Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to JK Rowling.

AN: It's been taking me about to month to get these new chapters out. Hopefully it won't be quite so long for the next update but I can't make any promises. Thank you so much for reading; I appreciate all your thoughts and reviews!

"Silencio!" Mulciber hissed the spell at her and Hermione felt her words of warning die in her throat.

Nonetheless she squirmed in his arms trying to extricate herself.

However, Mulciber was just as well trained as she was, and he knew just how to hold her in order to keep her from using any of her physical defense skills. He had yet to remove his hand from her lips so Hermione bit him. She sank her teeth into the slightly salty flesh and felt a rush of blood in her mouth.

If she had expected him to cry out in pain she was sorely disappointed. The arm around her waist tightened and pulled her momentarily closer, his breath heavy and excited in her ear, before the wounded hand finally made an agonizingly slow trip down her chin to her throat leaving a red smear in its wake.

The front door closed with a dull thud that heralded all the finality of death. There was a turn of the lock that Hermione rarely remembered and then heavy footsteps sounded down the halls towards them.

The hand at her throat was slick with blood and tight. Hermione was becoming dizzy as it became harder to breathe. He was crushing her windpipe. Her body began to shut down in accordance with the lack of oxygen. Hermione's attempts at freedom slowed with each approaching step.

Her body was completely still as Sirius entered the living room. Hermione's eyelashes fluttered desperately as she struggled to keep them open. There was a quiet moment where Sirius stared almost unbelievingly at Hermione and Mulciber.

It was the Auror himself who broke the silence. "Sirius Black." He seemed to savor the sound of the name. "You're not who I expected to find here, this has just gotten very interesting indeed."

With that, whatever spell that had held Sirius was broken and he lunged forward, her name on his lips.

Mulciber turned his wand towards Sirius. "Crucio!" He yelled gleefully.

Sirius fell to the ground with a guttural cry. His hand extended out, even with the pain, reaching for her. Mulciber was laughing at his desperate display, his hand all the while tightening around her throat as his excitement grew.

Hermione stared down in horror at Sirius, her eyes clouding behind a sea of grayish spots. Her last thought before her body went limp in Mulciber's arms was why was she always so helpless to protect the people that she loved?

Hermione was pooled loosely on the hard, cold floor of her flat when she regained consciousness. The old faded blue sweater that she was wearing had ridden up, exposing a good portion of her pale stomach to the cool air. Her eyes opened slowly, shimmering clouds still plagued them and she had to blink several times to clear her sight. Sirius lay not far from her, his eyes were still closed, face still taut from the residual pain of the Cruciatus curse, labored breathing told her that he was still alive but he wasn't moving.

Hermione swallowed, her throat cramping painfully. "Sirius?" She asked softly, sitting up, her mind not yet caught up to the present circumstances.

A hand clenched her shoulder, she was jerked off the ground, and dangled a few inches above the floor.

"So concerned about Black, are we?" Mulciber deposited her onto one of the kitchen chairs as if she was nothing more burdensome to him than a bag of groceries.

She glared up at him, defiance written into her frown. "What did you do to him?"

"Worried?" Mulciber reached out and ran the back of his hand gently down her cheek. "I've never understood the selfless nature that others seem to possess."

Hermione turned away from his hand, tussled brown curls loose around her face. "What," She repeated, "Did you do to him?"

"I tortured him you silly little girl." Mulciber caught her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "But that man," his voice caught as though an unpleasant taste had overcome him for a moment, "Is the least of your concerns."

"Really?" Hermione's voice was snide, her eyes flashed angrily.

His grip tightened hard enough to bruise. "I don't think you fully understand the situation that you're in."

Hermione blinked dolefully up at him. Her hands were gripping her blue-jean covered knees, the urge to scratch out his eyes making her fingers twitch excitedly.

"Over there on your floor is Sirius Black, one of the Ministry's most wanted fugitives. Your best friends died in a rather suspect manner. And you have been acting quite guilty. You reputation as an Auror is in jeopardy, your livelihood, why your very freedom is on the line." The hand on her chin gentled then released as he went to tuck a curl back behind her ear. "I want to help you."

Sirius was beginning to stir behind Mulciber.

Hermione knew that she had to keep the Auror distracted, keep him talking. "Why would you help me?"

Mulciber smiled, a truly disturbing sight, and let his fingers caress her cheek again. "I've always admired you, Ms. Granger."

Sirius' eyes opened then narrowed with anger at Mulciber's back. Hermione silently prayed that he wouldn't do anything stupid.

