Chapter 23
"A midnight snack in the dungeons," Hermione thought to herself bitterly. "More like a midnight beating. Just great. And now Draco and I are all on our own. No Harry to save my neck this time."
She walked down to the dungeons with her head held high. She was after all a Gryffindor and bravery and pride were built into her after years with Harry and Ron.
"It is 12:02," she heard her father say when she reached the last step. He was sitting in a chair much like a throne.
"I like to be fashionably late," she replied. "Besides, I wasn't quite in a rush to get beaten tonight, thank you very much."
"Punctuality is a very important concept, my child. I will teach it to you tonight. What were you doing that delayed you? Stalling?"
She rolled her eyes. "If you must know, I was tending to Draco's wound. You need to learn how to take a joke especially since he was only trying to help me out a bit," she scoffed.
"You don't need any help. You're a Riddle. You can handle it. Now, it has been brought to my attention that young Mr. Malfoy has been in league with Potter and his little army for a little while now, trying to prevent you from getting your mark. If you tell me that this was all your influence, I won't have him killed."
She didn't even hesitate with her response. "I asked him for his help. He did it for me."
"And then you asked Mr. Potter to come here and try to save you?"
"How do you know all this?" she questioned with fury. "Have you been spying on me? Have you intercepted my owls? What have you done?"
He snickered. "I didn't need to do any of that." The dungeons were dark and Hermione listened carefully as her father said a spell to light up the room. "All I had to do was catch Mr. Potter trying to sneak in through your bedroom window." Hermione turned around to see the lit dungeons fully now. She found Harry bound and gagged on the floor.
"HARRY!" she cried out, rushing to his side. She took the gag away and began untying his bonds. "Are you okay, Harry? Did he hurt you?"
He gasped for air when the gag was released and responded, "I'm fine. I was trying to save you." She hugged him and he smiled.
"I wish Draco would have told you I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."
"Young ones," Voldemort hissed. "Might I remind you that both of your lives are in danger?"
"And you said you knew how to love your family," Hermione almost laughed. "You want to know the strength of a family bond?" She hugged Harry tightly. "THIS is family love. He was scared for me, knew all the risks in trying to save me, and yet here he is. He came for me. Harry is my brother."
"Prepare to watch you brother die," he replied, raising his wand with a wicked grin on his face.
He half expected her response though. She had stood in front of him. "You'll have to kill me first if you dare."
Harry pushed her away. "Don't be a fool, Hermione," he told her. "This isn't your fight. I'm the one who's supposed to die. Not you."
"No, Harry," she responded. "It's HIM who will die," she continued, motioning towards her father. "The man can't even love a daughter properly."
"I suggest you learn to stay quiet dear," Voldemort informed her. "Once Potter is gone, I might be inclined to kill the young Malfoy boy just for the hell of it. Now be a good girl and tie your friend back up."
Her mouth gaped open in awe at his foolishness. "Do you honestly believe that I would willingly tie my best friend back up for you to torture him?"
"Only if you want your mother to live," he warned. "GUARDS!" The dungeon door swung open and two new guards came down the stairs carrying Helen in between them. "I already took away all her magic. Such a simple spell it is. She can't perform even the most basic of spells until I give her magic back to her. She's now as useless as a muggle."
Hermione just smiled. "And I love her all the same." She knew exactly what to say to get on his nerves. If she was angry, worried, or surprised by the way he was treating Helen, she sure didn't show it.
"Guards," Voldemort hissed. "Show my daughter how we treat muggles here." The guards snickered and began to chain Helen up to the wall. She looked so helpless and afraid.
"WAIT!" Harry screamed. "Please just do it, Hermione," he begged. "I'll be okay. Promise. Just do what he wants and your mum will be alright."
Tears welled up in her eyes. "Why would you take away her magic?" she asked her father. "What did she do to you?"
"It was her punishment. She had learned to be resistant to the Imperious curse and continuously disagreed with my parenting decisions. No one defies me and gets away with it."
Hermione turned to Harry. "I guess it's too late to commit suicide?" she jokingly asked with fright in her voice.
"Relax," he told her. "It's not like you'll be killing me. It's just tying me up."
"Actually now you'll be in chains, Mr. Potter," Voldemort informed him. "The ropes were merely for a more classic effect. Chain him now, Hermione."
Harry backed up against the wall by Helen and lifted his arms near the chains. Hermione walked over to him and as tears finally streamed down her face, she locked the chains. Then she leaned in to kiss his cheek. Very quietly and discreetly so no one could tell, she whispered, "I will save you, Harry Potter. I will. When everyone is gone, try to use wandless magic. I know you can Alohamora yourself out of this. Be very careful and sneak up to my room. I believe Draco gave you a map already."
