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XXXII: Seven of Wands

As the dark fuzz of unconsciousness started to seep from Hermione's mind, she felt oddly at peace.

Her whole body rocked back and forth, drawing her into a lulling sleep. She would have succumbed to it if a cold mist hadn't sprayed over her and forced her to stir into the harsh light of lucidity. She sought to return to the tranquillity of ignorance as her eyes slowly opened and she discovered where she was.

"Can't you make this thing go any faster?"

The spoken voice was gruff and originated too close for Hermione's comfort.

Her blurred vision drifted into focus, first on the swirling grain of dark wood - a plank - then on the image as a whole as plank became seat and seat became bench in the curved body of a boat. Her stomach started to sink as she took in the two men seated at the front. The first was wearing the traditional black hood of Voldemort's followers. The other man seemed hardly dressed at all, donning tattered grey rags over what appeared to be the thickest culmination of body hair Hermione had ever seen.

"How's this any better than going through the Forest?"

Ice flooded through Hermione's veins as the voice finally clicked. The image of the thick brown hair that coated his arms, his back, up his neck connected her current sight to a rapidly recovered memory.

This was the man that had Draco in a chokehold.

Draco!

She glanced frantically around, but Draco was nowhere to be found in the small boat that barely fit the three current occupants.

Anxiety clouded her thoughts like noxious fumes as she recalled the last words she'd heard before being taken hostage:

I'll tear your boyfriend's pretty head off and drink his blood in front of you.

Was it possible…

She could not see blood on him - though from her view, she could hardly see any of the man at all.

No. Hermione wouldn't think of it - he was alive. He had to be alive. Oh, Draco.

"It's not faster, innit," the voice responded in a heavy Cockney accent. "But the lake don't 'ave centaurs, do it?"

"You idiots think centaurs are worse than what's in this bloody lake?"

The Death Eater shrugged.

Hermione peeked over the edge of the boat and saw her reflection stare back in the black mirrored surface. The vessel gently pierced the eerily still waters, causing barely a ripple to break across the smooth darkness. She glanced toward the visible high towers of Hogwarts castle. Her breath caught in her throat as she noticed another movement across the lake, and then - a glint of shimmering silver.

Draco was sitting - very much alive, from what Hermione could tell - in a boat similar to hers with his hands tied together. She glanced down at her lap to see her own hands tied together, a detail that had escaped her as she sought to comprehend the hell they'd found themselves in. As much as she'd missed Hogwarts, this was not how she hoped to go back.

"No, but the Dark Lord 'spressly forbade us from in'erferin' wif the centaurs," the Death Eater responded.

The other man responded with a loud bark of laughter. Hermione half-listened to the two men conversing as she assessed her situation, trying to stymie the developing sense of dread as the boat inched closer and closer toward the castle.

She had to escape. It wasn't an option - she had no idea what waited for her at the castle or why she was being taken there to begin with, but she dreaded the thought of it. She calculated the likelihood of her survival if she jumped overboard. With her hands tied, her wand in the custody of a Death Eater, and the endless pit of creatures that would surely love to eat her, the odds did not seem to be in her favour. Yet, that fate gave her more comfort than the prospect of sitting in the boat waiting to be taken to Voldemort where she would no doubt be tortured and granted a horrendous, meaningless death.

"Oh, he's going to be so pleased to find out we've drawn a whole hoard toward the castle, won't he?"

"Don' look at me. 'Sides, we couldn' jus' apparate in, now could we?"

Her eyes settled on the glassy dark-green waters of the lake. If only she could take back her wand and cast her Patronus. She could climb on its back and have it draw her away from this fate.

She jumped when she saw a pale grey object pierce the surface before disappearing under the blanket of black. Hermione twisted her body, gentle in her manoeuvring as she peered into the inky waters below. She swallowed an instinctive shriek when the same pale grey drifted up and nearly poked her in the face. It was like a thick wet noodle, but upon its second resurfacing, she noticed the saucer-sized suction cups on the underside.

"I thought the Forest was open to apparition," said the beast-like man.

"I' was, yeah. The Lestranges tried it out a monf back - but on da night of da attack we were totally blocked, no?"

"Yeah, was that Dumbledore?"

"Likely is, yeah. 'e's got the Dark Lord all up in a tizzy over 'ow 'e knew of the attack enough to expand the wards - but that don' stop the Dark Lord, do it? No, 'e won' be 'appy abou' the centaurs, but 'least we got'a kill the beas' that murdered Rookwood," the Death Eater said hopefully.

