a/n: I hope the next chapter will be in time, but I can't promise anything this time. I do have great ideas though and a lot of my favourite characters will show up soon.
Day 5 since Greengrass's arrival
Nott pretended not to worry, but he kept running back and forth, biting himself on the inside of his lip and cursing quietly. Greengrass had not been here for two days, had not sent a letter (which would definitely be too dangerous) and nothing else was known about her current whereabouts.
Greengrass had climbed out of the bunker on the morning of the third day after her arrival and had not appeared since. Zabini made bad jokes about her betraying them, and after a day Nott broke his nose in anger. Zabini hadn't really taken it badly and conjured up some ice to cool the swelling. None of the two former Slytherins tried an episkey to heal Zabini's nose, although Hermione had explained the exact movements to them. She suggested to heal the fracture herself, but Nott did not want to give her a wand.
Greengrass had been gone for almost forty-eight hours, and Hermine had spent most of her time on the floor. Zabini and Nott had slept on the sofa. Hermione had found it unexpectedly uncomfortable, although she should have become accustomed to the floor by now. She cursed herself for getting used to the conveniences Greengrass had brought with her so quickly. She didn't want that. She would also sleep on the floor when Greengrass returned, she decided.
They had no bread left, just a pack of crackers. Greengrass wanted to get food and Nott made it very clear that she should hurry up. Zabini remained calm and cursed and crafted a small ship from one of the empty cracker packs while Nott screamed. Hermione dealt with her thoughts.
She tried to bypass certain topics or events. She didn't think of her parents, who were hopefully still alive and in Guildford. Hermione had placed wards on the house, shortly after Dumbledores death when she had fled Hogwarts with Harry and Ron.
She tried more than anything not to think of Luna and how the blonde had lying bleeding in her arms, while curses and spells flew around them. Nott said she had survived it and Hermione hoped so much that it was true. She felt terrible leaving Luna alone for a moment when she saw Ron being attacked by a Death Eater. As soon as she had been a few feet away from Luna, not far from a dark niche in the atrium, Nott's body-bind curse had hit her.
Hermione hadn't been outside for two days and had to use the dark room to do her business. It was incredibly humiliating, and she almost thought she would cry when she entered the room for the first time in two days, but there were no tears.
She tried not to think of the dead, because when she thought of Dean, Bill, Angelina, and Alicia, she felt like she had to cry. Simply because it would be rude not to cry, not to suffer. But there were no more tears and Hermione found this almost cruel than anything else. She felt that she was getting used to the war and its consequences. And she had not even been involved in fights for months, had not had to heal wounds or had not seen any of her friends die.
Around noon, Nott announced he would go to the market and see if he met Greengrass. He couldn't hold it anymore. Zabini seemed relieved that he wouldn't hear Nott's annoying comments for at least an hour, and only nodded when Nott told him about his plan. Hermione had to move a little to the side when Nott pushed the chair with four legs under the trap door. Shortly, fresh air penetrated the room, but Nott climbed up and quickly closed the door behind him.
"What do you think of it?" asked Zabini, and Hermione looked up in surprise. He showed her the ship he had built. "This is the HMS Victory. Do you know what the ship looks like?" Hermione shook her head. She had never been particularly interested in ships. Nor did she know how to use cars. She wondered if Zabini even knew what a car was. "The Victory is part of the Royal Navy. It is the oldest ship in their possession." Hermione wasn't particularly interested, but her head, as we know, couldn't help but record all the information. "You have certainly heard of the Battle of Trafalgar. The Victory was one of the ships involved. It was the flagship and had a great influence on the outcome of the battle."
"Why do you know so much about the ship, Zabini?" asked Hermine honestly interested. Zabini shrugged.
"I read something about the Victory at some point and found it interesting. I can't really say what interested me so much about the ship. Maybe it was just the name, who knows, Granger."
"Hm," Hermione muttered, and then looked at the cardboard ship again. Zabini had cut and scribbled many details into the cardboard with the scissors. Hermione was impressed by his craftsmanship but made no comment.
"I hope that this war will end at some point, you know, Granger?" said Zabini. "Although you can't really call it war yet. The real war is still ahead of us."
"Can I ask you something, Zabini?" asked Hermione, after saying nothing for several seconds.
