Chapter 13

She sat on her bed leaning into George's side, as they watched Healer Magnus and Harry explain everything to Malfoy. She found it incredibly odd and interesting listening to other people talking about her and her story like she wasn't in the room. Malfoy looked like the definition of focus while he listened, nodding, raising and furrowing his brows at specific times as reactions to what he was told. Obviously trying to take every mundane detail in.

When they were done telling him everything, he was given Healer Magnus' notebook, which he read silently over the next 30 minutes.

"Do you have time to prod around the other part of her brain now?" He asked Harry afterwards.

"My entire work-schedule revolves around Hermione today." He told the blond matter-of-factly before turning to Hermione, "What do you say 'Mione? Want to try again?"

She sat silently for a moment, contemplating how she felt physically. "How about lunch, first?" Healer Magnus jumped in, eyes on Hermione. "Considering how exhausting this is probably going to be, I think she's going to need something to eat." Hermione smiled back at Magnus and nodded in agreement. Thank god, she thought to herself as her stomach rumbled its agreement.

"I vote in favour. Let's meet here again in an hour, shall we?" Harry answered and left to pick up something for Hermione, George and himself. Magnus and Malfoy each went their own way after agreeing.

George and Hermione sat in silence for a moment, before her inability to keep her thoughts to herself kicked in once again. "What's going to happen?"

"After lunch?" He asked, not sure what exactly she wanted to know.

"After… What happens when I have to leave this room? When I go to Diagon alley for the first time? Where will I live? What about work? What about -"

"Hey, don't worry about it love, we'll figure it out. Right?" When she didn't immediately answer or react, he reached his hand down and tugged her closer to him, by her neck with his hand half-buried in her hair. "I do have a suggestion, though. If you want to hear it."

She looked up at him and she was sure he could see every emotion in her eyes, "What is it?" she asked.

"How about - When Healer Magnus has cleared you to leave - you either go to stay with Harry and Ginny or at the Burrow? Or you could come stay with me… Only if you want to, of course! I'd never pressure you into move in -" He was silenced by her lips gently touching his. It was nothing fancy, fiery or overly-exaggerated, yet it must have been one of the most sensitive and heart-warming kisses they had shared up until that point.

"Be aware darling, if you keep rambling like that, I might take you for being a Granger in disguise, instead of a Weasley." He chuckled and kissed her nose, "With that being said, I would love to stay with you until we figure out how to… Move forward with this? figure out how to live? How to function?" She looked down to the bottom of his jumper where she unintentionally had started fiddling with the seam. "I can't promise I'm going to be easy to be around after being on my own for so long… But I will promise to try. I'll try for you. For us."

George hugged her closer and kissed the top of her hair, "I know love. I'll try too. We're gonna figure it out."

a small cough from the door brought their attention to the fact that they were no longer alone in the room. "You guys need another moment? I can put the food on the table and come back later." Harry said, smiling at them.

"No, it's fine Harry." Hermione said smiling, while George went to the table to make room for their lunches. "We were just talking about my living arrangements once I'll be released from here."

"Oh. What did you agree on?" Harry said while he served each person their plate of food.

"I'll be staying with George until we figure out what to do. It may end with me staying at the burrow for some time or at your place if you'll have me, and if it doesn't work out at George's. But it will pretty much be touch and go. I'm not entirely sure how I'll manage being around people again… But I guess the only way of knowing, is trying." She shrugged and sat down at the table, removing the cling film from what smelled like curry.

Harry smiled at her, "You'll always be welcome at our place, but I think it sounds like a good solution. We'll see what else is going to happen after that, what with everything else going on as well. But I think some sort of stability would be pretty good."

"How did you feel about getting some visitors later? Too many people might wake the suspicions of the press in the hall downstairs, but I know from personal experience that a certain couple of redheads are slowly trying not to get arrested for killing, wanting to give you a hug." Harry said while laughing to himself.

"Gin and Ron?" Hermione asked after swallowing her food.

"Gin and Ron." Harry agreed, "The others don't know anything more than the press knows, as far as I'm concerned, and I plan on keeping it that way as this is still an open investigation. They do miss you, though"

"I know they do… I miss them too, all of them. But I'm fine with Gin and Ron coming by later. Then maybe I can go see the others once I've settled in at George's? Not like a big welcoming-home-party! But hanging out and digging into some of Molly's home cooking it is literally all my stomach has craved for months." She deadpanned and laughed at her own words as her not-yet-satisfied-stomach growled it's need for attention once again.

