Pain, white hot flashes of pain, that's all Hermione felt when the Death Eater dropped her down on a gritty floor on her broken side. Rough hands picked her up by the shoulders and propped her on her knees.
"Her wand," a high voice hissed in the shadows,
The Death Eater that brought her looked around the floor and replied respectfully, "It is not here, My Lord, it must still be down in Hogsmeade. I can get it if you desire..."
Master? Oh, God no, it's Voldemort....every ounce of Hermione's body was filled with terror. She did not think that the Death Eater would have wasted his time with a Muggle-born witch. She thought he might just drop her somewhere and leave her to die miserably. But this....this is hell, she thought.
"Never mind. It is not important," the high voice replied lazily. "Hermione Granger, I presume? It's so very nice to meet you," the voice said.
Hermione looked at the shadow by the wall and saw a silhouette of a freakish person with long skinny fingers and a deformed head. The voice was absolutely menacing and sent shivers through her.
"Not very talkative, I see. Well, my faithful servant here has told me that you are a close friend of Harry Potter. Tell me, where is Harry?" the voice said.
"Like I'd tell you," Hermione managed to spit out through the pain and complete fear she was experiencing. Part of her was thinking, What are you doing? Giving an attitude to Voldemort? THE DARK LORD? Are you insane? while the other side was thinking, If I am going to die, I sure as hell will not say anything that will endanger Harry's or anyone else's life. And since I am going to die, I might as well give that bastard a piece of my mind, especially after what he put Harry through!
"My, I guess we have a feisty one, here. This should be interesting," the voice said. Hermione could almost imagine the terrorizing smile spread across the silhouette's lips.
Just then, the figure emerged from the shadows to reveal the most gruesome thing Hermione had ever seen, in real life or in books. His deformed face was in a shape of a snake, it seemed, and his red eyes and slit nose were hideous. She turned her head away from the sight and looked around her. She quickly took in her surroundings, about five Death Eaters were around her and though she wasn't tied up, she knew she could not escape from this prison with her injured leg and Death Eaters all around.
Where am I? It looked like a cave of some sort. It feels like I've been here before. She then realized that it was Sirius' cave, the one Harry, Ron and she had met Sirius in during their fourth year, right above Hogsmeade. This place is unknown to everyone but Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore, she thought sadly. Any hope of someone walking by and accidentally seeing her trapped here was completely out of the question, and she lost all hope in anyone being able to find her once Ron got to Hogwarts. Ron, I wish I had told him so many things for this happened...guilt swept through her momentarily until the hissing voice brought her back to the reality of her inevitable death.
"Hmm, well, it seems that our full frontal attack on Hogsmeade failed in bring Harry Potter, but I am relatively pleased with finding you. You hold such a wealth of information regarding that boy, I will enjoy 'interrogating' you. Now, I will ask you once again, nicely, where is Harry Potter?"
"And I will tell you, once again, like I'd tell you," Hermione replied defiantly. The sooner Voldemort put the Avada Kedavra curse on me, the better, she thought. Knowing she was going to die, she wanted to make it quick.
"Not good enough," replied Voldemort angrily. He raised his wand and whispered "Crucio!"
Pain, like a thousand knives hit Hermione. She wreathed on the floor screaming histerically, but there was no escaping the pain. She felt as though she was going to black out or die the next instant, but that instant came and went and the pain continued.
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Ron still clutched Hermione's wand in his wand and walked determinedly towards the exit of Hogwarts.
"Where are you going, Ron?" Professor Dumbledore asked, placing a spell on Ron that made him freeze in place.
"To find Hermione," Ron said defiantly. "She's out there all alone and she needs someone to help her. It's my fault she's out there in the first place!" he cried out, tears at the brim of his eyes.
"I understand that you are upset, believe me, I do. But going out there isn't going to help Hermione, especially when you don't know where she is," Dumbledore replied calmly. He really did sympathize with the boy, but he was not going to allow another one of his students outside Hogwarts.
Ron, realizing that Dumbledore had a point and backed away from the doors, which quietly closed as he walked towards Dumbledore. "I just..." Ron started, but his train of thought was interrupted when the Head Girl ran towards Dumbledore and Ron.
"Professor Dumbledore! Harry, he just woke up in complete hysterics, saying he knows where Hermione is!" Ron felt relief and he and Dumbledore went quickly to the hospital wing.
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No, Hermione, no. Oh, God, no, no, no! Harry woke up with a start. His scar was pulsating with pain and he reached up and rubbed it. What kind of dream was that? he thought. Hermione under the Cruciatus Curse with Voldemort and Death Eaters around? He looked around, he was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. How did I get back here? The day's events came back to him. It was Hermione's bithday, they went to Hogsmeade, then stores started to explode, then they were walking back towards Hogwarts, then...then what?
