Disclaimer: I only own Jason and Julie. Oh and the storyline.

Chapter 7; It's Because of Love, Isn't It?

Harry and Ron sat around their table in the Gryffindor common room doing their Potions essay. Harry was chewing the end of his quill while Ron was grumbling away as usual. "I can't believe that she refused to help us with our essay!"

Harry smiled a little "Yes you can, she always refuses. You know that. And besides, she's had to repair the castle with Malfoy remember? That has got to be tiring in itself."

Ron was still grumbling. "She doesn't spend time with us anymore."

Harry was saddened by this fact. "She's busy with extra work as Head Girl. We're no better are we? Do we try and get her to engage in conversation?"

That shut him up.

"We haven't seen her since this morning. Think she's in the common room?"

Ron shrugged, scribbling something out on him parchment. "If it was me, I'd want to spend as less time with Malfoy as humanly possible. He might rub off on us." He made an amusing face.

Harry opened his mouth to answer but instead, clapped his hands over his ears. The booming voice of the deputy headmistress rang out all over the castle. Even with their hands over their ears, people could still hear what she said as if she was standing right next to them.

"Would all the students please make their way down to the Great Hall please. Drop everything you are doing."

It was short and abrupt, her tone clipped. Harry sensed something under it but like everyone else; he got up slowly from his chair and headed out of the Gryffindor portrait hole, Ron at his side.

Ron looked nervous. "What do you thinks happened?"

Harry had that familiar sense of foreboding in his very soul. Something wasn't right. "I have no idea. I'm not sure I want to find out."

No matter how many years he had been at Hogwarts, every tragedy seemed to involve him and this felt like one of those times. The entire student population arrived at the entrance to the Great Hall, each looking more nervous. Since Voldemort's return, 3 years ago, people had gotten used to news of murder, attack and insanity but in never got easier to hear about it.

They entered to hall and walked to their respective tables. Harry and Ron looked over to Dumbledore and saw his expression of unmistakeable sadness. They had never seen it look so lost. Professor McGonagall stood from her seat and clapped her hands loudly for attention. When she was sure that she had it, she sat back down. Then Dumbledore stood.

Harry noticed a broomstick lying on the table next to Professor McGonagall. When his eyes swivelled to Hagrid, Harry saw that he was crying and his heart began to thump like mad. Nothing ever made Hagrid cry like that. He looked back at Dumbledore who was taking his time to formulate what he was about to say. Then he began.

"The looks on each and every one of your faces shows anxiety. At times like this, it is not uncommon. This is why I am deeply sorry to have to announce this. Nothing has pained me more than this for a long time." He carefully picked up the broomstick.

"This broom was found a little way out of Hogwarts by Hagrid and by examination and a simple spell, we were able to work out who it belonged to." Dumbledore looked down, he couldn't seem to face the students. He did look up eventually but the pain in the eyes was evident.

"The broom belonged to the Head Girl."

Harry felt as if his heart had stopped. It was Hermione's broom? He turned to Ron. "Did you know that she has a broom? Why is he talking about her as if in the past tense?"

Ron was choked up. "I didn't know. She's not dead? Did she fall off?"

Dumbledore continued. "We have searched all over for Miss Granger, but we can not find her. She is not in this castle and as her broom was found out- of-bounds of Hogwarts, it seems that the only reason is that she was riding it at the time."

Everyone in the school understood what Dumbledore was saying. Hermione Granger could be dead. No one knew.

Harry had to pay attention to what Dumbledore was saying.

"The only thing we can imagine is that she was taken by death eaters. We do not know how good her chances are, considering that she is muggleborn. We only hope that she is still alive. I only ask to see the Prefects and Head Boy in their common room as soon as possible, preferably in the next half hour."

Many girls were drying at the shocking news. A lot of people liked Hermione. She was just a likeable person. Harry and Ron could not bring themselves to look at the Slytherin's. Harry was sure that he would kill Malfoy if he saw that smirk.

Ginny was crying as she turned to her boyfriend. Julie came over to the Gryffindor table, also crying. Ginny managed to speak through her heaving sobs. "Harry? Ron? We have to find her."

