The man sat forward in his chair, staring at her in a predatory manner. "… What is your name?" He asked, eyes glinting.
Hermione cocked her head to one side. What an odd question. Her name was… she grasped within the depths of her mind, and came up with nothing. She felt the whispers of something, but it was like trying to catch the wind between her fingers. She gaped at the stranger, dumbfounded. "I… I don't know."
The man slumped back into his chair, looking thoroughly put out. "Well, this ruins everything. There's no fun in punishing you, and extracting your terror, if you don't understand why."
She blinked at him. That was right, he had been hurting her. He said he was punishing her. Had she done something to him? Was she a bad person? She wasn't able to mull over the implications of what he had just said further because a loud banging sounded from the other room.
"GREYBACK!" Someone roared. She could hear heavy boots tromping though the other room. The man in the corner rolled his eyes dramatically before standing and dusting off his coat. He made a show of being unbothered by the apparent anger of whomever was shouting for him.
"Greyback." She muttered to herself, scrunching her brows. "Greyback… Greyback…" A blur of fur and teeth flashed across her mind's eye, gone as quickly as it came. She lay there, on what may have been a medical table, muttering to herself, trying to recall… what? The memory had vanished.
The man… presumably Greyback… had not walked away, but rather had been watching her mutter to herself.
The door to the room they were in burst open. A rather short looking, muscular, Asian man burst into the room. "GREY- …" He stopped short at the sight of her, and blinked. His confusion was immediately replaced with alarm.
Greyback chuckled. "No need to be concerned. I broke her mind. She doesn't even know her own name," he said dismissively. "Now, what is all of this commotion about?"
The other man stood silently, for a moment. He seemed to be struggling. He finally just turned his attention to Greyback, completely ignoring her. "So… you kidnapped her, and disappeared on us for nearly a week, just so you could play with your new toy." He practically bit out the last word.
Toy? She didn't like that. She wasn't sure why, but she definitely had a problem with it.
"We had a DEAL, Skoll. You're not even trying to lead them! Or teach!" The buff Asian man continued. "They're completely feral! The whole lot of them! You've been going around turning monstrosities, but you're not teaching them!"
"I gave you an army. As far as I'm concerned, I have kept my end of the bargain." Skoll Greyback responded dismissively, not even trying to hide his boredom.
"That was not the bargain, and you know it," the Asian man said, clearly aggravated. "I am not… I am not dominant enough to control them. They need an Alpha. You are. You were supposed to turn them, lead them, and then we were going to destroy the Wizarding community together. THAT was the deal. Not you turning a bunch of criminals, and then simply leaving them, completely rabid, to tear each other apart, while you disappear into the forest with your prize!"
Skoll shrugged nonchalantly. "I got what I want. I'm not entirely sure what it is that you're looking for from me."
A cold fury descended over the shorter man's face. "You used me. It was always about her, wasn't it? You told me that you cared about our cause. You told me she was a necessary means to an end. But it's all clear now. You never cared about us; it was all about you, and your obsession with her."
Skoll smiled wickedly. "Did you know that we were in school at the same time?" He walked over to the table she was strapped down on, and started to play with her hair. "She was beautiful. Bushy haired and all. I didn't mind that she was a Mudblood. Honestly, blood purity has never meant a damn thing to me." He walked his fingers down her scalp, slowly. "I was three years ahead, and a Slytherin. Outcast wherever I went. She was so wrapped up in Potter and Weasley. I could never pull her attention for even a moment." His hand became a fist in her scalp, and he yanked her hair down to the table, holding her head back. "Then I realized; she was no different from everyone else. Krum. Potter. Weasley. Zabini. Malfoy. Blood. Money. She cared about status- that's why she would never look at me. Merit matters none to people like this." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "And then, she paralyzed my father. He needed her to be punished. I realized; so did I. Not for what happened to him. He was a fool, running around with the Dark Lord like that. He deserved what he got. But no - she deserved to be punished for how she ignored me." He opened his eyes and stared down at her. "I could play the simpering son, while he concocted his plan to get her. When we had the opportunity to grab her sooner, we took it." He lifted his eyes to the other man. "I waited for her to see my pathetic excuse for a father, to learn who I was, before I killed him and left his corpse in Centaur territory."
The Asian man's fury had dissolved into horror. "You're insane." His voice was nearly a whisper.
"Go away." Skoll dismissed him with a wave. "I got what I wanted."
Skoll began to turn his back, but the man leapt at him. Skoll whipped around and caught him by the shoulders, before slamming him face-first into the ground. "Stay down!" He snarled. "How DARE you attack me."
She couldn't see them, but she could hear the struggle. "STAY. DOWN." Skoll roared. "I AM YOUR DOMINANT, DAMN IT. STAY DOWN."
"You may be my Dominant," the man answered coolly. "But you are NOT my Alpha." She heard a snarl and a loud crash.
The room stood still for a moment. Finally, the Asian man stood and made eye contact with her, a fresh spatter of fine red mist on his face and neck. "I don't feel sorry for you," he started. "I don't. You people… You deserve this."
She looked at him, curiously. "I don't know what I did," she said softly, after a long pause. "But I'm sorry I did it."
He swallowed and stared for a few moments longer before walking over and ripping the straps off of her with one hand.
"Come on, then."
