Hi guys, Welcome to the 12th Chapter of Dark is all that's left! Finally the much hated Rita Skeeter has made her appearance. Let's see how she can make her presence useful. Anyways, let's not wait further and dive right in to the next chapter.
One year, after almost one year I'm posting this chapter. My sincere apologies, as life came down with new opportunities and hardships and responsibilities. Lockdown has given me a chance to revisit this. This one didn't turn out good, but I'm a little rust after so many months of hiatus. Please avoid sending flames and keep safe.
All the usual disclaimers and warnings still stand. HP universe belongs to the almighty JK Rowling. Puny beasts like me indulge in writing non profit fanfic for entertainment from time to time.
Hermione apparated back to her safe house with a satisfied grin, and flicked her palm to reactivate all the wards on her so called property before lying down on her threadbare cot and mattress. Sleep came easily to her with all the physical and mental exertion she had to do all day.
This was the perfect opportunity for Rita to scoop around the place. She hit pay-dirt when accidentally she held on to someone's disillusioned hair at Hogwarts which to her amusement turned out to be none other than convict-at-large and ex-girlfriend to the boy-who-lived, Hermione Granger. This was going to be such a huge story, but before that she needed to collect memories for reprint. This worn down runt and hiding spot for the convicted muggleborn could be just what the Prophet needs to boost their sales and a sure promotion for her. Harry Potter and his friends in limelight, for good or bad, time and again unwittingly provided her with a story good enough to warrant a raise for her. A slight snore from the dark witch got Skeeter out of her musings as she flew out of the small room to explore the place.
Skeeter went through the entire place, which frankly looked something out of a horror story. The huge acid tanks, acrid smell of rotting corpses of small animals. A room with some sort of metal torture equipment, with what looked like blood puddled at the bottom. Another hall with discarded wizarding clothing items belonging to different people. If her hunch was correct, it might have been Granger behind those odd disappearances of erstwhile prominant wizards. She did find a lime green bowler hat, an atrocious pink cardigan that reminded her of Umbridge who suddenly disappeared, yet not many suspected elsewhere with the Dark Lord Voldemort's return, he was blamed for the mysterious disappearances. This could be even bigger than what she imagined. Hermione Granger, not only murdered Lovegood girl and escaped Azkaban, but she also kidnapped an probably killed Fudge and Umbridge. She could already read the next day's headlines 'Harry Potter's ex-girlfriend: The-Girl-Who-Kills!'
She was almost done exploring the place, she had been careful not to touch anything which was smart of her since any charmed item could have given her away. Yet in her over confidence, she didn't realize that anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards had been erected. She tried to apparate back to the Daily Prophet's office, but the anti-apparition wards kicked in and threw her back to the same place and magic resistant cuffs now shackled her hands. Her wand had been ripped from her hands lying near one of the tanks as she was held in place by the shackles. She tried changing herself into her animagus form, yet nothing worked.
"Well, well, well!" came a voice from the corner of the room startling the vicious journalist. "My day just keeps getting better! Am I really The-Boy-Who-Lived level famous, that the world famous Rita Skeeter has taken to interview little old me." said the dark witch in a mock drawl as she stepped closer and picked up the fallen wand.
"G.. ! You're behind Fudge and Umbridge's disappearances. I know, you can't get away with it. Let me go! Give me my wand, Granger!" screeched the garishly dressed reporter as Hermione continued to play with the wand. And then there was a crunch, as Rita watched in horror her precious wand broken down the middle in the hands of the deranged witch with a sadistic grin.
"Oops, I broke it." said Hermione as she threw both pieces casually at the reporter's feet. "And please! spare me the begging! I've had to put up with too much of that since my release from Azkaban. You know not only Umbridge and Fudge, there were other guests I've hosted. The now a vegetable Weasley twin, Lord Avery and my fav Professor Snape. Such a shame I couldn't host Albus, but I did send him a parting gift none-the-less.."
"You! you killed Albus Dumbledore?" the reporter cut in rudely with a disbelieving snort. Hermione's face twitched in irritation at being interrupted. With a flick of her palm, Rita's jaw snapped shut and barely missed ripping part of her tongue with it.
"What did I tell you about interrupting? Oh wait! I didn't! Its RUDE, so please keep that mouth shut and hide your vile tongue behind those pearl white teeth" chided Hermione as one would tell off a petulant child.
"Well! no point in warning you. You never could keep your nose from sticking in other's business, right? I remember the articles you wrote about me during the Triwizard Tournament. Wanna spend some more time in a jar?" a knowing smirk spread across her face as she reminded Rita about her months of incarceration inside the jar she'd been trapped by the muggleborn witch,"You bit more than you could chew this time, didn't you!"
