A Haunting Lullaby – fire-and-ice89
Summary: NEW! The war is nearing an end. As Voldemort's captive, Hermione's memory has been wiped. Working together with Draco, she kills former friends and loved ones. Will she ever remember who she really is? And if she did, would she want to go back? DHr.
Disclaimer: As I have said before, I really hate these. So, once again, I will say this only here, only once: I do not own the Harry Potter characters.
A/N: I hope you like it!
Chapter One – Captive
The house was sleeping.
Leila crouched low in the bushes. Beside her, she was very aware of Draco, who was breathing heavily from the long run.
"Shhh," she hissed gently into the darkness.
He paused, and she listened intently.
Not a sound.
She reached over and found Draco's hand, squeezing it briefly.
"I'm going in," she whispered, and he nodded.
"I'll be waiting here. Good luck."
She didn't need it. She never did.
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It was dark.
Hermione blinked and sat up, trying to clear her vision, which was swarming.
Suddenly, the memories hit her, like a solid brick wall. She collapsed again, and let out a whimper.
All was lost.
She struggled to clear her thoughts, to think rationally.
She had been kidnapped. The last thing she could remember was being grabbed from behind, and seeing Harry's despairing gaze upon her face as he tried to fend off the death eaters.
Where was he now?
More importantly, where the hell was she?
Hermione sat up again, more slowly this time. She reached out in front of her with a shaking hand, reaching into the darkness, afraid of what she would find.
Metal. Cold metal. Her hand closed around the circular bar.
More confident, she held out the other hand, and met another rail of cold metal.
A cage.
Hermione bristled with indignation. Was it Voldemort himself who designed her captivity? Somehow she doubted it. More likely it was those sick minded death eaters.
Whoever it was, she received the message loud and clear. She was being objectified.
Slowly, she felt her way around the sides of the cage. It was extremely small, barely allowing her room to stretch out full length.
She felt around the floor, in the desperate hope that her captors might have been considerate enough to leave her a blanket.
Fat chance.
She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling the cold.
She must be in a dungeon somewhere. It had been a sunny day outside.
Hermione received a shock when she suddenly realized…she didn't know how long she'd been passed out. It could be nighttime by now.
The battle could be over.
She felt her stomach sink like lead when she thought of Harry and the rest of the students, fighting that one-sided battle. It was hopeless.
By now, she realized, Voldemort was probably in possession of Hogwarts.
She hoped to high heavens that Harry had been smart enough to escape. He would have a much better chance of defeating Voldemort in his own time, when he wasn't caught by surprise.
Hermione let out a small sob, wondering if she would ever see Harry and Ron again.
The cold intensified.
Hermione glared into the darkness, at nothing in particular.
"Lousy death eaters." She muttered to herself. "Haven't they heard of central heating?"
Her voice was almost lost in the darkness, but it was comforting. Something other than silence.
Confident that she was alone, Hermione began to speak softly to herself.
"Come on, don't lose hope. Of course you'll see Harry and Ron again. Harry's survived through so much, of course he'll live through one more battle. Especially at Hogwarts, with Dumbledore there."
She paused, contemplating that last thought. Where had Dumbledore been? She couldn't recall seeing him anywhere.
She shook her head, clearing it of suspicious thoughts. He wouldn't just run and hide, leaving his school unprotected. If he wasn't at the battle, then he had probably already been captured by Voldemort.
"Happy thoughts!" She said sternly to herself, steering back to more positive topics.
Harry's face.
Ron's face.
Ginny's laugh.
Her mother's hug.
Harry's face…
Suddenly, Hermione felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. All those memories flew out of her mind, like startled birds flying from a tree.
It was cold. It was so cold.
Hermione looked up, and saw a dark shape hovering over her.
"No," she muttered, backing against the wall of her cage. "They wouldn't. Not the dementors."
Then everything went black.
"Hermione!"
A boys voice.
"Harry, watch out!"
Too late.
She was too late.
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"Hermione," Harry mumbled. He tried to reach out a hand, but he felt heavy. So heavy.
"Hermione," He opened an eye, just a crack of the way.
He was in a bed.
He opened the other eye, and exhaled a long, painful breath.
"How are you feeling?"
Harry turned his head, with great effort.
Beside the bed sat Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore!" Harry said through parched lips, trying to lift himself up on one elbow.