Hermione saw two tentacles splash up above the waters surface.

"Wha - was that?"

The squid's movement was enough to create a ripple in the water, and Hermione took the opportunity to swing her arms over the edge of the boat. Her fingers skimmed the surface of the water, wiggling manically to - she hoped - get the squid's attention. For what, she couldn't determine. If the boat capsized with her on it, she'd be as dead as the Death Eaters she hoped to evade.

"You mean to tell me you lot care about each other, ey, Mulciber?" The furry-faced man gave Mulciber a sceptical glance.

"Well - "

"Well, likely not, you lot only care about yourselves."

Her fingers were going numb. Despite only a fraction of her body being in the water, the cold seemed to find its way into her nerve endings, drifting up her whole body.

She needed a better plan. Bugger, she needed to figure something out. If only she had her wand. Or some Whale Potion, or Gillyweed, or -

Oh Hermione, you brilliant idiot.

She fought the urge to laugh as she gently swung her arms back into the boat and slipped them into her pockets. Despite expecting the sensation, she grimaced at the texture of a slippery item. She gripped the whole lot and withdrew. There was a collection of herbs and plants - many already wilted from not being properly stored since they were picked at the Greenhouse and shoved hastily into her pocket.

Pieces of Dittany, Thorn Apple, Gillyweed, Plangentine, and Fluxweed sat crushed and crumpled in her hand.

She picked the Gillyweed and popped it into her mouth. It was slimy and tasted undoubtedly like a plant, with all its green minerality. Her molars dug through the tangled fibrous vegetation and she could feel her neck start to tingle as the effects began taking effect.

It was surely suicide. If the Death Eaters didn't kill her, the cold surely would.

But what choice did she have? Wait until they were all together? Wait until they chose to sacrifice Draco at the alter of "The Blessed Dark Lord"? Fat chance. Hermione would rather die than wait for that to happen.

"Don' ma'er now, do it? He was made into an Inferius and ya can't really have a funeral for one of those. And - all that loyalty talk's rich comin' from a werewolf."

"That's right, old Mulcyboy, a werewolf knows how to show respect but maintain a healthy distance. I'm a lone wolf, I don't answer to no one and I don't have to pretend to mourn anyone either."

"You answer to the Dark Lord like the res' of us, don't ya?"

They were growing closer toward the castle. She glanced again at the boat that was drawing ahead. If she could just get to Draco... His head moved up and Hermione felt herself catch the gasp that so desperately wanted to come out as she saw his eyes flutter open and search for her in a panic. He struggled against his binds and attempted to say something, but a muting charm had been cast on him.

Lay low, Draco!

"Look at the boy - e's tryna do somefin' - "

"What's he going to do? He's bound and gagged."

"You fink i's better the pair of us took the girl while Rowle is all by 'imself with the Malfoy boy?"

"Obviously," the werewolf responded.

Hermione's head lolled to the side as her muscles tightened, her lungs cramping as her whole physical form changed to accommodate their new magical quality.

"The girl's a dangerous bitch - did you see her hexes?"

She shut her eyes, feigning sleep.

"Can you Adam an' Eve it? Bloody impressive, I mus' say."

"If she wasn't a mudblood, she'd make a decent Death Eater."

Hermione would have laughed at that statement if her circumstances were any different, but the sound of chaos and commotion ahead made the thought pass quickly from her mind. She peeked an eye open in search of the noise and found Draco's boat rocking precariously. Blood drained from her face as she watched the Death Eater rise and twist to face Draco who had been trying to break free of his binds. She watched in horror as a flash of red shot from the Death Eater's wand and hit Draco in the chest, causing him to fall backwards as his body writhed. The sight of it made her nauseous.

"Oh, blimey!"

"Did he just - "

Was this her chance?

It had to be. The sodding Death Eaters were distracted enough.

"Oy! Rowle! Don't kill 'im, right? 'Un'armed, 'membah?"

"Unarmed?" the other Death Eater shouted back. "Yeah - I've got his wand."

"No," Mulciber responded, "Un'armed!"

