A/N: I'm ba-ack! Notes and other stuff at the end…
***
"Go, Hermione!"
Footsteps on stone…a hard, cold bed….
"Nott brought her in."
"Is that the wind?"
Screams, wild laughter….
"Where are the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters, Granger?!"
Boots…darkness…snow…cold…
"What shall we do when she wakes, my Lord?"
"…ways of making you talk…"
"Don't look back, Hermione, go!"
***
Hermione could feel herself drifting in the small fragment of space and time between dreams and consciousness. She heard Harry and Ron's voices, saw Nott chasing her through the Forbidden Forest, and the stinging cold. Her ears picked up unfamiliar voices, ones that she knew but could not place.
From somewhere far off, a door slammed, and Hermione was yanked from that flitting moment of half-sleep for the time being. She was greeted with a sight that told her she definitely was not at Hogwarts.
Hermione was curled into a ball in the corner of a dank, dimly lit stone room. The ceiling was low, and there were no windows, sans a few near the ceiling, which were no more than three feet wide and three feet tall. The windows had not glass but an iron portcullis covering them, letting the harsh winter air pour in. Hermione could see her breath. The floor was like ice, with no coverings except small piles of straw in every corner. The walls and floors were covered in filth. Chains hung on the walls.
These sure aren't the dungeons at Hogwarts, Hermione thought to herself.
Slowly, Hermione peeled herself off of the straw that served as her mattress. She hadn't a clue where she was. The last thing she remembered was Nott pointing his wand at her in the Forbidden Forest. She stood up, and nearly fell down again. Black spots danced in front of her eyes, and Hermione began to realize how badly her head ached.
Steadying herself against the wall, Hermione straightened and took in a deep breath as she recalled what Nott had said to her in the Forest.
"I said," he had whispered, "that I had ways of making you talk. After this we can take you to the Dark Lord—I dare say he'd have use for another Mudblood victim." Hermione remembered unfamiliar words coming out of his mouth and the man's cruel, yellowed eyes. She repressed a shiver as she realized what must have happened.
She had been taken prisoner.
Hermione sank down to the floor in slow motion. Taken prisoner. The words danced around in her head. Hermione tried to take deep breaths of the cold air to steady herself.
What am I going to do? Hermione asked mentally. Inwardly she scolded herself for being so incredibly stupid. Why had she taken Harry's advice? Why hadn't she stayed to fight or at least find Ron or Ginny? But Hermione disregarded that last idea as it crossed her mind—if either of her friends had been with her, they would have been captured too.
Back at Hogwarts, when Dumbledore was calling emergency meetings for the Order of the Phoenix, Hermione had heard horror stories of what happened to captured witches and wizards who opposed Voldemort. Quite like the last War, those captured were tortured for information and rarely seen again. But for Muggleborns, the situation was much more severe. Not to mention the fact that she was a woman.
Hermione's hands trembled. She stuffed them inside her blue robe, which was tattered and torn from the battle. I may never make it out of here alive, Hermione thought miserably as tears crept into her eyes. And I don't even know where 'here' is!
Just then, Hermione heard a low scraping noise, like fingernails on a chalkboard. She cringed as the noise reverberated across the stones. Footsteps and low voices could be heard nearing Hermione's cell.
Hermione's eyes grew wide as she heard the sound of a key being inserted into her door. Reflexively, she reached into her wand pocket, only to find it empty. Of course! Nott took it in the forest!
The voices outside were loud now.
"This is Nott's girl," one said. "Order member and all, too, M'Lord." The door swung open on creaky hinges. Hermione gasped. Four figures entered Hermione's cell. Two she knew immediately, by nothing else if not their platinum blonde hair.
Lucius Malfoy strode in with a sneer on his pointed face and long blonde hair tied neatly back. Draco Malfoy entered right behind him, in an uncanny likeness to his cruel Death Eater father. The next to enter was a stout little man that Hermione didn't know.
Last to enter was a pale, red-cloaked figure. With no hair on his head and cruelly red eyes, Hermione knew that none other than Voldemort had just stepped into her jail cell.
Voldemort locked eyes with Hermione. She stared up at him, unblinking, as the dark lord's fiery eyes burned holes in Hermione's brown ones. Hermione repressed a shiver. Voldemort broke the contact and let a cold chuckle escape his lipless mouth. Voldemort turned to Lucius Malfoy and the stout man.
"So," Voldemort hissed, "this is the great Hermione Granger we've all heard so much about."
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise; how did they know about her? Voldemort continued:
"The smartest witch, perhaps smartest student, to pass through Hogwarts' walls in nearly a century," the Dark Lord whispered, gazing down at Hermione. "The girl who helped Harry Potter get through the trials of the Sorcerer's Stone, solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, and helped Sirius Black escape certain doom, and break into the Department of Mysteries," Voldemort finished with a hiss. "All before she graduated." Voldemort took a few steps closer to Hermione, who backed even further up against the wall. "Tell me, my dear, how is it that a Muggleborn could accomplish all these things?"