"You didn't miss my cooking?" Harry asked offhandedly.

"As far as I remember Harry, you are probably the worst cook I have ever met - and let me just remind you. I've met Ron." Hermione answered before taking a spoonful of her food.

She was interrupted by George, though. Who had snorted half of what was in his mouth, out on the table, just to start laughing so hard that Hermione was beginning to question whether he was actually breathing, or not. When he began coughing between the laughs, she started patting him on the back, "There, there. Don't worry, I'm sure dear Ronald, has moved beyond the food-poisoning-stage since the last time he tried serving me 'his special chicken roast'. I'm not sure what was more horrendous about it, really. The week I spent in bed recovering afterwards, or the fact that he tried to apologize by proposing."

George snorted another mouthful of food out before pushing away from the table and throwing his arms into the air in a resigning matter. "He did what? As hilarious as this sounds, I need to know - for purely academic reasons of course. When did he propose exactly, and how is he still alive? What potion did he take beforehand?"

Hermione wandlessly and non-verbally cleaned up his mess, with a swish of her wrist. Her brows furrowed in surprise. huh… It's been a while since that actually worked, she thought to herself. "It happened during the summer after the war. I just thought he was proposing 'just to do it' and I didn't really put much thought into it. We laughed a bit at the aesthetics, and talked about how it probably wouldn't work. The next day I talked to Minerva about going back to Hogwarts." She shrugged offhandedly. "It wasn't really a big thing. Sorry to ruin the big secret, love." She winked at him.

George's arms had been flaring around in the air like he was praying for a miracle from a god that he probably didn't even know much about, now fell to his sides while he groaned in obvious exaggerated frustration. The result was Harry bending over, clutching his stomach as he removed silent tears from his eyes and gasping for air.

"Merlin, I wish I'd known about your relationship before all of this. Be still my beating heart, I can't take it." He laughed.

"You guys are weird." Hermione smiled, and finished her food.

…..

"Right, I think we'll try something different then I originally planned. You mentioned 'black spots' earlier. Is there anything new coming to mind?" Harry said, looking up at Malfoy to see if it could be the right direction to take. When he nodded his head slightly, Harry took it as enough confirmation to keep going. "Close your eyes for me, and try to remember."

"The first thing that comes to mind is Flora. I think I know who she is." She said as she tried to remember, but stopped short when she felt something wrong. "Stop doing that, you won't get in." She said to no one in particular.

"You're getting stronger. You didn't sense or fight me off earlier." Malfoy said, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed and a satisfied smirk on his face, "That is definitely good news. Keep going Potter." He said offhandedly and reached out for his own notebook.

"She was one of the twins in 'The Slug Club' remember? I think they were there because of some well-known-uncle."

"I remember her, but not from the slug club. Her uncle and aunt were the Carrows that helped run Hogwarts while Snape was headmaster. Perhaps Amycus was exceptionally good at potions or something like that, for her and Hestia to get into the club, I'm not really sure. But you are right, Flora was there. She was one of the persons apprehended at the cabin that she, by the way, owned with Marcus Flint."

"I knew something was wrong with that woman!" Hermione said triumphant in a low voice. "I felt it the second he started talking about her."

"Well, the intuition of Hermione Granger has never failed." Harry winked at her.

She sat silently for a while, thinking. "Then why, didn't I feel anything wrong with Liam? When it was so obvious with Flora." She couldn't wrap her mind about it.

"Liam?" Harry asked, and looked around to see if the name hit any buttons with anyone else in the room. They all looked blank. "Who's Liam?"

"He was the guy you fought at the end, who ran. He 'worked' at a swimming pool in Hamburg where he once let my swim some laps and use the showers, free. He was also in Flora's cabin. I think he - he stalked me! You! All of you…" She felt a warm hand at her cheek, and relaxed a bit into it. "I'm so sorry…" She whispered.

"Auch - Really, Granger. Wandless magic?" Malfoy said, caressing the part on his arm where her stinging hex had hit him.

"I told you to stop. That was a warning. I won't tell you again." She said, her voice shaking from emotion but the intention was clear. Back off.

"Stupid git...Don't be sorry, love." George said while caressing her cheek, and eyeing the blond. "We chose this side of the war, and we chose to be your family. No one can make us do anything, and now it's their turn to be hunted." There was a distinct tone to his voice that she had rarely heard, even before the war had really begun. George was angry. Really, fucking, angry. "What else do you remember?"