Hermione circled Rita eyeing her just as a predator eyes it's prey. With a flick she transfigured the iron stool lying nearby into a crude yet stable armchair of sorts. She levitated Rita on the chair and split her manacles to shackle her hands to each arm of the chair.
"Comfortable dear? Well, you've been working so hard all these years looking for exclusive bites. Your teeth must hurt, darling. My parents were dentists, tooth healers, in case you didn't get the reference. I think I could make them proud after all. Just wait here while I get some stuff." crooned Hermione as she disapparated in a wisp of smoke. Ten minutes down the line, she was back with both hands full. In one she held a delicately crafted leather bag of sorts with the initials G, and in the other she held a rusty red tool box.
"I'm baaack!" said Hermione in an excited tone."Hope I wasn't gone for long! Missed me much? I got something of my Mom's to help me today. Now open wide!"
Rita couldn't help but let out muffled screams, her jaw was magically shut, she couldn't talk her way out of this. Her wand was broken and now this. This had to be some sort of joke, yet the laughs never came. She could barely believe that she was trapped again by the same muggleborn witch. Yet, last time she knew she'd be fine. After all Gryffindors were brave and benevolent to the core, yet this deranged mass murderer seemed nothing of her old self.
Hermione meanwhile, fished out a metal contraption of some sort from her mother's bag and moved to Rita as flicked her palm to keep Rita's mouth wide open. She put the clamps in her mouth and turned the knobs to stretch her mouth open as wide as they could be without tearing her lips.
"Oh Relax Rita! Its just to keep your mouth stable, we don't want any accidents do we. Now, where's my other bag." said Hermione as she moved towards the tool box. After fiddling through stuff, she pulled out a little hammer with wedge nail puller on the top.
"Now, where shall we begin?" said Hermione in a sweet tone that would make a certain dead toad proud. Yet the tone didn't match the predatory grin that threatened to split her face. Mocking her in a derogatory way, she started straddling the bound witch in garish green robes. The wedged head of the hammer pointing ominously towards set of sparkling white teeth.
"Well, you get the hint I believe?" mocked the brunette witch as Rita struggled against both the manacles as well as the witch straddling her. Her eyes wide in horror and heart pounding to break free from her body."No worries dear, you're teeth have developed some incurable rot, let me cure you dear."
Hermione pulled on her first tooth agonizingly slow as howls of incoherent screams filled the building. Anyone sane enough to value their life probably would never walk that building's way. This was what continued for the rest of the night as the glowing Amethyst eyes focussed on tormenting the bug that tormented innocent wizards and witches alike with her poisoned quill.
Next day...
After passing out from intense pain and blood loss, Rita gained consciousness almost a day later. Her head hurt with a throbbing pain, much worse were her bloodied nails that scratched the armrest in agony. Her robes were dirty with splatters of blood dried up and bloody saliva that rushed down her open mouth. It still hurt her jaws to be stretched for so long, her lips were dry, throat parched from thirst and being exposed for so long. Right next to her was metal bowl filled with broken pieces of teeth pulled unceremoniously off her mouth. Her magical core was exhausted trying to fix her injuries and struggling to do so against the magic suppressing shackles. In a moment of reprieve she found herself unchained from the arm chair and she bolted for the exit as fast as her exhausted body could take her.
A feel of triumph filled her as she felt fresh air hit her nostrils, she was out of the horror house that was her impromptu prison a few hours back. There was an abandoned road that provided access to the building but she'd be in plain sight, so she took the alternative and moved towards the woods across the road and attempted to turn back to her animagus form, but those blasted shackles just stung her wrists again. No matter, she was free now, just had to reach The Prophet somehow and tomorrow she'll have her retribution and probably an Order of Merlin for her efforts in detaining a murderer.
Running through the woods for what seemed like hours she came upon a house. Finally, she thought, she found a wizarding or atleast muggleborn's house by the robes hanging in the clothes line outside the small house.
A woman no less than 35-40 was de-gnoming her garden, this is so fortunate, she could finally get some help, maybe lead the aurors there and write a special piece in getting the notorious Azkaban escapee convicted throwing her own life at peril. She would have to get some cosmetic treatments, yet the ministry's reward could easily cover the costs for them.
A gasp from the same working woman brought Rita out of her dreams as she moved forward to speak but couldn't as one of the broken pieces of teeth had damaged her vocal cords, only magic managed to save her life as she felt her throat raw and unable to speak tears welled in her eyes.
The woman moved closer shocked at seeing the reporter's condition,"Oh Merlin! What.. what happened to you? Who did this to you? Please don't cry, let me call the aurors and get some healer" said the polite woman as she ushered the other witch inside.
A/N: I know this is a small chapter but it seemed the perfect point to stop. Don't curse me a lot, I can't help it. Will try to post next chapter soon, it's yet to be written.
As always, please read and review. The more you review the better I can write. :D
Cheers!