CW: torture and blood

The death eaters met in a makeshift camp above the cellar which they hid and protected with magic. There were eight of them now, Goyle Sr. had joined them after Australia. They had been arguing over what to do with the picture they had taken of the kidnapped pair. In hushed tones, they debated; should it be used as a warning? Or should it tell of their plan? Should they send it directly to Potter? Or to the ministry?

Disagreements faded in and out of Ainsley's head. He couldn't be bothered with the details of how they were to threaten Harry. He couldn't stay focused; the terror in their captives eyes forcing their way to the front of his mind. He wanted- no he needed- to get out. A stint in Azkaban could not be much worse than this. Plus, his time would be significantly longer if something happened to Hermione or Ron. Perhaps he could trade information about their location for a lesser sentence? Yes, that's what he would do.

The din of the death eaters arguing grew more significant, and Ainsley saw the time for his escape. No one seemed to be paying him any mind, so he figured he could easily sneak out of the hideout's door. He knew they had placed an anti-apparation spell around the refuge, but he did not know how far it reached. He would have to run and hope for the best.

He slowly sneaked across the perimeter of the hideout, right in his assumption that no one would notice. He slipped through the door, and he was off; running towards his freedom. As he ran, his feet fell underneath him, and he toppled over, guessing he tripped over a branch. As he pushed himself up, he noticed a dilapidated pair of boots standing in front of him.

"Thought you could escape, did you?" Crabbe senior spat. Crabbe picked up Ainsley by his ear and dragged him back to camp. Ainsley was thrown at the feet of his father, who did not seem bothered by the almost-escape.

"Do what you want with him," he had said, offhandedly.

And that's what Crabbe did. He said he needed to practice his crucios for the mudblood. After what seemed like hours, he stopped. It was decided that it was time to give the kidnapped pair a visit.

Lestrange stated that not everyone could go all at once, as they would be too likely to kill them. They would have to go in shifts, allowing for the victims to recover in between. The crew again broke into arguments; everyone wanting a piece of the pair.

Crabbe argued that the couple was responsible for his son's death, and was granted first entry. Goyle, Rowle, and Ainsley, would be joining them. Ainsley, only so he could "learn a lesson".

Crabbe forced Ainsley into the room first, holding his wand pointed at his back. Though Crabbe quickly overtook Ainsley and headed for Hermione. Ainsley held back, doing whatever he could to avoid looking at her terrified face.

"Untie her," Crabbe ordered Ainsley, reminding him who was in charge.

He reluctantly magicked her ties away, feeling sick to his stomach. He was worried that they would want him to participate in their cruelty. But, once they started, they seemed to forget that they were babysitting him. Instead, he crawled to the far wall and covered his head, the screams penetrating his skull.

In a daze, he was pulled by his collar out of the cellar. He reluctantly looked back at the pair, terrified of the amount of blood covering their body.

"You went too far," Rowle shouted at Crabbe as soon as they exited the cellar, his wand held aloft. "They could die, and the plan would be ruined!"

Crabbe had no time to argue and instead attempted to hit Rowle with a stunning spell. Rowle avoided it, and a duel broke out. Still, they were quickly stopped by Lestrange.

After breaking up the duelers, the death eaters met to discuss what to do about their new predicament. They agreed that if either of their captives died, their plan would be ruined. Granger and Weasley were in a sorry state and needed healing to keep them alive. Though, they agreed, they would do what needed to be done to captives alive, but only what was absolutely necessary. Ainsley was volunteered to deliver water and wrappings to them. He wanted nothing more than never to enter that cellar again, but he had no choice. When the death eaters were not looking, he added healing potion, which he always kept on himself, to the basin of water. Water itself would do much to help them.

He entered the cellar, placing the items in front of them, trying to avoid seeing the pain they were in. When he turned to leave, he saw a flash of their figures. Hermione was staring at him, no longer looking terrified. Instead, she looked more tired than anyone he had ever seen. Ron was still tied up and seemed to be unconscious.

"I can't help him if he's still tied up," Hermione said in a raspy voice.

Ainsley could not bear to look back at them. Rather, he waved his wand over his shoulder, releasing Ron, and headed straight out of the door.

He could not sleep, visions of Hermione and Ron being tortured floating in his head. Most of the other death eaters were sound asleep, with McNair and Rookwood playing cards at the entrance. No one had checked on the kidnappees since their torture, and Ainsley could not get the idea of them lying dead below him out of his head. He had to make sure they were alive.

He headed to the cellar entrance, looking back at the card-playing death eaters. They did not notice Ainsley, or they didn't care, and Ainsley entered the cellar.

He magicked the lights on, unable to see. There lied Hermione and Ron; Hermione's figure draped over Rons. Ainsley's breath hitched, terrified they were dead.

He hesitantly made his way over to them and checked their pulses. They were both alive, but only just. He spent the next hour healing the unconscious pair; replenishing their blood and fixing their injuries.

They had not woken by the time that Lestrange entered the cellar, demanding that Ainsley tied them up again. He did not question Ainsley as to why he was in the cellar, likely assuming that Ainsley was up to nefarious goings-on.

Ainsley magically tied them up, but when he went to put fabric on their mouths, he was stopped. They needed to speak. More death eaters stumbled in, with Crabbe and Goyle notably absent.

Rookwood was carrying the camera, this time it was glowing yellow instead of blue. Lestrange cast the rennervate spell on the pair, but only Hermione stirred. Her eyes were fluttering open and closed, apparently having trouble fully waking up.

"State your name and the date," demanded Lestrange.

Hermione did not respond, still struggling to regain consciousness.

"Crucio," Lestrange performed nonchalantly as if it was a task he did daily. "I'm not going to ask again; state your name and the date."

It took a moment, but Hermione's eyes opened fully, and she seemed to grasp what was being asked of her.

"I don't know the date," she croaked.

"It's June 7th," responded Ainsley. He wasn't planning on talking or being a part of whatever was going to happen next, but he couldn't bear her being tortured again.

"My name is Hermione Granger," she said weakly, staring into the camera lens as if searching for something. "Today is the 7th of June."