Chapter 3
Harry was still unconscious when they got to Hogwarts. No one knew why though… they couldn't figure it out.
They took a head count and noticed someone was missing…
"Hermione Granger? Hermione? Are you here? Hermione?" Falcore asks. "Anyone seen Hermione?"
"No sir and she isn't one of the ten who lost their life or 20 who were stunned." Someone says.
"Oh…" Falcore pales. "Not good."
Hermione struggled against her bonds but it was futile. They were just too tight. She was in a cold stone room her hands were bound tightly behind her and hooked to the wall. Her legs were in ankle chains against the wall. She had a sock balled up in her mouth to serve as a gag and tape wrapped around it to keep it in place. Hermione knew she was not going to come out of this unharmed… mentally as well as physically.
Ron was beside himself… Hermione missing? That couldn't happen. Hermione was too smart to get left behind… to smart to get captured. They just left her stunned. They needed to go back to the tracks and find her. He would go if no one else did. He had to find 'Mione before something bad happened to her.
Too bad Ron didn't realize he was too late… Whoever her capturers were they were rotten to the core. They had started in abusing her… interrogating her… torturing her… anything almost as soon they came to her cell.
Ron finally got people of the Order to go search the fight scene and they found a note:
'Dear Mudblood and Muggle Loving Pigs,
We have the girl who is a friend of Harry's. At the moment she is probably enjoying a thorough torture session with us. If you ever want to see your mudblood friend again find out where we are. Until then…
Catch Us If You Can,
The Lestranges'
"Oh my… The Lestranges have Hermione? They were big mudb… sorry… muggle born torturers they hated anything to do with muggles." Alexander said.
"Oh man! How could we not check people getting on the train… This is all my fault." Falcore says.
"Don't blame yourself Falcore." Dumbledore says. "No one was prepared for anything like this."
"But if I'd have checked the people coming in more closely I would have realized Hermione wasn't there…" Falcore starts.
"And whoever had her might have killed her and ran away when you came looking." Dumbledore finishes the statement.
"Yeah…" Falcore says. "We got to find them before they do that anyway."
"Yes we do." Alexander says. "If I remember correctly… the Lestranges were a couple of the group that tortured the Longbottoms… and that came out with the Longbottoms being insane." Ron went ghostly pale…
"Oh smooth move Alexander." Falcore says.
"This coming from the fellow who nearly let Harry bleed to death?!?!" Alexander yells. "Hah."
"Oh shut up." Falcore says as they all leave.
Hermione was vaguely aware of being moved from the wall onto a bed that felt like sticks. She then felt very cold as her hand were pulled back beside, and away from, her head and tied to the frame. It was very uncomfortable. Then she felt her legs pulled apart and tied to the frame of the sticks. She passed out shortly afterwards.
School started slow with several attacks on muggles and the like during September. September passed into October and Harry was still in a coma. He shook and rolled over in a constant nightmare mumbling something about cell and Hermione and if he ever yelled anything it was NO! He wasn't showing signs of getting worse but he wasn't getting better either.
"NO! Off her you insane…" Harry mumbled.
"I wonder if he'll ever say where 'Mione is." Ron asks Drake and Ginny who'd joined him.
"I don't know man… The Order is close though." Drake says.
"I don't care about the damn Order… The Order caused this mess. I wish I could quit the damn Order but I can't… I'd be no better than the Lestranges." Ron says.
Ginny stands up and slaps Ron hard. "Don't you dare say that Ronald Weasley. What would Hermione say?"
"I suspect something like 'help me!'…" A weak voice interrupts.
"Harry, buddy, you're finally awake." Ron says.
"Yeah… didn't… think I would ever get out of that horrid vision." Harry says clearing his throat his voice croaky from just mumbling and raspy from yelling very hard when he yelled.
"Vision? It looked like a nightmare." Drake said.
"Duh. It is a vision from Voldemort… quite more than I'd like to see too. Hermione!" Harry yells. "She is in a cell… in… some building on an island…"
"AZKABAN!" Ron yells.
"That makes sense. It's surrounded by Dementors outside of it though." Harry says. "We need a plan though she doesn't look good… very weak… she hardly eats any of the food they give her and even if she ate all of the food she'd be close to malnourished."
Ron's eyes are watery but he keeps up a strong outward appearance not letting his voice shake. "Then we have to get 'Mione. Before she starves herself…"
"Well… I have to warn you… they keep her in a very… revealing way… so you have to choose carefully who you take. I'll go as I've unfortunately already witnessed everything… anyone else who goes is up to you." Harry says lying back down. "And Ron… Hermione has talked… at night when the two who constantly torture her, a woman and a man, are finally asleep and give her peace… She says… would you please leave Drake… Ginny."
"Of course Harry. C'mon Gin." Drake says and they exit the hospital wing.
"She says… that she's holding on for you… she loves you… and she said if there were a messenger around (she is psychic maybe she knows my presence was near) she'd tell him to tell Ron… *Harry allows himself a grin* Hurry the *The word is so un-Hermione like it causes Ron to gasp* up. She admits… some other things… Well… As what they're doing has also been ordered to the messenger to keep his lips sealed or she'd gladly find a spell to do it for him… I can't tell you. Sorry, Ron. But… we have to go now… It's morning right? Well they have a routine… A month more is the longest we could wait before the first thing they do in the morning finally kills Hermione. And one thing… she says she's sorry she told your secret (I didn't hear the words but I could tell it was something big so don't worry) but she thought they might for some reason keep their word and stop torturing her and just leave her locked up alone… She cried at herself for being so stupid… they are eating away at her mentally Ron."
Ron can't help it and finally breaks down crying and Harry puts the hand that isn't hooked to something on Ron's shoulder. "Ron, you have to stay strong for her sake. Now, I'm tired, I'm going to take a rest and likely see the Hermione… torturing… again. Call the Order together and wake me when you have a plan… I'm coming like it or not."
The Order stayed true to letting Harry come… but Harry went into a coma for another three weeks so they had to wait. They had a plan… and the people who would unleash the plan. Ginny, Drake, Ron, Harry, Falcore, and Alexander were going to put the plan into action.
All of them were sitting that Saturday in the Hospital Wing when Harry woke up again.
"Stop letting me fall asleep." Harry says.
"Ok." Ron says.
"We have a plan… We will penetrate the Dementors by entering through the back entrance... Since I was branded I can pass through it and a potion that I've nearly finished will sneak you through as well. You, Ron, and Ginny will then retrieve Hermione as we take care of the Lestranges." Alexander says. "Good idea?"
"Yes… I talked Hermione into eating… she could hear me somehow… she's still getting worse but her spirits are a little better." Harry says. "At least as good as they can be under the circumstances."
"Well… We strike tonight… Midnight. Be ready." Alexander says and the others leave Ron and Harry alone.
Later That Day"So you talked to 'Mione, Harry?" Ron asks.
"Yeah… just telling her not to give up hope… to eat general stuff." Harry says.
"But… how?" Ron says.
"Well in the first month after she let me know she could tell I was around… I figured I could maybe do that too. My first attempts failed then I used our telepathic link and talked to her. She says she'll wait for you to get there Ron. But she in all likelihood wouldn't survive through tomorrow. I mean… she is so weak… she can hardly lift her fork or spoon or whatever silverware to eat what is given her and yet she takes all of the shit those Death Eaters are doing." Harry says slamming the book in his lap closed. "They will pay… I will make them. I have a secret too. A secret huge… and yet known. And revenge will be all the sweeter."
"Don't worry about it Harry." Ron says. "We'll get them when we go tonight."