Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own a thing.
Author's Note: Thanks to all who have reviewed so far, I love your support. I'll try and update as much as I can, I know this fic was on hiatus for a while. Well…enjoy.
Feel the rush
feel the painfeel the thrustPower..Take my blowtake my slaytake my lustPower..Use you fearuse your painuse your hatePower..Fight with justfight with trustfight with forcePower..
-Power, Razed in Black
Chapter 3: Power
Hermione opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. It seemed that her voice box simply shut down. Lucius seized her by her arm and dragged her to a nearby alleyway. She was too much in shock to retaliate as forcefully as she intended.
"No, let me go you self-serving bastard!" she yelled once her senses kicked in. He brought his hand up and silenced her with a painful slap.
"If I were you, I wouldn't insult me mudblood, not when your fate currently lies in my hands," he sneered. She was still recoiling from the slap but managed to muster enough gall to respond.
"Well the school is expecting me, so I suggest you release me. They'll be looking for me," she threatened. His laughter that followed her statement frightened her to say the least.
"You ARE a silly little girl. I thought my son said you were a know-it-all, well…. How much of a know-it-all could a mudblood possibly be anyhow? Ignorant nuisances they are," she eyed him curiously.
"Oh, I suppose you haven't figured it out yet but I won't be the one to tell you." Before she could question him with anything he had apparated them both and she landed on a cold floor with a loud thud. Her neck hurt but she tried to examine her whereabouts.
Hermione looked up and saw the disdainful look Malfoy had given her. She used her hands to support her while she attempted to stand, only to be struck in the back. She yelped in pain as she descended back to the floor. Tears threatened leak down her face, which was still red from the slap previously given to her.
"You will only get up when I have given you permission," he said coolly, but bent down and grabbed her arm and lifted her. "Come with me." She didn't ask any questions and was afraid of being hurt again so she followed. They climbed a set of stairs and Hermione felt as if her arm was going to tear off.
What the hell is going on? How did Malfoy know I was going back to Hogwarts? Oooohh, none of this makes any sense!! She was so deep in thought, she didn't realize getting shoved into a room until she had fallen onto her knees. Hermione turned her head to look back up at Malfoy and saw he had a malicious grin playing upon his face.
"You're going to stay here until you're 'services' will be required," he grinned once more and Hermione decided she didn't like that at all. She couldn't help but be scared. He slammed the door shut on his way out causing Hermione to flinch, but also the chance to rise to her feet and inspect her surroundings. She was in a room furnished with only a chair and a small bed. The coloring was completely charcoal gray, the walls even appeared to have the dark chalky residue. The roo, resembled the dark look of a dungeon minus the dampness and brick walls.
Services? He must mean for one of his Death Eater revels. I wonder what they're planning. They'll kill me for sure, after all I'm a….mudblood. Tears broke past her hard resolve and it was becoming more difficult not to break down and lose control. This was not the time to be crying, it was the time to be thinking, and to be logical. A sudden hopeful thought abruptly interrupted her muddled thoughts.
They can't kill me, the only reason I'm here is to lure Harry, That has to be it! I can't cry now, I have to find a way to escape from here, or else Harry will come for me! Unless they just want me for their sick pleasures…Hermione didn't want to consider that particular possibility.
She hurried around the room, looking for anything that would aid in her attempted getaway. It didn't look too optimistic. The windows and door were warded, which was to be expected. Not only that, waltzing out the door wasn't the brightest thing to do, nor jumping out the window. She had to be at least a couple stories high and she was never good at flying as it is. How could she allow herself to be captured by Malfoy? How could she allow herself to be tricked and now she was threatening Harry's life with her foolishness. She cursed Cornelius Fudge who had insisted the absurdity of Malfoy being a Death Eater. She guessed money did talk these days when people's security was threatened, however bitter thoughts were pushed aside but were also startled when the door suddenly opened.
Hermione turned around in fear, hoping it wasn't time for her services just yet.
It wasn't.
She faced a woman she hadn't seen since her fourth year at the Quittich World Cup. Narcissa Malfoy stood before her, but her expression seemed...peculiar. It wasn't scrunched up in disgust or scorn. Instead, it was relaxed somewhat, a quiver of concern worn upon it if really studied. Hermione wasn't sure what to do; she could hex her and run but the odds weren't in her favor.
"Were you ordered to send me to my death?" Hermione asked cheekily, her voice rising, only out of fear rather than anger. Narcissa hastily motioned for her to quiet down.
"Please lower your voice," she said sternly, "I'm here for your benefit so there's no need for you to get loud with me." Hermione wasn't sure if she heard the words right. Perhaps she was hallucinating, she's read in a book somewhere that people lose their minds when they learn about their impending death. Hermione didn't respond to Narcissa, only stared at her with a confused look, torn if she should let her guard down or not. Not like it mattered, she didn't have her wand.
"Listen to me, my son will be up here in a few minutes and he's going to guide you to a passageway outside the manor where he will be able to apparate you to your school," she said slowly, making sure Hermione missed none of it.