Hermione felt fire run through her veins. "I don't know," she spat. "Why don't you tell me, being that your dad was a Muggle and all?"
Behind Voldemort's back, Lucius Malfoy and the stout man exchanged uneasy glances. Draco Malfoy looked at Hermione in surprise. Voldemort's already tiny eyes narrowed even further. "I would not say such things if I were you, Mudblood," Voldemort hissed, pulling out his wand.
Hermione didn't move. She tried not to let her mind be overrun by fear for the monster that stood before her.
Voldemort lowered his wand, a smirk creeping onto his pale face. He turned to his accomplices thoughtfully. "We will not destroy you quite yet, Miss Granger," Voldemort said. "We have other uses for you."
Hermione repressed a shudder as Lucius Malfoy stepped forth, wand at the ready. His features were cold, as if carved into stone. "You will tell us," Lucius said, his voice even and calm, "where the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix are."
Hermione trembled. "You already know," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "They're at Hogwarts."
Voldemort cackled. "Lying cannot save your friends now," he hissed. He removed something from the inner pockets of his robe and threw it at Hermione's feet. When she didn't move, he gestured to it with a slender, pale hand. "Go on, my dear," he whispered.
Not taking her eyes off the four men in the room, Hermione snatched what turned out to be a newspaper off the floor. Slowly, she unfolded it and began to scan the front page.
"HOGWARTS OVERRUN", the headline of the Daily Prophet screamed. Articles crammed the page: "Battle of Hogwarts", "Dumbledore and Most Order Members In Hiding", and "Minister of Magic Found Dead In France!"
Hermione's hand flew to her gaping mouth in horror. She looked up at the troupe with terrified eyes. Voldemort laughed.
"So you see, Miss Granger, your pathetic lies cannot help your friends anyway." He turned to Lucius and the stout man. "Lucius, Dr. Montague, extract as much information from this girl as possible," Voldemort ordered. "I will be in Lucius' study." With a mock-courteous bow to Hermione, Voldemort left the room, slamming the heavy door behind him.
Lucius, Draco, and the doctor all turned to Hermione. Hermione glared at the trio with as much loathing as she could muster. Draco avoided his old schoolmate's eyes as much as possible. His gray eyes remained fastened on the floor. Hermione barely recognized him at all in the five months since she had last seen her schoolgirl nemesis. Draco Malfoy had obviously grown into his name—taller than his father, pale as snow, (and probably as cold as it, too, Hermione thought) and imposing. And very, very evil.
Lucius drew his wand from the cane he carried. Hermione stared.
"Miss Granger," Lucius Malfoy said, in a drawl that made her toes curl. "You are going to reveal where the backup Headquarters are."
Hermione's eyes narrowed as they locked on the Malfoy patronage. "And why would I do that?" she asked defiantly.
The stout man, Doctor Montague, spoke up in a deep, rumbling voice. "My girl," he said, "the Dark Lord has nastier ways of making a victim talk than the Cruciatus Curse or a simple Truth Serum."
He said no more, but left his words to hang cryptically in the air. Hermione regarded him thoroughly—he was perhaps shorter than she, was balding at the crown of his head, and wore glasses that covered his little eyes. He doesn't look like the sort to associate with the Dark side, Hermione thought. I wonder why he's here?
Lucius sneered down at Hermione. "Stand up," he ordered. Behind Lucius, Dr. Montague nodded slightly. Hermione rose up on shaky legs but managed to support herself. She noted that Draco's gaze remained ardently glued to the floor.
"Now, Granger," Lucius continued in a silky tone. "You will inform us of the whereabouts of your precious Order, and then we will see what the Dark Lord wants done with you." He raised his wand. "Tell us."
Hermione shook her head, lips pressed firmly together. Her brown eyes showed fear, though, at the wand, and Lucius detected it.
"You will answer us!" he commanded. "Crucio!"
A wave of pain crashed down on Hermione, so suddenly it knocked the wind out of her. She thought she felt herself falling, but it was mixed with the feeling as thought every bone in her body was being broken. She opened her mouth as if to scream, but no sound could be forced past her lips. And then, just as suddenly as the pain had hit her, it stopped. Hermione sat up, coughing. Her whole body ached; she was in so much pain. Pain of such a level she didn't think humanly possible.
Lucius smirked. Draco's gaze had left the floor sometime during Hermione's ordeal and he was now gazing at her with all the caring and intensity of a butter knife.
"Now do you understand why you will talk, Granger?" Draco asked. Dr. Montague looked on Hermione with pity as Lucius raised his wand again.
***
Many hours later, while Hermione lie coughing up blood in the Malfoy's dungeons, the Malfoys themselves, along with Dr. Montague, stood before Voldemort in Lucius' study.
"She is a stubborn one, my Lord," the Doctor wheezed in his deep voice. "She is being most difficult."