"Shoot."
"What about Hogwarts?" she asked. Zabini put the cardboard ship on the table and looked at her waiting. "Who is there? Are - are students there? Are there normal classes?"
"Well, these are a lot of questions, Granger," Zabini said, grinning his bitter grin. "And I can only tell you what it was like when I was still ... outside." Hermione nodded. She wanted to know what had become of her once so beloved home. Yes, Hogwarts was her home. There she had met her best friends and felt needed, loved. She just needed to know. "Well, it's all pretty normal. Okay, Snape is headmaster and the Carrows are teachers, but otherwise ... and the graduation class is almost completely missing. You and your little friends are quite undesirable there and the Slytherins are currently working for the Dark Lord. Almost all are in Malfoy Manor, only a few could return to Hogwarts."
Hermine wondered what Zabini still defined as normal. Because what she heard about Hogwarts was definitely not quite normal. When Zabini mentioned Snape, Hermione was swept through by a wave of hatred. She could choke when she heard that name. Snape, the man who killed Dumbledore, was headmaster. How cruel.
"Is Professor McGonagall still there?" asked Hermine. The Scotswoman was probably the only consolation that the young students in the castle would have these days.
"The last time I heard about Hogwarts, she was still there, yes. Why are you so keen?"
"Oh, just like that." Hermione would certainly not become sentimental now and tell Zabini about her love for the castle.
"All right." Zabini took the scissors back in his hand and worked a little further on his ship. Hermione watched him for some time before she turned away from him and thought about whether it would be a good idea to do sit-ups now. She decided she'd rather leave it.
Instead, she sat down on the sofa and enjoyed the few hours or minutes she could sit comfortably. Zabini did not pay any attention to the change of seat. Unlike Greengrass and Nott, he seemed to care little about her, and that was probably why Hermine could suffer him the most from the three. Not that she liked him, definitely not.
Then she thought that Zabini was probably the weakest of them. He had a wounded arm and now a broken nose. It would be her chance to overtake him, take away his wand and flee. Hermine sat down a little more upright.
Hermione studied the facial features of the former Slytherin. His jaw was tense, and Hermione felt his teeth grind on top of each other. He breathed slowly and quietly, his nose wings barely moving. His eyes were pinched a little and he looked hard at the cardboard ship. His eyes were dark, and Hermione wasn't sure if she could see golden sprinkle in the brown from the distance.
Zabini always wore his hair short shaved. Hermione could not imagine him with longer hair, no matter what shape and color. She had become accustomed to his appearance. This included the wound on his arm, which healed very slowly. After all, Zabini wore a bandage and Hermione didn't have to see the shiny flesh.
For Zabini to have so many wounds, he looked pretty good. Not in the attractive kind of way, but in the healthy one. Astonishing. Healthy yet so weak. Hermione knew where and how she could hurt him.
"Don't even think about it," Zabini growled. His gaze did not even leave the cardboard ship for a millisecond, but Hermione suddenly felt watched.
"What?" she asked innocently.
"You know what," Zabini said. "I'm still a lot stronger than you and I have a wand. So, don't try it at all; it wouldn't go well for you."
"Have you read my thoughts?" asked Hermione. She didn't even try to deny that she had thought about escaping. The fact that Hermione did not like to be here should even be known to Nott.
"Legilimens is something I'm not able to do," Zabini said.
"How did you know what I was thinking about then?" asked Hermione curiously.
"You're not as mysterious as you think, Granger," Zabini said simply, then finally looked up, so their eyes met. She looked at him confused. "I don't even need to look at you. You breathe louder and slower when you think and usually these cruel wrinkles form on your forehead. Just like now! Just like now." Triumphantly, a small smile crept on his lips. "And you always wobble back and forth. It's incredibly annoying. You do this every day when you think about anything."
"I could have thought about something else."
"Your eyes practically stabbed me," Zabini said. "Just take it, Granger, you're transparent." Then Zabini returned to his ship. Hermione wished she had something else to do other than hang on to her thoughts, but there was nothing here to keep her busy.
Hermione was so surprised that she didn't waste any thought on her escape for the next few hours. She preferred to think of beautiful things like the Yule Ball or meeting her friends in Hogsmeade. But all these thoughts also brought concern. How was Harry? How was Ron?