Now she was floored. Her son? Draco Malfoy helping her out? Mudblood hater was going to lead her to safety? No! It had to be another trap, he was probably going to torture her and kill her as his father had intended.
"I know you're scared, but you have to trust me, this is your only chance at survival. My husband was ordered to come after you by the Dark Lord and by doing so he had to kill your parents-" Hermione gasped at this.
"Shhhh.... listen carefully girl, this is no time for your mind to be dallying about with grievance. You must think clearly so that you may stay alive. Later, and only when you are safe may you sob your little heart out, understood?" she said coldly, but not completely without feeling. "He used a polyjuice potion provided by your professor to transform two death eaters into your parents and lead you to him. Because of this, you must be wary of who you're talking to, you might never know who they really are. Also, the Potter boy must be warned, he is the cause of your capture because his irrational behavior is well known. If you are to be captured, he must not show up to save you, his fate will be worse than death. They have a plan to deal with him, so it's fruitless for him to play hero."
"Why are you helping me?" Hermione managed to choke out, not believing what she was hearing. Narcissa sighed.
"I do not like what my husband has become with the return of the Dark Lord and furthermore, I do not want my son to become the man Lucius wants him to be. Of course, I cannot express these thoughts out loud, that would be putting my own head on a platter. However, Draco is most definitely 'my' son and I will not have him be a murderous rapist, that's not what being a pureblood is about. Draco doesn't seem to like the new side of his father either, so he had made an agreement with Dumbledore last term to help the Order."
How does she know about the Order? She's not telling the whole truth.
"He and I will prolong the process of him becoming one of them for as long as it takes, but hopefully by then, Voldemort will be no more. Draco will take you out of my husband's sphere of influence, so that Draco's apparition will not be detected and I will contend with your disappearance when the time comes." Both heard a soft rap on the door.
"Mother? Are you done in there," was a whisper that had to have belonged to little Malfoy.
"Forgive me, I've gone behind schedule with my rambling," she let Draco in and to Hermione's surprise, his usual arrogant smirk wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Don't worry, we have plenty of time, the revel isn't scheduled to begin for another hour, but you must remove the traces of our presences here. I will take her and we shall meet in the dining hall in thirty minutes," Draco asserted.
"Come Granger, we've not time to lose," he offered his hand, and Hermione took it reluctantly. "That a girl, now let's go." He led her out the door and looked all around to see if the coast was clear.
"Oh and Hermione," Narcissa whispered before they were completely out the door. She turned her head.
"Do say hello to Severus for me." Hermione nodded but gave her a queer look.
"Come on, no time for fooling around," Draco said as he jerked her arm towards him. He took her downstairs and then down the hall to what seemed like a linen closet. She saw him take his wand out of his pocket and directed towards the door. He muttered a spell so low that she couldn't even make out what it was and then he opened it to reveal yet another staircase made of bricks that lead downwards. Making sure the door was shut behind them, Malfoy ran down the stairs with her.
"Don't even think about telling anyone I did this Mudblood," he said, Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Wasn't going to, I guess some things don't change."
"Well I can't go completely out of character Granger, it's just not my style and we don't want to give myself away, so pretenses do not change," he stated matter of factly.
"I thought as much," she smiled inwardly, she was going to live. That was all she was going to allow herself to think now. If she thought about the entire spectrum of what had recently transpired, she may never think like a know-it-all ever again.
Severus Snape was sitting in Albus's office with his head in his hands while Dumbledore was fingering his beard thoughtfully. Snape told him of Voldemort's plan of capturing Hermione, no doubt that it had already been done however. Hermione was to be kept in captivity for a good portion of the school term, bringing down the spirits as well as instilling fear amongst the students, especially Potter. They planned to use her as a plaything for the followers until Potter was due to come in for his "amazing heroic rescue" and that's when the bomb would be dropped, so to speak. Dumbledore and the rest of the crew would be due in to save Harry's arse and additional Death Eaters would be sent to Hogwarts to finish off the students. All Muggleborn students would be killed without question and pureblood students would be offered to chance to become a part of Voldemort's 'movement', if they refuse, they would be killed like dogs. The plan was based upon how quickly they would be able to stun and immobilize their target. Once the aurors show up, they would disappear from the school, taking their new 'recruits' with them. Snape was disgusted with the plan. He hadn't thought it was well put together, but that is what's resulted from Lucius's one-track inept mind.
All he could think about was how he could've prevented harm coming to Miss Granger, but even if he had reported to Dumbledore immediately after the meeting what good would it have done honestly? The girl's parents had already been killed and no doubt the polyjuice already administered. All they could do was intercept Hermione from Lucius and then they would've known something didn't sit right. A traitor would've been recognized and Snape knew that it would have increased the chance of his exposure.
"They must have her by now, don't you think Severus?" Dumbledore inquired, though already knowing the answer to his own question, the purpose being that to only break the silent tension.
"I believe so, a revel is due to begin in forty-five minutes or so, they will surely flaunt her capture there, and amongst....other things," Severus swallowed, knowing exactly what was in store for her.