Harry looked grave, as did Ron. They couldn't believe it. "I won't let her die Ron. I agree with Gin, we have to find her."

Ginny made a space for Julie which she took. She wiped her eyes and turned to her brother. "Well what do we do? We have no idea where they are. There are so many death eaters and too many houses to search. We'll never make it in time, before she's murdered."

Ron looked at Ginny, shocked. "Whatever we decide Ginny, you're not coming."

"What!" Both Julie and Ginny shrieked.

Harry agreed. "You are not of age. You can not use your magic outside of school and there is not hope of you getting there and back in time. Oh and another thing, there is not chance in hell that I'd let you go with us into a potentially fatal situation."

Julie was not backing down. "She is our friend too and you have used your magic outside of school before."

Harry shook his head, he felt so helpless. "That was a matter of life and death. I didn't have a choice. I would have been killed otherwise."

"Well so is this." Ginny said, sniffing.

"No", began Ron "Here you have a choice. I am not letting my sister go in there. Harry was kidnapped in 4th year. You are not coming."

Ginny was crying again. "You think that I want my brother and boyfriend to go into a circle of death eaters?"

"I have survived Voldemort 4 times Gin, let's just hope that I get lucky again." Harry said quietly.

Julie finally agreed with Ron. "Ginny, he's right you know. We would just hold them back."

Tears still cascaded down Ginny's face. She nodded and said to Julie. "Come in Julez, we have to meet Dumbledore."

They joined the other prefects and Malfoy at the entrance to the Great hall and left.

Ron put his head in his hand and his elbows on the table, nobody bothered them. "Ginny's right Harry, we don't know where she is and anything could be happening to her right now. How did this happen? What do we do?"

Harry had acquired a stony look. "I suggest that we ask someone who has connections with death eaters. Someone we know for sure would know."

From behind them, someone said. "Ask away."

* * * * *

The blackness cleared from Hermione's eyes as she blinked rapidly. She couldn't move. She looked down and saw that her ankles were bound by shackles as were her wrists. The ends of the chains weren't tied to anything, they just disappeared, but they got the job done. She had lost the feeling in both arms and the skin underneath was raw and red. She hung limply, she didn't have the strength to care.

"Ah, so you decided to wake up did you?"

Hermione lifted her head so that she was looking at the person who was talking to her. "Yes, it was so nice of you to have me. Do you think I can go now?"

The man behind the mask laughed. "Not just yet. You see, someone wants to meet you." He bowed to someone behind him which made Hermione roll her eyes. "The Dark Lord will see you now."

"Oh goody for me. I'm sure death will come quickly." Then she looked upon his humourless smile and ugly face and finished lamely "or not."

Voldemort sneered at her. "I'm sure you're wondering why someone as great as I would need you, a filthy mudblood. I'm also sure that you're wondering why you're still alive. Am I right?"

Hermione just smiled an equally humourless smile. "Well actually, I was just wondering why a filthy half-mudblood, like you, would want to hurt his own kind. I am right in guessing that you had a muggle father? It must just kill you everyday, huh? These followers of yours" she turned her head, indicating the circling death eaters "despise you. I guess you never got what you wanted. You were never loved. They are not your family. They hate dirty blood and I hate to break it to you kiddo, but that's what you got. Just like me."

Voldemort stood there. Her words had the effect she had intended them to. She knew that it wasn't good for her, being in the position she was in, but she just couldn't care less. Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at her "Crucio".

It was everything Harry had said it was. It killed like hell and her body screamed in agony but she did not cry out. She was stronger than that. It was over in 2 seconds. Voldemort had only meant it as a warning.

"Now you will listen to me!" he snarled "I have no intention in keeping you alive. I do not care about your damn Gryffindor bravery. I need information and I intend to get it."

He started pacing around, head bowed, silhouetted by the unusually large moon. He stopped and turned to her. "I want to know why I can not kill Harry Potter. I took his mother's protection but still, all it allows me to do is touch him. What is the point in touching him if I can not kill him? It's something more than luck. Tell me and I'll make sure your death is quick and painless."