Shortly after Dumbledore's death, Harry had told Ron and her about the Horcruxes that had to be destroyed in order to defeat Voldemort. Had they already found some? Hermine fervently hoped. She also hoped that by now they knew a way to destroy the soul pieces. Hermione had planned to leave in the summer after the planned wedding of Bill and Fleur (poor Fleur ...) with Harry and Ron in search of more horcruxes. The medallion Harry had found with Dumbledore had turned out to be a fake and that had been their first clue. They had wanted to go in search of the real medallion.
Hermione wondered where Harry and Ron were right now. Well, she's been wondering since she first opened her eyes in the dark room, but now she really wanted to know. She missed her two best friends.
The trap door opened and with a glance upwards, Hermione realized that it was already dark outside.
"Blaise! Help me!" shouted Greengrass, bent over the open trap door.
"Daphne, you're back," Zabini said, with a slight surprise waving in his voice.
"Yes, what a miracle," Greengrass hissed sarcastically, then handed two bags of food and, as it looked, medicine down to Zabini. "Did Theo really believe that I would betray you? Well, maybe I should have waited until he was back before I left. But he was also away for a long time."
"He's looking for you," Zabini remarked as he placed the bags on two chairs.
"What an idiot," Greengrass muttered, then dropped into the bunker through the trap door. "You built a ship, Blaise? How sweet." Greengrass critically eyed the cardboard ship, which stood between cardboard residues and the scissor. Zabini just nodded and unpacked the bags.
Hermione saw a glass of jam and the water ran down her mouth. But she tried to not think about the jam and tried not to show any emotion, while Blaise took other treats from one of the bags. The other was mostly a filled with potions, and Hermione could see a small bottle of dittany.
"It's the HMS Victory," Zabini said after unpacking the bags.
"Okay," was all Greengrass said.
"You were away for a long time," Zabini remarked.
"Well, the shopping took a little bit and I slept at home one night, so my absence wasn't so noticeable," Greengrass said, shrugging her shoulders. "And after that I was at the Manor." Then she became more serious. "Draco doesn't look good, Blaise."
"Did you talk to him?" asked Zabini, and Greengrass nodded. Hermione, who was still sitting on the sofa, didn't seem to be noticed her at all. "How is he?"
"Of course, he is not doing well because Lucius is no longer there. Now he gets all the hatred from the Dark Lord. Narcissa wasn't in the Manor when I was there."
"What else, Daphne, don't just stop all the time!" Zabini quipped.
"I don't know if he gets any food. He looks incredibly thin and his eyes are completely hollow," Greengrass said, swallowing heavily. "He says everything's okay, but it's clearly not. He told me Miles and Tracey don't come to the Manor anymore and so he is alone. I should be with him, Blaise."
"Shit"
Then the trap door opened again, and Nott almost fell on Greengrass. Frightened, he looked at the brunette and Hermione saw on his facial muscles that he was very hard not to shout or curse Greengrass.
"Where were you?" asked Nott, trying to sound calm, but the roar in his voice was unmistakable.
"I had to spend some time at home so that Toria would not become suspicious. And I shopped and visited the Manor. I just told Blaise about Draco." Nott muttered something incomprehensible. Hermione would have liked to know what he had said.
"What about Draco?" asked Nott, and tiredly brushed a dark curl out of his face.
"Well, apparently he looks shit," Zabini said of what Greengrass had told him.
"And he's feeling the same," Greengrass added.
"Fuck, what about him? Is it because of Lucius?" asked Nott angrily. Hermine could not claim that Nott did not care for his friends. That was probably the only good thing about him.
"Certainly, but he's all alone, Theo. Miles and Tracey are in Glasgow right now and aren't coming back for a while. Draco said they were ordered to watch one of the order's safe houses," Greengrass said, then looked at Hermione. "It seems that the Order has become negligent again." Hermione tried not to let the panic be noticed. But they were safe, weren't they? The safe houses were certainly covered with wards through which the Death Eaters could not penetrate.
"They-They're in Glasgow? The Order?" asked Nott, surprised.
