry for her. I used to think they mattered, too. A long time ago.

'Cowards, you say?' Avery drawls, stepping closer to Ginny. He towers over her tiny frame, and she shrinks back slightly. 'Are the Gryffindors still as infuriatingly self-righteous as they were when I was at school, then? It's funny how they like to talk of bravery, but when it comes down to it they're just as cowardly as the rest of us supposedly are.'

Avery steps yet closer up to Ginny, and catches a lock of her bright hair between gloved fingers. 'Pretty little thing, aren't you?' he says offhandedly. 'Far prettier than your friend over there.'

Ginny turns to look at me. She presses her lips together, and nods. Her eyes are hard and unyielding. She's stronger than me. She always has been.

'Do you know how long it took for her to crack?' Avery asks. 'Lucius was there - he can give you a first-hand account.'

No. Don't tell her, please don't tell her.

'I was with her for half an hour before she told me you had been romantically linked with Potter,' Lucius says, his voice clipped. 'Within less than a week, she had told us everything there was to know about him, and about the Order. In under seven days, she was broken. There was nothing left for her to tell us.'

'You won't frighten me,' Ginny snaps. 'I know what you must have done to make her talk.'

She gives me a hard yet reassuring look before she looks up at Lucius.

'I spent most of my childhood being afraid of you, Lucius Malfoy,' she says. 'You almost killed me. Does that make you feel proud? You almost killed an eleven year old girl just to try and discredit her dad. Tell me, what kind of man does that make you?'

I suck in my breath. Ginny has history with Lucius. Much more than I did before I was captured by him. She still has nightmares, she told me once, about Tom Riddle and the Chamber of Secrets.

'I have already covered this topic with your Mudblood friend here,' Lucius says, clearly bored. 'I have no wish to go over it again with you.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Ginny says.

'I mean that the Weasleys might be pure-bloods, but they're so stupid that to hold a conversation with one is perhaps the most excruciatingly boring tasks one could undergo. At least the Mudblood has some intelligence, and the sense to use it.'

Both Ginny and Ron go very red in the face, but Bellatrix's face has twitched into a frown.

Avery's face remains coldly impassive, but he looks at me for a very long time, his eyes unblinking.

Why has Voldemort sent him here?

A ghost of a smirk crosses his lips after a moment. 'So you would not be willing to accept a Weasley as a daughter-in-law, Lucius?' he says, with the tiniest hint of amusement in his voice. 'What a pity. It would seem that Draco would be extremely interested in that particular idea.'

Draco's eyes snap upwards instantly, abandoning the hungry look he was giving Ginny.

Ron's fists clench by his sides. 'Over my dead body.'

'My son would never touch a blood-traitor,' Lucius says coldly, apparently ending this topic of discussion.

Draco's face contorts for a moment. 'Well, at least she's not-'

But his words halt as he catches the look on his father's face. I can't see what that look is, but I can imagine.

'Don't look so disgusted, you little brat,' Bellatrix says violently to Ginny, whose lip has curled up. 'You should be proud that a boy like Draco even deigns to look at you.'

Draco gives a grateful little smirk at that as Bellatrix walks slowly over to Ginny.

'Perhaps you need to learn some manners, Miss Weasley. After all, manners befit one of your blood status, do they not?'

She reaches up into her sleeve, and then there's a flash of silver and the cry of warning barely leaves my lips before Bellatrix slams her hand into Ginny's stomach.

I watch in horror as Ginny screams and doubles over and there's blood spilling out from her gut and over her hands.

I start forwards, but a hand of iron clamps down on my wrist, keeping me where I am.

'NO!' Ron screams, falling down on his knees next to his sister. He tries desperately to press down on the wound, but she just screams whenever he touches her. Bright crimson blood flows over both of their hands.

'Ron!' Ginny sobs. 'Ron, help me, please!'

'I'm trying!'

'PLEASE!'

Ron leaps to his feet and flies at Bellatrix, raising his fist.

'YOU HEAL HER RIGHT NOW, OR I SWEAR-'

But from behind him Avery flicks his wand.

'Crucio!'

Ron falls to the ground, screaming in agony. I begin to struggle again, but Lucius' grip on my wrist just tightens, and tightens, cutting off blood…

And then Ron's screams stop as the curse is lifted from him. He curls up on the ground, shaking and shaking, but somehow keeping himself quiet.

Avery looks down at Ron, and for the first time since I first met him, I can see something other than nothing in his eyes.

'I'll make a deal with you, Weasley,' he says to Ron, who looks up at him with bloodshot eyes. 'I will heal your sister. I will allow her to live. But first…'

He pauses, and Lucius's grip on my wrist tightens.

'But first,' Avery murmurs, 'you'll have to fuck her.'

There's a long, horrible silence.

I feel a slow, creeping feeling of nausea in my stomach as the air closes in on all of us, like a bad smell.

Avery and Bellatrix just seem to find the whole thing very amusing – both of them are smiling widely.

But the two Malfoys are reacting differently. Draco looks afraid. His eyes are wide and his mouth is hanging open slightly.

And Lucius… when I chance a look up at him he just looks back at me, his expression calculating.

'You can't-' I whisper.

Lucius appears to be the only person who hears me.

'It's not my decision,' he murmurs back, without looking away from me. 'He isn't my prisoner. I will intervene only if his guards give me permission to do so.'

'You can't be serious?'

He says nothing. So I turn back to the scene in front of me.

Ron just stares at Avery.

'You… what did you say?' he asks, his voice quiet and shaking.

'You heard what he said,' Bellatrix says, her voice laden with malicious pleasure. 'We'll spare your sister's life, but first you have to fuck her. Do you understand now?'