Hermione laughed like a maniac. "Ever think it might be because he has love and you don't? You fucking, murdering psychopath! Why do you want to kill him anyway? What sort of a threat is he to you?! Are you that insecure about yourself that you fear a 17 year old boy could finally do what even Dumbledore could not? Are you afraid of Harry Potter?"

He walked up to her and hit her hard across the face, making the shackles pull against the already damaged skin on her wrists, finally succeeding in making them bleed. Hermione didn't care, she couldn't feel it after all. She would probably be dead before she did anyway.

"Though I hate to admit it vermin, you are the smartest witch in that wretched school and to top it, you are that louses best friend. I know you know what is protecting him. Tell me."

Hermione shook the hair out of her eyes and said "So what? You can kill him? And then eventually have the run of the world? Not even Harry knows why you can't kill him. If you're so clever, you work it out."

Hermione was hit again by the Cruciatus curse, only this time it was longer and more painful than she remembered it. She could hear the death eaters' laughter over the roaring in her ears. Her wrists and ankles burnt. It was a pure white-hot pain but still, she did not scream or cry out. She shook uncontrollably.

When Voldemort finally lifted his wand, Hermione hung limp, her wrists bleeding freely, that was how she was going to die she realised. These shackles had slit her wrists and it was going to be slow and painful.

"Your Gryffindor pride will not even let you cry out when you are beyond pain? You can feel it mudblood. Don't be afraid that someone will hear you. That's why I chose this special place. No one knows about it and it's very secluded. Even your precious Harry cried out when he was hit by the curse. Yet you do not deny the knowledge of what protects him."

There was no strength left in Hermione at all so even though she spoke to her feet, it was evident that she was talking to him. "Well think about this, you shit! Even though you hurt Harry, took his parents and his life. He still has people who love him, like you never will. He never, not once, cried because of you did to him. He has never moaned about how bad his life is. For someone as young as him, to have gone through as much as he has and still carry on each day, that is where the true power lies. Not in death and pain and torture. You will rot, as the ugly, slimy scum that you are. And yes, I do know what protects him and I will take it to my grave."

Voldemort growled. She wasn't giving him anything. She was going to sacrifice her life for her friend and he still did not understand what love meant. What Hermione was showing for her best friend and the world was as pure as it got, her life meant nothing, if others could live. What Dumbledore had said was true. Voldemort, having never experienced the love of a mother or a true family, could not cause anything but pain for everyone else. Then again, as far as Harry, he never grew up knowing the love of a family or parents and he had still turned out remarkably.

"Just shows" Hermione whispered into the night, to no one in particular. "A truly powerful person does not need to kill people to feel good about themselves."

Voldemort finally smiled a truly terrible smile as he said the last words. "You were right Hermione Granger, this is how you will die. Hanging there while your body pumps the blood from inside of you, very slowly."

Voldemort gave instructions to the death eaters "Watch her die and picture Harry Potter's face. For he will die one of these days. It will be by my hands and we will all rejoice as the world becomes ours." Then he dis- apperated.

The death eaters closed ranks, Hermione looked at their hungry faces and in her mind she thought 'I hope you live Harry. I died for you.' She smiled grimly.

She did not like the looks on the death eaters' faces. It did not look like they were just going to watch her die. The thought sickened her. She closed her eyes but opened them when she heard one of them speak.

"I believe that there's more blood inside of you than out."

Hermione struggled to lift her heavy head. "Don't be so sure Cornelius. You aren't as smart as people think you are huh? Older isn't always wiser."

She didn't have to see his shocked, masked face. "Yes, I do know who you are. I always wondered why you didn't want to believe that that prick had returned. When he was powerful sixteen years ago, you weren't Minister for Magic but now you are, people will see you for your true colours and not even a mask can hide that. You'll get what's coming to you, don't you worry."

Fudge advanced on her but before he got very far 'STUPEFY' he was on the ground. It wasn't only him that was on the ground, every single death eater was unconscious. Hermione didn't look to see who it was as she finally gave in and fainted. Blacking out for the second time in one day.

* * * * *

That's the end of the chapter. Well that was tiring. Hope you like it.

Review please.ogwarts