Wasting no time, Hermione scooted herself back into the edge of the boat before she pressed her weight on the balls of her feet. She reached up, letting her fingertips graze against her neck. She could feel where her skin hard parted, and slits were forged in her flesh to accommodate her new gills. As she drew her hand back, she discovered a thin layer of skin had formed between her fingers like a thin sheet of Acromantula silk.

"I already have his wand - "

"For crying out loud, you blubbering idiots - he means unharmed!" The wolf-man snarled.

"Blimey, Fenrir! Wha's got your knickers in a twist?"

As the Cruciatus Curse that had Draco's body twisting and seizing came to an end, the werewolf took the opportunity to shout taunts at the Malfoy heir, causing Mulciber to howl with laughter.

Hermione sucked in a quick breath, arched her back and bent her knees as she slowly slithered backwards.

"Oy - she's awake - "

Shit! Shit shit!

The werewolf turned his head to find half of her body dangling over the edge of the boat.

"Where the hell are you going?"

She didn't give him the chance to take a guess.

Whatever graceful sleuthy exit Hermione had planned for herself failed gloriously as she flung herself into the Black Lake with a loud indelicate plop and an even louder cry out as the icy water swallowed her. It was so cold a part of her wanted to crawl back into the boat and take her chances with the Death Eaters, but she fought that weak voice that craved comfort over survival. She ignored the sudden shouts as Mulciber and Fenrir argued over who was going to jump in after her - she didn't plan on waiting to hear what they'd decided as she kicked her feet and dove underwater.

The lake was just as black and mysterious from within as it was from the surface. She could barely see more than five feet in either direction except for the occasional swaying bit of plantlife that thrived in the depths, blissfully ignorant of the world and all its dangers. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to grow accustomed to the unnaturalness of breathing underwater.

She had to get to Draco, preferably undetected, definitely soon. She had to overpower the other Death Eater unarmed. And they had to escape - somehow, with or without magic.

She felt the boat above her come to a halt as the shouting continued, and she felt her anxiety mounting as time ticked on. Would they risk jumping into the water to get her?

Hermione's teeth were chattering in her head for the second time that day as her robes billowed around her and weighed her down. Even with her webbed hands, her bound wrists were a clear disadvantage in achieving distance.

Her body froze as a blur of grey came into view then quickly disappeared. Even in the middle of the frigid lake, she shivered something fierce as another blur of grey flashed before her eyes, mere feet from her. She kicked her legs to swim away, not curious enough to approach it and with enough sense to not want to.

A flash of red shone above her, and Hermione barely caught the sight of the spell dispersing as it hit liquid. It dissipated into a thousand flecks of red as another spell - green, this time - shot down. She would have blanched if there was any colour to her, afraid that those spells were meant for her, but fear gripped her even more as she regretfully saw what dwelled beneath her.

In every which direction she looked, all Hermione could see was the Giant Squid - grey, pale, and undulating. Another tentacle rose from the depths and swung up, breaking the surface as it whipped in the open air. She kicked desperately to the surface as yet another taunting tentacle lifted. This time, it aimed for the boat she had narrowly escaped. She could scarcely see it wrap around the entirety of the vessel before it slowly rocked the boat like a baby with a rattle.

She heard shouting and splashing. The previously still, lifeless water now breathed with action - white and green waves breaking the surface and causing Hermione to bob up and down on her way to Draco's boat.

She flinched as she heard the crunch of her old boat, hasty to make it to Draco's before his met the same fate.

Draco was slouched over, his breath broken and shallow as he appeared to recover from the Cruciatus curse. The Death Eater in charge of Draco was shouting at the two others who now flailed helplessly in the water, desperate to flip the broken boat back over, but only managing to curse and scream as the tempestuous waters swallowed them and spit them back out.

Hermione tugged on Draco's sleeve. He hardly stirred. She yanked on it harder before grey-blue eyes flew open and widened at the sight of her: gills and all.

"Come on," Hermione murmured as the black tentacle of the squid surfaced and fell next to Draco's boat, causing the Death Eater to shout angrily at the squid and attempt to cast several killing curses toward the writhing tentacle. "Now."

Hermione ushered as the tentacle came crashing down again, causing an enormous wave to rock the boat to the point of nausea-inducing seasickness. Draco's exit from the ship was much more graceful as he lowered himself into the water with a soft hiss. The Death Eater was still shouting at both the squid and the others when they began to swim toward the Forest.

Her heart rattled in her ribs. They were so close; they just needed to make it to shore. She prayed, with every kick of her feet, Hermione cast a thousand prayers for fortune to shine on them.