Voldemort paused in front of the roaring fireplace, his red velvet robes swirling. "You say you performed the Cruciatus six times and she would still reveal nothing, Lucius?" he hissed.
Lucius Malfoy nodded his regal head. "It is true, my Lord. She seems to have prepared herself for this kind of torture."
The room fell silent. Draco stood perfectly still next to his father, dressed entirely in black. It unnerved him greatly that only two stories below them, a former schoolmate lie, and he was helping plan her torture.
But let us note that, especially to a Malfoy, feeling unnerved and feeling remorse are two totally different things.
Dr. Montague spoke up. "My Lord," he said. "I believe it would be unwise to continue torturing her in this manner. If we want to preserve her knowledge, we must not repeat the same mistake Bellatrix did with the Longbottoms!"
Lucius pounded his fist on his cane. "We cannot go soft on our prisoners, Montague! Sooner or later, even the Granger girl will crack under pain!"
Dr. Montague's face reddened. "If that is what you think, Malfoy, then—"
"Enough!" Voldemort said. The room fell silent with the exception of the flames crackling in the carved fireplace. His tall form cast a long shadow across Lucius' green marble floor. He turned to Draco, his red eyes calculating. "And what does the young master Malfoy think? After all, the prisoner in question was until recently his schoolmate…"
Draco stood. He could feel his father's cold gray stare on the back of his neck as he addressed the Dark Lord.
"My Lord," Draco said, inclining his head. "I believe that my father and the doctor could both be right. Granger is strong mentally, but not as strong physically. Her mental defenses are sharp and fast, but mental torture is said to be the strongest." Lucius beamed at his son's diplomatic answer.
Voldemort's pale face remained emotionless but Draco could detect pride in his voice. "You have been taught well, young Malfoy," Voldemort said. "And have grown wiser since you entered my service last June."
Draco suppressed a small grin. Voldemort turned to the doctor and Lucius. "Tomorrow we will try Veriteserum," he said thoughtfully. Dr. Montague looked relieved behind his thick glasses. "But we must also remember we have an arsenal of information that could persuade her. You are dismissed."
The three men left the room, with Voldemort trailing behind them.
***
The Malfoy Manor dungeons were freezing by night.
Hermione lie in a heap on her bloodstained pile of hay, shivering. She couldn't tell how many hours she'd been lying there since her torturers had left. Had it been moments? Hours? A day? Even breathing hurt. Hermione was surprised her body even functioned properly after the amount of Cruciatus she had been put through.
Dumbledore would've been proud, Hermione thought weakly, suppressing a cough. I didn't spill any secrets. The taste of blood filled Hermione's mouth and she spat it onto the stone floor. Her once-curly chestnut locks hung damp with sweat and matted to her face and back. Her robes were ripped and bloody, and couldn't keep the cold out.
Hermione caught a glance of the star-specked night sky in between the bars over the windows. Silently, Hermione wished that Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the rest of the Order were all safely hidden somewhere far from the Malfoy Manor.
Hermione's features became twisted with pain as she recalled the looks on her 'inquisitor's' faces. Lucius Malfoy looked pompous and regal as ever. Hermione had only seen his picture in the papers once since her graduation. Now that the Dark seemed to be winning, the head of the Malfoy family could not be found more pleased with himself.
But Draco Malfoy, Hermione thought to herself. A face I didn't exactly count on seeing. Hermione had known, especially toward the end of seventh year, that Draco Malfoy was definitely destined for the Dark side. It was a fantastic rumor that nearly all of the graduating Slytherins in the class of 1997 were to be initiated into the Death Eater ranks on graduation day. But since all Voldemort activity had all but disappeared, most disregarded it as "bad Inter-House relations."
But no, it wasn't so. The same pale, arrogant face that had taunted her and her friends through seven years of academia was now Hermione Granger's captor and co-tormentor. Hermione let out a deep sigh that became sidetracked with body-racking coughs.
Even Malfoy father and son won't be enough to shake the information out of me, Hermione thought resolutely, lying down and closing her weary eyes. They'll have to think of something more devious than Truth potions or curses to rattle me.
Little did she know that was exactly what Voldemort himself was planning.
***
A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back from the dead!
I'm really sorry I haven't updated in nearly half a month, but my life has been really really out of whack as of late. Two weeks ago I had dress rehearsals for a show (I'm something of an actress) and I've been really quite ill. I actually spent a whole day off school writing this chapter from my sickbed.
Okay, that was a little dramatic, but it was something like that. :-)
I was kind of blown away by all you reviewers out there! I couldn't believe how much some of you liked this story. Thank you! You all make me VERY happy:
*Alka
*Carolinastylus
*dame didi (one word: thanks!!)
*Enzeru no Yami
*hotaru420
*Megan
*Porkchops and Applesauce (cool name, by the way!)
*Unicorn13 (You're making me blush!)
*Witchyprincess
Thank you all so much, and I hope you'll review again! Also, if you would like me to email you with updates, leave your e-mail address in your review.
May the Force be with you! ~Mme.