"You're lying." She argued, her tone louder. "You despised me, and the others."

"Oh dear, you misunderstood, perhaps I came on too strong the last time?"

His direct reference to that awful meeting in his office made Hermione shudder.

"I did despise you, I still do, in fact." He was still smiling. "You were always so good, so self-righteous, it was nauseating. You had no understanding of how the world works. But there were certain qualities that you possessed that I found appealing." He took a moment to let lascivious eyes roam over her. "I would truly have liked to mentor you. I could have shown you so many things, led you to such great power." Mulciber's eyes were bright with excitement, "I still can, too."

Hermione swallowed, the man was insane, he wasn't making any sense. He should have called for more Aurors by now. He should have dragged them off to Azkaban. He should not be standing there offering to help Hermione. "You've gone mad, haven't you?" She asked. "One to many curses come your way?"

He struck her.

The back of his hand connected with the side of her face in a motion so quick and smooth that she hadn't even known it was coming. Blood began to dribble from her split lip almost immediately but she didn't notice because at the very moment that Mulciber's hard knuckled hand had collided with her delicate cheek Sirius had lunged off the floor at him.

There was a crackle of sound and a dull flash of light and Sirius fell backwards onto the floor looking dazed. Mulciber turned slowly as if he had all the time in the world and Sirius was nothing more than a troublesome fly.

"Sirius!" Hermione screamed, lunging forward.

Mulciber knocked her back easily. He uttered a charm that she couldn't here and tight ropes bound her to the chair. Hermione glared hatefully at him, tears wet in her eyes. He turned away from her.

"So you've woken up already? I am surprised, you must be far more use to the Cruciatus curse than I originally thought."

Sirius stood slowly, his eyes black as the inside of a tomb, his hands in fists. He looked past Mulciber to Hermione, eyes going soft and warm as he looked at the younger girl. "Are you all right, Hermione?"

She nodded mutely, hand rising finally to wipe at the dripping blood.

"This is sweet." Mulciber grinned at Black. "It's a good thing that I thought to cast that Cavea spell. It's normally used to corral dangerous animals, I thought it suitably appropriate for you."

Sirius reached out, his hand connecting with the invisible border. There was another flash of light and he pulled back, cradling his hand. He was looking desperate.

"She has nothing to do with this." Sirius said softly. "I'll come with you. I won't fight. But she has nothing to do with this. D... don't hurt her anymore." He pleaded.

"Don't worry, I'll just hurt you instead." Mulciber replied as he cast the Cruciatus on Sirius once again.

Hermione struggled against the ropes, "Stop it! Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything wrong! He never killed Harry's parents. He never killed that wretched Peter Pettigrew." The ropes cut into her flesh. "Please..." great tears began to roll down her cheeks as her voice broke, "please, you have to believe me."

Mulciber allowed the spell to drop. He turned to look at Hermione. "Dear girl, I already know that."

Sirius was breathing hard but already able to push himself up in order to look at Mulciber.

Hermione blinked at the Auror, "you already know? I don't... I don't understand, why did you come here if you already-"

He cut her off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I didn't come here looking for Sirius Black. This is just an added bonus."

"What do you want?" Hermione's voice was tiny. This was wrong, this was all wrong; nothing about Mulciber's actions was making sense.

"Information." He was smiling, he was always smiling, and it was an expression ill suited to his face. Smiling showed off his too sharp teeth, smiling made cruel wrinkles crease his face, and smiling made those sharp, blue eyes narrrower.

"Information?"

"Where is Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione settled back against the chair as she stared up at his quick, blue eyes. The pieces started to fall into place, he hadn't asked her anything about Sirius, nothing concerning Harry and Ron, no interest in what really happened in the Malfoy Manor. All he had been wanted from the very beginning was Draco.

"I already told you that I do not-"

He hit her again.

Sirius growled from his place on the floor. "Don't touch her!"

"Where is Draco Malfoy?" He repeated. "All I want is the boy, if you help me, I'll go away. You and Black can go back to whatever odd little home life you've been enjoying." He smirked at Sirius. "She is a delicious little thing, I can't blame you for wanting a taste."

Mulciber's hand slid down her cheek and caressed the skin at the nape of her neck.

Hermione ignored the blood as it dribbled down her chin, "You are repulsive." She voice was calm, she was an Auror after all, and she wasn't going to let him to get to her.