"Well, Draco says the Dark Lord believes they have a safe house there. One, Theo. And who knows if it's true at all," Greengrass said sternly. Nott, however, could hardly hide his enthusiasm and curiosity and began to wander excitedly through the room. He tapped against his temples and Hermione could see that he was biting himself again on the inside of his lip.
"Everyone else ... they're okay, aren't they?" asked Zabini cautiously.
"Narcissa wasn't there, but I think she's doing well. I have heard that Rabastan is said to have fallen ill with dragon pox, but that ... it doesn't really matter," Greengrass said, almost cheerfully. But then her facial expression darkened again, and she looked at Blaise seriously. "Toria told me that people are in jail at the Manor. She doesn't know exactly who, but apparently little Lovegood is there."
"No!" Hermine had jumped up in horror and Nott, Zabini and Greengrass turned to her surprised. "Why?" Hermine didn't care that she was on the verge of a panic attack. Not Luna! Not her Luna, who she had saved in the mystery. Hermione stumbled towards Greengrass and grabbed her by the shoulders. She could feel Nott reaching for her, but she didn't care. She shook Greengrass's shoulders and she thought she was screaming, but she didn't know.
"Calm down, Granger," Greengrass hissed, ripping Hermine's arms off her shoulders.
"Let her go, damn it!" shouted Nott as Hermine clung to Greengrass. No no no! Not Luna! Why was she in the Manor? What had happened? Harry and Ron had to save her before it was too late.
Nott's arms engulfed Hermione's torso, and as she screamed and kicked around, Nott threw her on the sofa and pulled his wand. The body-bind curse hit Hermione in the face and even before all her limbs became stiff, she lost consciousness.
When she woke up, her head ached, and she moaned. Then she noticed the biting smell of dittany and - jam! Hermione looked to the table where Nott and Zabini ate bread. Greengrass sat next to her on the couch and read a book.
"She's awake," Greengrass remarked, without looking up.
"Morning, Granger," Zabini mumbled. "Or rather good evening." Hermione frowned. She had probably not fainted for more than a few hours or maybe even minutes. The three former Slytherins were still wearing the same clothes. Zabini's cardboard ship was on the table between jam jars.
Nott just grunted and then turned back to his bread. Sure, Greengrass had told him not to insult her immediately after waking up.
Hermione sat upright. The body-bind curse didn't keep her in place anymore, but her few muscles hurt with every movement.
Greengrass suddenly closed her book and announced that she and Hermione would go outside to walk a bit and do their business. Neither of the other two said anything about it, so Hermione climbed through the trap door after Greengrass with her face contorted with pain. Her head became clear due to the fresh evening air and the headaches disappeared a little.
Surprisingly, Greengrass didn't talk to her. The last few days she had always told Hermione something, whether interesting or not. On their first walk, she had told her about her sister Astoria, but Hermione had barely listened. After that it was about really uninteresting things like balls and clothes. The only interesting thing Greengrass had told her during their walks was the story of Nott and his father.
Today the Greengrass seemed to be a bit depressed and Hermine was sure that it had something to do with Malfoy Manor and especially Draco Malfoy. Greengrass, Nott and Zabini had been genuinely concerned when they talked about the young Malfoy.
It was only when Greengrass wanted to do her business behind a tree that she muttered to Hermione that she shouldn't move from the spot. That was all. But Hermione didn't talk either. Well, she almost never did. The only time she had said anything was when she learned that Nott had killed his father. She had not been able to keep her anger and disbelief.
Today, Hermione was too tired to even think about her escape. She trotted silently next to Greengrass and cursed her aching muscles. Nott's body-bind curse had been strong.
Then Hermione thought of Luna, who was sitting in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. Hopefully she did because anything else would mean she was dead. Or she had been saved, Hermione very much hoped. She was very sorry for her blonde friend; she had already gone through so much.
Again, she felt bad because she couldn't cry, even though she was supposed to.
They circled one of the trees and walked back to the ruins. Today Hermine looked more closely at the collapsed walls and the few still recognizable furniture. The house must have been two storeys high and had a small tower on its left side. It seemed to be almost completely preserved, only the high windows had been smashed and the roof had collapsed. On the right side a side wing was tied to the main house, but it was completely burnt down, and nothing was visible except for the foundations. Presumably the bedroom of Nott's father had been in the side wing. The main building had also been hard hit. Only the little part that bordered the tower still had walls and a few windows. On this side was also the chandelier and the trap door through which they came into the bunker.