Poor girl, even if she makes it out alive, it will ruin her mind forever.
A mental recovery as a victim of a revel was highly uncommon and even given Miss Granger's exceptionally intellectual mind, it didn't seem possible. If they didn't find other women to entertain them, Hermione would be passed around like a joint in a teenage baking social. They would expose her to the darkest of sexual acts and derive sheer pleasure in watching her break piece by piece.
"Severus?" Snape was torn from his pool of thoughts.
"Yes Headmaster?" He didn't like the look of the old man's expression at all, as it turned very grim.
"You must find a way to save her," he said. Was this man out of his mind?
"Save her? How do you expect me to do something like that? You want me to just waltz in the middle of a revel and exclaim, 'Miss Granger here is excused from this evening's festivities by direct order of the Headmaster!'?"
"No I do not, but please, you have to make an attempt, she is a student here and you cannot just sit here and wallow in misery of what might have been! You must take action and responsibility not only as a member of the Order but as Miss Granger's teacher for Merlin's sake!" Dumbledore was seething now. Snape's seeming unwillingness to cooperate with the rescuing of a student angered him.
"Forgive me, I did not mean to appear...uncaring, but it is unlikely that I will be able to save her as much as I wish it to be. My abilities are...limited Albus," Dumbledore saw the sincerity in his eyes and knew that inside Severus was a mass deluge of guilt and the Granger incident had brought it to knew extremities.
"I know you may not be able to get her out unscathed, I only ask that you get her out," Dumbledore said. Before Snape could respond, a loud pop could be heard in the office and both men turned their head to witness to bodies crumpling to the floor. There was a wave of silky brown curls and solid platinum blonde. The blonde was the first to stand as he stumbled back.
"Ahgg, I suppose I should practice my apparating," he said.
"Ahh Mr. Malfoy, delighted to see you, pray tell, is that Miss Granger I see with you?"
"Yes Headmaster and if I may be excused, I have an urgent 'call' to attend to with father, I'm sure Granger will explain all that's happened," he said.
"Yes, yes, off you go, and I give you my thanks for looking out for Miss Granger. Please give your mother my appreciations as well. I believe lemon drops are in order," he gave a warm smile and Malfoy apparated out of Hogwarts. Snape looked absolutely dumbfounded and staring at Hermione struggling to get up.
"Now how in Gods name was he able to just do that?" he asked, eyes bulging out of his head.
"I had a feeling he would do something like this, so I allowed passage for Mr.Malfoy and Miss Granger alone into Hogwarts for the time period of ten minutes ago until fifteen minutes from now," he explained. Now Snape was getting angry.
"If you had this 'feeling' as you say, then why did you let me sit here for hours agonizing over what I thought I would cause?" he asked. Albus looked straight into Severus' eyes and said in a very serious tone.
"So you will not do anything as irresponsible as you did last night, especially when your actions involve the fate of one of our students here." Snape's expression held fast, not giving away the shame and guilt he felt for almost having Miss Granger's body fed to the dogs at a brutal revel.
"If you're wondering as to how I had this 'feeling', I owled Narcissa and asked her for any recent news that her husband may have relayed to her since you had not shown up for our meeting last night. She replied that Lucius was too drunk to reveal specific information, however, Miss Granger's name was mentioned, so I asked her a favor, since one was owed to me by her," he said.
"And what favor did you ask of her?"
"To save Hermione's soul, to allow her humanity to stay intact, because I know He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has bigger plans than to simply kill Miss Granger."
"You say Narcissa owes you a favor, may I ask why? Does it concern her son?"
"Yes actually. I discovered him myself, partaking in lewd, leisure pursuits. Such actions were grounds for expulsion, especially since they took place on school grounds."
"I see," Snape said, obviously curious as to why he wasn't notified of this and exactly what Mr.Malfoy had been doing.
"I took it upon myself to have a conference meeting with his mother. She pleaded with me to let Mr.Malfoy stay at the school, that sending him home would result in extreme beatings conducted by his father and accelerating the time that he'll be forced to take the mark. So in order to save Mr.Malfoy from this certain fate, I pardoned him and Narcissa made it clear that she did not want Draco to follow the same path as Lucius and Mr. Malfoy had agreed. I believe that returning Miss Granger to safety was his first step in the opposite direction, so to speak."
Severus didn't know how to react to this. It seemed almost impossible that any Malfoy could so anything good. His nerves were somewhat calmed though, Miss Granger was safe in Dumbledore's hands and he can go to the revel with one less worry on his mind. He didn't wish to witness to ravaging of his student. Speaking of which, she was standing to his left, and both Dumbledore and Snape hadn't even acknowledged her since she dropped in, but they both stared at her flushed cheeks, her glossy eyes, and clenched fists.
"So Snape, am I hearing that you're responsible to what's happened to me? To my parents?"
I can feel the power in me flow
Force so strong my will won't let it goPain is driving through my veins as thoughEchoes in my head ready to blow!PurifyMagnifyGlorifyPower..SuffocateImmolateStrangulateMutilateCopulateExcruciate-Power, Razed in Black