"Nothing 'old', I think. I'm not sure I've ever met him before actually… But he was in the cabin with the others, and seemed to be some kind of leader. Though… They mentioned 'the old man' and I'm quite sure it's Greyback they were referring to. But they also talked about someone named 'Dario' who 'liked them alive and conscious', (she shivered in obvious distaste) and I'm not sure if that is someone I'm supposed to remember or not. I feel like him and Greyback are connected somehow, but I'm not sure how."

"But that's good! It gives us some insight as to how many people are involved." He opened his notebook on another page and tapped it with his wand, tiny scripples coming forth instantly. "We knew there was a main stalker, supposedly, Greyback. Then there's the Dario-guy that they spoke of in the cabin, and finally Liam. To me, those seem like the important people in this situation, but that still leaves us with the sidekicks and their involvement. This seems bigger than we thought at first…" He started caressing the lightning-shaped scar, lost in thought.

"Based on…?" George started, trying to restart Harry's thought-process.

"We found the basement with all of the pictures. He kept track of each and every person who might have had something to do with Hermione - including her. Everywhere she went, someone was right behind her. I think there are four possible situations here; first one being that you have had three stalkers all this time, but that they behaved in three completely different ways which made it look like there was only one. Second; There were people located on multiple locations around the world using the locator in you, to track you. Third one being that Liam is the only one who has been tracking and stalking you, keeping you on the run for so long and putting the tracker in you. Or, lastly; Dario and Liam are the same person, but the others don't know that." Harry looked around at the others, checking to see if they understood what he was saying.

"I'm happy to tell you that you are wrong in option number three and four, Harry." Hermione said slowly, but then continued more certain, "regarding the part where Liam is the only stalker, you are wrong. I watched Greyback kill my parents after pushing them for answers about my whereabouts. He is sure as hell, hunting me." she stood from the bed and went to the table where they had eaten earlier, grabbed her bottle of water, and emptied it before continuing.

"As for the fourth theory, the more I think about it, the more I'm sure that I have never met Liam until that day by the pools. Sure, he seemed friendly and kind, but he was the kind of person that I'm absolutely sure I would have remembered." She leaned against the table and crossed her arms over her chest. "Dario, on the other hand, he... He was definitely at the Manor, in the dungeon, with me. But he… He -" She choked up and spent a couple of seconds staring at something on the floor, before breathing out and closing her eyes. Steeling herself. "He didn't just talk to me. He behaved like he really wasn't supposed to be in there with me, yet he spoke to me like he was the only one allowed, like it was just a matter of time before he'd have me. Like he owned me… Like I was some kind of slave just made for him… He talked for what feels like hours about hurting me, marking me, killing me, impregnating me... It was like he wasn't sure what exactly he wanted, except that he wanted it to be me. Which is why I'll never be able to forget either his voice, nor his hideous colog-" She looked up at Harry instantly, when she realized that she remembered something vital. "His god, damned, cologne! I remember Greyback coming into my cell the next day, but he never got around to hurting me. The second the door opened he started sniffing around the room, then growled loudly and left with the door hammering shut after him. That was the last time I saw anyone before we escaped some days later." She stopped talking and leaned one hand back on the table, while the back of the other hand went to cover her mouth.

"Are you okay-" George started, but was silenced by her lifting her index finger into the air, and turning around rushing towards the loo. They heard her wrenching almost instantly, and didn't question it when she came back into the room some minutes later. She just went to the bed, and sat down with her hands in her lap.

"Granger, I know you told me to stop, but I need you to show me Dario." Draco said slowly, as all eyes in the room turned to him.

"I can't… I don't want to hear him again…" She said quietly, tears threading to spill from her eyes at the close proximity of the memory, even though she had just told them about it. "Please don't make me."

"I'm sorry, but I have to hear his voice. I have an idea, but I really need to know. I really, really need to know."

"I - How sure are you?" She asked.

"I need two confirmations to support each other, and you hold one of them. I won't know without your consent."

"Fine. Give me the bloody bucket again, I have a feeling I'm going to need it... Again." She growled. Out of the corner of her eye she saw George sitting down heavily on a chair, his head in his hands.

"George?" She asked gently. When he raised his eyes to hers and she knew she had his full attention, she continued. "If it's too much for you right now, you don't have to stay." When he didn't reply to her and just stared at her with those beautiful, blue eyes, she tried again. "Do you hear me? You don't have to push yourself down to keep me up."