When they arrived at the ruins, Greengrass handed her the bucket, which stood between a few beams.
"Wash yourself," Greengrass ordered, and Hermione did as she was told. She got out of her pants and pulled the old shirt with the many holes over her head. It was fresh and she felt the shivers on her arms. She left the underwear on; Greengrass would dry her afterwards. The water that Greengrass had conjured into the bucket was cold and Hermione was quiet as she poured the bucket over her. Her curls remained flat in her face. Hermione briefly rubbed her body, especially her arms, and then looked at Greengrass waiting.
After the former Slytherin had dried her and Hermione had dressed again, they climbed back into the bunker, Hermine first.
Nott and Zabini were still sitting at the table, but they no longer ate. Hermione noticed that she was very hungry. Except for two crackers, she had not eaten anything today and had only drunk in the morning.
"Daphne can go," Nott muttered.
"Nott, not everyone wants to go. You said it yourself, they believe in it," Zabini said, after which Nott growled angrily. He grumbled something Hermione didn't understand. "And Draco ... you know, he worshipped his father and his father worshipped the Dark Lord."
"But we can't just let him rot there!" said Nott angrily.
"Boys, what's it all about?" asked Greengrass, who then took a loaf of bread from the bag that stood on the edge of the table and started putting jam on it.
"Draco," Zabini replied.
"Please no new rescues, Theo. You didn't even finish your first plan with the Order," Greengrass said with a sigh.
"Daphne, it's Draco! Our friend Draco!" said Nott angrily. "You said he looks bad; we've got to get him out of there."
"I don't even know if he wants to leave," Greengrass said angrily, Zabini nodded approvingly. Hermione, meanwhile, stood helpless in the middle of the room and was surprised when Greengrass handed her the bread she had just smeared with jam. Without waiting, she took a bite and had to suppress a smile as the jam on her tongue melted. This was by far the best she had eaten for almost two hundred and eighty days.
"Daphne, Draco! It's Draco and we have to fucking help him because he's our fucking friend!" Nott had become angry and sat on the edge of his chair. Immediately he would jump up, Hermione thought. "We have to fucking help him before his brain is so broken like Pansys or that of your sister! Draco is strong-willed. He doesn't believe in all the shit, right? Right, Daphne?"
"Theo, calm down," Zabini said softly, and Greengrass placed a hand on Nott's shoulder to prevent him from breaking down from anger.
"I don't know if he believes in it," Greengrass said, a little sad. "You know what he is like. He does what he is ordered to do, and if he does not meet the expectations of others, it will destroy him. You know what he was like after he ... after Snape killed Dumbledore." Nott grunted.
"But he doesn't believe in all the shit of the Dark Lord is good. He is not, Daphne, he is a fucking killer and a cruel one too."
"I know that," Greengrass said softly. "I just don't know if Draco sees it that way."
Hermione had eaten her bread and would have liked to have another one, but she sat quietly on the sofa behind her and listened to the conversation. She admired Nott's concern for his friend, even if she couldn't understand what was so great about Malfoy. Surely, he was completely inferior to Voldemort. She knew him. There was nothing good about him.
"Daphne, I want you to go to the Manor and take him with you. Please, Daphne," Nott said now, pleading. Had Hermione not known all his bad sides, she would have almost felt sorry for the former Slytherin. So, she could only enjoy Nott's suffering.
"Theo, it doesn't work that easily. He must want it, otherwise he could tell on us," Zabini said, referring to Greengrass. She seemed undecided, but then stood on Zabini's side and nodded.
"I'm happy to help you with everything you want," Greengrass told Nott. "But helping Draco is almost impossible right now. What if I visit the Manor tomorrow and just talk to him for a bit?" Nott seemed unhappy but gave up and nodded tiredly. "Okay, let's sleep. I suppose you let Granger sleep on the floor last night?"
"Yes," Zabini said.
"Then she sleeps on the sofa again. And so do I."
"I sleep on the floor," Hermione said. Greengrass shrugged.