But he was quite successful against Sirius. Harry's godfather was trembling in rage. "Keep your hands off of her." He growled.

If they weren't in such a dire predicament, Hermione might have rolled her eyes; Sirius was playing right into Mulciber's hands.

"As I said, all I want is Malfoy, and there is apparently no love lost between you two." Mulciber was waiting for a response from Hermione.

Hermione held her head high. "You are right, there is no love lost between us. So thus, I really can't be of any help to you."

He hit her again.

Sirius was on his feet, sputtering angrily, "Leave her alone!"

Mulciber looked at the other man appraisingly before striking her again.

"Hermione!" Sirius gasped as if her pain hurt him, "Just tell him..."

Hermione cut him off, "Be quiet, Sirius, do you really think he is just going to go away quietly once he gets what he wants?"

Mulciber's smile was large, his teeth flashing like a shark. He was playing them off of each other, quite successfully, in fact.

"I think I've been going about this the wrong way." Mulciber turned completely towards Sirius. "You will tell me what I want to know, won't you?"

Hermione shook her head at Sirius, her brown eyes pleading with him to hold his tongue, to be silent. But she already knew what Mulciber was going to do. She could tell by the jovial way Mulciber was holding himself. And Hermione knew that Sirius would tell the Auror anything that he wanted to know.

Mulciber turned back to Hermione and cast the Cruciatus upon her. Sirius cried in rage and horror as Hermione shuddered with pain, broke the ropes holding her, and fell out her chair. She curled into a ball. Her skin was tight, she felt like she was on fire. It reminded her so much of her time in St. Mungo's. Tears squeezed from her tightly closed eyes. She could hear Sirius shouting at Mulciber.

"Stop it! I'll tell you anything. Malfoy was here. He's been here for days. Today is the first time that he's left." Sirius' was kneeling, his hands pressing against the magically electric shield that held him enclosed. Sparks flashed around his fingers, illuminating his pained face.

Mulciber increased the spell. "Will he be coming back?"

Hermione's hands unclenched themselves and she was able to open her tear-clouded eyes. It was decidedly odd. Hermione pushed herself up with one hand. She had heard Mulciber augment in the spell. The pain should have increased tenfold but instead she was feeling better, the pain was still intense but it was starting to fade. And as it did, Hermione noticed a weight around her wrist, looking down she was surprised to see the bracelet that Draco had given her resting there. It's green and silver metal flashing up at her. For the life of her, Hermione couldn't remember putting it on, she hadn't even known that she was wearing it. Mulciber was speaking with Sirius. Hermione hadn't even been listening to them; she had become so distracted by the jewelry.

He was grasping her arm then, pulling her to her feet once again, she looked up at him in surprise. "Now, we'll just stay like this and wait, won't we?" Mulciber asked her.

They didn't have to wait long.

Her door unlocked itself. And quick steps came towards them. Hermione was still feeling dazed, the bracelet still heavy on her arm, the residual pain almost non-existent. She couldn't find the thoughts to issue a warning to Draco.

The young man didn't look at all surprised as he entered the living room. His wand was held tightly in his hand. His gray robes flowed perfectly behind him as he approached.

Mulciber held his wand at Hermione's throat, a grin plastered across his face. "Ahh, Malfoy, I'm so glad that you could-"

Draco cut him off.

"Avada Kedavra!"

He had no time to react. Hermione could feel him tense around her in surprise as the green light shot towards them both. Distantly she could hear Sirius' desperate cry, whether it was a warning or merely her name she couldn't tell. The green death passed so closely by her that goose bumps rose up along her skin. A cold draft blew against her as it collided with Mulciber's body. His arms tightened painfully around her as he died. His flesh went cold and clammy against hers as the curse forced the life from him. As instantaneous as it was it seemed to go on forever. Then time caught back up. He fell away from her, his limbs loose and malleable.

She turned, eyes following his fall. Hermione had never watched anyone die before. She had never felt anyone die before. It was the most horrifying experience that she had ever gone through. Shuddering, she wrapped her arms about herself, but the chill from the passing curse wouldn't go away. Her stomach churned angrily and the strength ebbed from her legs. Hermione collapsed.

Now that Mulciber was dead, his spell holding Sirius was gone. Harry's godfather sprung lightly from where he was kneeling, and caught Hermione in his arms before she could fall onto the dead man.

"Hermione? Hermione, are you all right?" One arm looped around her back while his other hand was worriedly touching her face, her arms, her stomach as he confirmed that she was all right.

She was to shocked to reply.