Dumbledore shook his head. "Rest. You've been sapped of your strength. Rest now, and we'll talk later."
"I can't…I have to know…" Harry tried to say, but the world began to spin, and everything went dark.
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It was a whole day before he woke again.
This time, Dumbledore wasn't there, but Madam Pomfrey was. Harry lay in bed for a minute, watching her fuss with his blankets.
"Where's Dumbledore?" He asked eventually. Madam Pomfrey glanced up, startled.
"I didn't realize you were awake," she said in surprise.
"Please, could you get Dumbledore," Harry said.
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips in disapproval. "You need your rest, but Dumbledore did say to call him when you woke."
"Please." Harry stated simply, letting his eyes close heavily.
He heard Madam Pomfrey leave the room.
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"Are you awake?" He heard a voice ask.
Harry forced his eyes open, and looked over at Dumbledore.
"I dreamed of her." He said simply.
Dumbledore nodded. He didn't look surprised.
"What did you see?"
"She was in…a cellar of some kind. In a cage." He shuddered at the memory of a broken Hermione curled up on the bottom of a cage. Then he remembered the end of his dream, and his blood ran cold.
"There were dementors."
Dumbledore looked grave. Harry watched his reaction to the news with trepidation.
"She's in a lot of danger, isn't she, Professor?"
Dumbledore hesitated, and Harry said quickly, "Please just tell me the truth. I can handle it."
Dumbledore nodded wearily. "Yes. She's in a lot of danger."
Harry sighed heavily and leaned back on the pillows.
"I think she sensed me," he said quietly, and Dumbledore had to lean forward to hear him.
"Then she knows she's not alone," he said, and Harry nodded. It was some comfort.
They sat in silence for a while. Harry's eyes had closed, and he was almost asleep again.
Dumbledore watched him, a sad sort of smile on his lips.
He wished he could protect Harry from the reality of the situation, but that was an impossibility. Harry would find out eventually.
Hermione was out of reach forever.
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Tears leaked from the corners of Hermione's eyes.
"No!" She screamed out loud. "It's not true."
Too late, too late, too late.
The voices repeated, whispering in her mind. The only thing separating Hermione from the dementor was the cage that she lay in. The dark shape hovered over her, and she knew without a doubt that it was aching to kiss her.
To suck out her soul.
"Not true." She sobbed, hiding her face from the evil shape. "Not true."
Hermione…
So faint. Her head shot up.
"Harry?" She whispered, hardly daring to hope.
Hermione…
She felt a strange sensation, an interior sort of warmth, and knew that Harry was reaching out to her.
"Not true." She whispered again, and a smile broke out on her lips.
"Not true," She screamed out at the dementor. "He's alive!"
Suddenly, with a cruel gush of air, the sensation was gone, and the cold returned.
Hermione fought back against it ten-fold.
"You're lying," she called out loud. "Lying, lying, lying."
The dementor seemed uncertain. It began to draw back from the cage.
"Lying, lying, lying, lying, lying." Hermione chanted, over and over again.
Somewhere in the darkness, a door burst open.
"Enough!" A man's voice roared, and Hermione subsided into silence.
Huddled on the floor, she gazed upwards to see two shapes towering over her cage.
The tallest one bent down until he was face to face with her. Hermione whimpered involuntarily to see the cruel expression on Lucius Malfoy's features.
"You're a foolish, foolish girl." He whispered in a low, threatening tone. He held her gaze for a few moments, and although Hermione tried hard to meet it, she had to look away.
Satisfied, he stood and retreated to a dark corner of the room somewhere.
Hermione looked fearfully to the other person standing before her. Ever so slowly, they started to bend down, like Lucius, until they were facing her.
Hermione's breath caught in her throat, and her world turned upside down.
The boy smirked, a natural gesture.
"Well, Granger, we meet again," murmured Draco Malfoy.
A/N: BEFORE YOU ASK ANY QUESTIONS: that part in italics at the beginning is supposed to be confusing. All will be explained in good time.
I have big plans for this story, but I'd really like to know what people think about it. Please leave a review with your opinion on this first chapter, they really do help me. I always try and improve from criticism, and of course, compliments are what keeps me going! So please review!
Next Chapter: Hermione is questioned, and Voldemort comes up with a plan.