Draco struggled to stay buoyant. With his muscles - still twitching from the Cruciatus Curse - deeply weakened, and his bindings preventing him from treading water, he sunk more than he swam. Hermione dipped her head below water and manoeuvred herself behind him; her hands gripped his waist and she kicked, propelling them both toward shore. She could scarcely feel her fingers and toes, and she tried not to dwell on how quickly hypothermia would set in as she lost sensation in her nose and ears.

She felt Draco's shudder - a sudden spasm of his muscles against her grip. She didn't think much of it as he started to shake, attributing his sudden movements to the cold creeping its way into his muscles and bones. That was, until his body twisted. His hands grabbed for her own and she felt herself falter forward as he broke free from her grip.

Hermione tried to grab his waist again to assist him, but she felt him jerk away, his own hands reaching for her.

She kicked her freezing legs, drawing herself up toward the surface.

"What are you doing? Let me push you so we can - "

Hermione's words were trapped as Draco's bound hands reached for her face, his palm pressing hard against her mouth as the other gripped - for her hair, for her face - there was no telling as he tried to grab at her with his bound hands, causing several deep scratches to form in her cheeks.

"Dr-co- wht - "

Her eyes watered from the sting of his nails scraping her skin and cried out as his fingers finally twisted into her hair and tugged.

"Nnn-"

He was dragging her by the head. It stung and burned with each pull but more importantly, he was taking her away from shore - toward the Death Eaters.

Her words were garbled and muffled against his fingers as she struggled to shout at his clear misdirection - water filled her mouth and rendered language useless. She tried to kick against him, to snap him into awareness at his clear mistake, but his fingers didn't budge. He hardly registered her protests.

Even as he struggled to stay buoyant, gasping for air any time he managed to surface, his grip remained tight and feet moved in perfect synchronicity toward the boats.

She considered pulling herself away entirely, scalp and hair be damned, leaving him to swim to shore - but surely he would die. He would drown here, he could scarcely keep himself afloat.

Instead, Hermione parted her lips and trapped his ring finger in her mouth before she dug her teeth into his flesh and bit down hard. Voiceless, Draco yanked his hand back, a sudden expression of pain in his features, before - Hermione's heart sank as she saw it - a glazed, glossy look returned to his eyes and blank expression, save for his trembling blue lips.

No.

Like he'd been drugged, the pain faded from his face and he reached for her again.

"Draco - it's me - it-it's me! Please - you can fight it!"

Tears blurred her eyes as his fingers closed around her collar.

"It's just a spell, Draco, you can fight it - we need to escape! Please."

Hermione's lips trembled, from the cold or from helpless sobs that shook her now, it didn't matter. She pleaded, her body limp and muscles weak as Draco's blank misty gaze looked just over her shoulder. He was so distant, despite being there just moments ago, he was suddenly so far away - trapped in his own body as the kicked them toward the boats.

"Please - Draco - it's me. It's me. You can fight it."

The words fell from her lips like a prayer, automatic and wrought from deep within her desperate soul.

It was futile as he swam them back to the boats, her hope drained with all the fight that was left in her.

She felt distant herself, her psyche retracting into itself as the grabbing hands of Death Eaters tugged her from the water. She didn't even wince as she was thrust back into the boat, as the wood dug hard into her spine. She scarcely felt fear as tears dripped down her cheeks.

It was after - when Draco was in his respective boat and Rowle had him nice and tightly bound with a sticking charm - it was then, as the words Finite Incantatem were uttered and Draco's hazy eyes sharpened. Widened. Then searched for her in a sudden panic as understanding dawned on him. It was then that Hermione bowed her head into her hands and shook with helpless sobs.

She couldn't stand the look of sheer horror and regret that was so clearly displayed in his face. She didn't want to see the apologies he desperately mouthed, despite his voice being as stifled as his free will had been.

There was no way he could have fought against the Unforgivable Imperius Curse, she knew that. Still, a lingering anger settled in her bones.

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Author's Note:

My face as I publish this chapter D:

Ummm so yeaaahhhh please review if you liked this chapter! I know it's not really one to love at this time, but stuff did happen. Lol.

Anyway, all jokes aside, your reviews bring sunshine to my life and keep me going. They're the fuel that keeps me going, so please, if you can, leave a review!

Thank you loves!

S