Ron goes so pale that his skin is almost green.

I look down at Ginny. She clutches her stomach, blood flowing out over her fingers.

'You're out of your fucking tree!' she whispers, her face contorting with pain at the effort of speaking. 'Both of you, you're completely…'

She trails off into a gasp as she doubles over, clutching at her stomach.

I turn around, looking at Lucius, willing him to do something. But he just stares at me, his face stony.

He doesn't care.

I turn back to look at Ron. He's just shaking his head in disbelief.

'Some joke.' He moves over to Ginny, pressing his hand onto the gaping wound on her stomach. 'Ha bloody ha, you twisted bunch of-'

Avery moves suddenly and grabs his shoulder, wrenching him backwards and slamming him on the floor. Ginny screams and tries to move to help him, but like a lightening flash Bellatrix gets hold of her, holding her down on the ground by her wrists.

As I automatically start forwards an arm of steel wind around my waist, drawing me back.

'Don't try it.' His whisper creeps into my ear. A wand pokes into my ribs. 'I'm serious, just don't try it.'

'This is no joke,' Avery drawls. 'It's a negotiation. Tit for tat, as it were-'

'WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, YOU SICK FUCK?' Ron shouts up into his face. 'She's my sister-'

'In that case you should be willing to do anything to help her, shouldn't you?' Bellatrix laughs. 'What kind of brother won't even try to save his sister's life?'

Bellatrix releases Ginny's wrists but the next moment flicks her wand, and Ginny's entire body goes limp and lifeless. Her eyes remain open. They stare around the room desperately. A pool of blood gathers around her tiny body.

'Your sister doesn't look too good, Weasley,' Bellatrix drawls as she stands up. 'You'd better get down to business, hadn't you?'

Ron begins to struggle again, but Avery only laughs.

'Come, come, Weasley It's not as if she's a virgin, is it? No doubt Potter saw to that-'

'SHUT UP!' Ron screams.

Avery points his wand steadily into Ron's face, his expression deadly calm. 'We cannot be blamed for this. Your parents have refused to do as we told them, even though they knew the consequences would be dire if they did so. So in return, we will make their youngest son fuck their only daughter. That ought to shock them into some obedience, hmm?'

Ron shakes his head on the ground. 'Please,' he says shakily. 'Please don't make me do this, please!'

'Auntie?'

My head swivels round. I'd almost forgotten Draco was here. His face is even whiter than normal.

'Don't you think… um… isn't this a bit-'

'Draco,' Lucius's voice comes from behind me, 'don't interfere. This does not concern you.'

Draco turns to face his father, but he doesn't say anything. He just shuts his mouth like a trap, and looks back at Ginny with a face that's slightly green.

Neither Bellatrix nor Avery are listening, anyway. Bellatrix strides over to Avery, crouching down next to him and smiling down into Ron's face.

'You know what you have to do, Weasley,' she whispers.

I try to struggle again, to help him, but Lucius keeps his grip on me strong.

'Listen to me,' he whispers in my ear, 'you can't do anything. They'll stun you as soon as you reach him. It will be over soon. Wait.'

'Please, you can't mean this,' Ron whimpers.

'Don't tell me you're having difficulty, Ronald? A big, strapping boy like you?' Bellatrix's shaking hand drifts down to his belt buckle. 'Perhaps we should help you.'

I twist and turn in Lucius's arms, but his hand clamps over my mouth.

'Just wait,' he whispers into my ear. 'Wait.'

Ron actually starts sobbing as Bellatrix undoes the buckle on his belt.

'Please, I can't,' he sobs. 'Listen to me, I'm begging you, please-'

Avery holds up his hand in a gesture to Bellatrix, who slowly removes her hands from Ron's belt.

'What did you say?' Avery asks.

'I said I'm begging you, please, don't make me do this-'

'Well,' Avery drawls, 'if the thought is so abhorrent to you, you only needed to say so.'

They release Ron, standing up and stepping away from him. He looks up at them, as if he can barely dare to hope.

'We'll let you off this time, Weasley,' Avery says.

I can hardly breathe for sheer relief.

Lucius's arm loosens from around my waist.

Avery walks over to Ginny, whose face is wet and shining with tears.

He points his wand at her stomach, and a golden light spreads out over her wound, sealing it up.

He crouches down next to her, taking hold of her wrist.

'Finite incantatem!'

She stirs from the ground, but only slowly. His grip on her remains as she sits up fully, looking up at him in terrified silence, her face pale and exhausted.

He puts his wand to her temple and pulls it away, withdrawing a long, silvery, stringy substance from her head. It wraps itself around the tip of his wand as Ginny watches it with oddly unfocused eyes.

Lucius unwinds his arm from my waist completely. I chance one look at him, but he doesn't look at me anymore. He keeps his eyes steadfastly on Avery, watching him with a tiny frown on his face.

I move my gaze back to Avery, who places the memory in a small glass bottle he pulls out from his robes, pushing the stopper into it when he's finished.

'We shall now return you to Hogsmeade. We have no more need of you. When you see your parents, give them this,' he says, handing her the small glass vial, 'and make sure that they see it, do you understand?'

She looks up at him as she takes the bottle in her hand, and her lower lip trembles as she nods, slipping the bottle into a pocket in her robes.

Perhaps she's not a strong as I thought.

Avery steps back from her and aims his wand at her chest.

'And tell your foolish parents not to defy the Death-Eaters again. Not if they want to keep their children safe.'

He flicks his wand at her.

'Stupefy!'

Ginny slumps down as the jet of red light hits her, her bright red hair falling over her face.

Unseen by anyone, and so light I can barely feel it, Lucius's free hand bushes briefly against mine.