He raised from the chair and went to her bed, where he hugged her to his chest, kissing the top of her hair. "I don't want to leave you…" He whispered.

"But you can sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere, and we're got all these people - including the ferret - to make sure I don't run off with strangers offering me chocolate. And yes, I am sure." She said and snuggled closer.

"If you insist, Curly, I'll be back later with dinner. But don't you dare sneak off with strangers - I'll be bringing you that chocolate!" He smiled and kissed her once again, before picking up his jacket. "fellas, Doc, I'll be seeing you at another time." He lifted his imaginary hat in farewell and left.

"Great, now that the entire room has been sugar-coated - let's get started." Draco said with fake malice in his voice. So, he does have a soft side, Hermione thought happily to herself.

She sat back against her pillow with the bucket in front of her, as Draco told her to relax and open her mind. "Just think of the memory that you want to show me, and I'll do the rest. I won't poke further than that, I promise." Hermione looked up at him, steeling herself emotionally as he whispered the spell.

….

Darkness hit him first. Utter and complete darkness. She might as well have been in their dungeons as anywhere else, there really was no telling at this point. It was cold in there as well, too cold for the supposedly warm spring-weather he knew would be happening outside of the cell. Well, 'knew' was saying too much as he couldn't possibly tell what time of day it was.

Why were there no windows in here? All the cellars had windows.

Then he heard her - the ragged breathing, the whimpers, the small coughs. He couldn't tell if it was his healer training kicking in, or the fact that he knew some parts of what was coming. But he reached out in the direction he believed she was in wanting to help her, to save her. It was then that he remembered that she wouldn't know he was in there, and he wouldn't be able to do anything but listen and try to take as much in as possible. More than likely, he would never be given this opportunity again.

When the door opened, he could have sworn his heart stopped beating. He saw Hermione laying naked in a corner, chained by the neck to the wall. Her hands coming up to cover her eyes as the subtle light from the hall momentarily blinded her. Just as the door clicked shut and he tore his eyes from her beaten up body to give her some sort of privacy, he saw the window far above her head.

The smell hit him next, and at that moment he knew exactly why Hermione would never be able to forget it. It was incredibly distinct, and at that point he had a strong suspicion about the company this stranger hung out with. The man walked slowly in Hermione's direction, his breathing strained. His steps small, like he with his feet were feeling his way forward. Maybe he wasn't used to the strange darkness? Or was it the dungeons that were unfamiliar?

He could no longer hear Hermione, though. Good girl.

Then he heard the 'thud' when his boot hit something soft. "There you are, little bird."

Silence.

Then the sound of another thud followed instantly by a scream. It wasn't like the screams he would hear coming from her in mere days when Bellatrix would torture her, but it was damn near close. She was gasping for air, and Draco guessed that he must have kicked her in the ribs or stomach.

"Fuck you", he whispered at the stranger who couldn't hear him or even know that he was present.

The sound of shackles rustling reminded him that they weren't done yet. A sloppy sound and then he hissed. Did she just... bite him? Kick him back? Please tell me you kneed his balls. He snickered to himself. Obviously, Hermione was no way near done fighting back.

Her shackles rustled again and she groaned in pain.

"You're mine, and I'll take you if I bloody well want to. I'll make damn well sure, that if you ever get out of this hole alive, that I'll find you. I'll always find you. You belong, to me." He whispered the last part, and again some sort of sloppy sound. Draco couldn't tell if he was kissing or licking her, but he had goosebumps all over his body non the less.

He heard a loud thud once again, yet louder than the other times, and she sounded like she once again lost all the air in her lungs. But there was no sound of her hitting the ground. Was he holding her against the wall?

"If I can't have you, no one else will. I'll kill everyone you love!"

"No, no no no... Please! please, I'll do anything. Just don't hurt them." She gasped out, "Please, just don't hurt them…."

"Oh, you better. You're mine." Another thud, followed by a slithering sound. Probably her sliding down the wall.

He muttered something too low for Draco to hear and left a few seconds later. When Hermione started crying softly, he left. There was no need to humiliate her any further.

The reaction was instantaneous once he was back in the hospital room. Hermione emptied her stomach for whatever was left in there, and he spent a couple of minutes with his head in his eyes, sitting at the side of the bed. Merlin, he hoped he never had to endure a memory like that again. Ever.

"I have to go, try to get some sleep, Granger. I'll be back as soon as I can." He picked up his notebook and lab coat, and left through the door. Hermione succumbed to sleep mere minutes later.