"Ah, Harry, I'm glad that you are awake. You had us worried there. I'm afraid you have a few bruised ribs, a broken arm, and you'll be having a headache for a while The internal injuries you sustained were substantial, but nothing we couldn't cure quickly and painlessly within a certain time period. It was fortunate that Ron was able to get you here when he did," Madame Pomfrey said.
Ron? So, Ron was at Hogwarts, where was Hermione? He looked around at the other beds which contained a few students. Harry recognized Neville there unconscious, but Hermione wasn't there. "Where's Hermione?" Harry asked Madame Pomfrey.
A sad expression crossed Madame Pomfrey's face. "I'm afraid we don't know where she is. She's the only student missing after the Hogsmeade attacks. Neville came in here a few minutes ago yelling that Hermione was with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but I can't tell if Neville was just hallucinating, or..."
Harry's eyes widened with fear. Oh, no, that wasn't a dream! "It's not a hoax Madame Pomfrey, Hermione is with Voldemort, she is, I swear! I saw it in my dream, she was under the Cruciatus Curse, I woke up with my scar burning. Oh God, where was she, where was she?" Harry thought quickly, his scar was numb now and the dream was slipping away from his memory. The place she was being held looked so familiar...Sirius! "She's in a cave, above Hogsmeade, Dumbledore knows where I'm talking about, go get him, quickly, please!" Harry yelled at Madame Pomfrey.
Madame Pomfrey was completely frantic over Harry's behavior and sent the Head Girl to get Dumbledore.
A few moments later, Ron and Dumbledore emerged through the doors of the hospital wing. Harry, sitting up on the bed although his head was pounding and his chest throbbed said, "Professor Dumbledore, Hermione is in the cave above Hogsmeade, the one that Sirius used in our fourth year!"
"Are you sure Harry?" Dumbledore replied.
"Yes," Harry insisted.
"How do you know?" Ron asked.
Harry looked down into his lap, unable to stare into his best friend's eyes when he gave him the news, "Well, err, you know how sometimes, when Voldemort does powerful magic, I can sense him, or see him? Well, he, he put Hermione under the Cruciatus Curse," Harry finished quickly and quietly, not quite comprehending the words himself. He couldn't look at Ron.
Ron felt as though he was going to implode. Anguish. Complete anguish invaded him as he thought about the torture Hermione was being put through. Suddenly his head was clear and he realized what he had to do, I hafta get her back, he thought. Still clutching her wand, he turned around and walked out of the Hospital Wing, followed by Dumbledore.
"And what exactly to do plan on doing, Ron?" Dumbledore asked quietly.
"Getting her back, what else?" Ron replied curtly. The more time Dumbledore wasted asking him questions, the more time Hermione would be with Voldemort.
"I cannot let you do that. It is too dangerous. You do not have the power to combat Voldemort and Death Eaters. Stay here, with Harry, comfort him, I'm sure this experience brought back horrible memories for him," Dumbledore replied. He understood the pain Ron must have been feeling, but sacrificing another student was out of the question.
"SHE'S THERE BECAUSE OF ME! BECAUSE I WASN'T WATCHING WHERE I WAS GOING. SHE SACRIFICED HERSELF FOR ME! I DON'T DESERVE THAT. THE LEAST I CAN DO IS DO THE SAME FOR HER!" Ron screamed at Dumbledore. Tears streamed freely from Ron's face, tears that he tried so hard to keep inside ever since he left Hermione in the rubble. That seemed like days ago rather than just two hours. Ron wiped the tears away from his face, disgusted with his display to Dumbledore who had been nothing but kind and patient with him.
Dumbledore's eyes softened and he placed a grandfatherly hand on Ron's shoulder. "All the more reason to stay here," Dumbledore replied patiently, "Hermione sacrificed for you, what do you think she would say if she knew you were going after her?"
Ron could almost here Hermione scolding him for trying to rescue her, Really Ron, could you be more of a stupid git? You know Voldemort is, well, Voldemort and you come after me? I told you to get Dumbledore, didn't I? And good reason to, you know, he's....Ron smiled slightly while thinking about the tongue lashing he would receive from Hermione if she knew what he wanted to do, that is, if her ever returned to him. The smile disappeared from his face. "It would make her sacrifice null," Ron replied to Dumbledore sadly, realizing what he wanted to do was suicide and exactly to opposite of what Hermione wanted.
"Go back to Harry, Ron. He needs you right now," Dumbledore said. With that, Dumbledore disappeared down the hallway, leaving Ron to stare after him.