She stepped back and walked over to her mom. "Let her go," she commanded the guards. They looked to Voldemort for permissionbut hegave none.
"You mother will be released upon your surrender. Give up and join my inner circle. Serve me like you were born to do," he order her. "I can't make you but I can find ways to convince you. Now surrender!"
"Let her go and give me the night to contemplate my surrender. I understand your command requires me to stop fighting. I need time for that. Let her go now. I chained Harry like you asked."
He cackled. "I would have ordered you to kill him if I thought there was any chance of that happening." There was a look of pure evil in his eyes. He wanted bloodshed.
Hermione gulped. "Please let my mum go. Please" she begged. "I can't take it. You're hurting my friends AND my family and it's killing me."
"THEN GIVE IN! Become a death eater. Tomorrow night."
Her head was spinning. Her whole world was about to collapse and she wanted so badly to go back to school and hide there for as long as she still could.
She dropped to the floor in weakness. "It that is the only way," she murmured. "I'll do it. But please keep Draco out of it."
"NEVER! The young Malfoy was sworn to join my ranks since before he was born. He is my servant, as was his destiny, as is yours as well."
She hung her head low in defeat. "I'll go to my room now. I guess I'll need some sleep for tomorrow." She walked up the stairs of the dungeon with feet that felt as heavy as lead. It took all of her energy make herself move. She heard behind her, her mother was being released. "The only good thing I did all night," she murmured to herself.
She walked up the numerous flights of steps for what felt like hours and finally reached her room. Draco was on her bed waiting for her. "How was the snack?" he joked, seeing the tears on her face.
"Clearly, I do not wish to speak about it," she said, grabbing pajamas from her suitcase and walking to the bathroom to change.
"Did I get you in trouble?" he asked through the door. She didn't reply. "Merlin that man's a jerk. He's so insane. It's as if he doesn't even care about you." Then there was a knocking on the window and he went to check what it was.
It was Damion and he had a note.
"Finally," he muttered. "Potter finally sent a reply," he informed Hermione. She ignored him.
Malfoy,
Harry's left to come save you guys all on his own. The Order was planning on waiting until after Christmas. He felt that would be too late. Ron then chased after him. Please keep them out of harms way until we can attack.
Sincerely,
Sirius Black
P.S. anything happens to Hermione or Helen and you are dead.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Potter decided to try and be a hero, eh?" he asked when Hermione came out of the bathroom.
"I told you already. I don't want to talk about it," she reminded him, taking a seat on the bed and combing her hair. "It's already said and done and we can't change what happened.
"Wealsey came after him."
"WHAT?"
"He's here somewhere, or on his way. Black just owled me and told me so."
"We should go looking for him," Hermione commented. Draco acted as though he had not realized she was basically asking him to do it. "I'm really too tired to go looking though, Draco. Would you mind finding him for me, please?"
HE once again rolled his eyes. "I'll look for one half an hour then I'm coming to bed regardless of whether or not I've found him. Don't go to sleep before I get back otherwise I'm waking you up and not letting you sleep all night." He kissed her forehead and left.
First he checked the guest wing. It was completely empty. He continued on with the search and found nothing in the next two wings.
Then he went to the only wing in his house he had literally never been in. It was his parents private wing. They had given it to the Dark Lord once he came back.
He heard voices and continued on. "She's a young girl and she's been through so much. Why are you doing this to her?"
"If she is my daughter like you say then why would I ever allow her to fight against me? NO. The Dark Mark is the only way to make sure she fights on our side."
"Whose side is that, Tom? Surely you didn't say OUR side because you'd be wrong there. There is now US. You know why? Because you and I are over."
"I won't let you leave me again, Helen."
"You're a murderer! You abuse my daughter. You took away my magic."
"Our daughter needed convincing."
"Why is she so damn important."
"Because she's the missing link. If she goes on their side, they'll win. She's too smart. She knows too much. If she fight against me, they win. If she gets the mark, Potter will be too incompetent to fight without his brainiac."
"Then kill him now and spare our daughter!"
"You think me a cowards to attack him defenseless? I do have my honor and I will not win because he was too rash. NO. When I win this, it will be in the midst of a great war with everyone there to watch."
"You're pathetic."
"What was that, my muggle loving wife? Please do try to remember that you have no power and I do plan on taking advantage of that."
Draco ran quickly out of that hall. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Voldemort going to rape Helen now? He didn't know and he didn't plan on finding out.
On his way back to Hermione's room, he heard a small thud coming from up in the attic. "Stupid Weasley. Can't even sneak in good and proper," he thought to himself, heading up the stairs to the top of the house. When he got up there, he found more than he suspected.
"Hello," one of the Weasley twins said. "I'm George. This here is my twin, Fred and the little one is Ginny, our sister. 'Course you already know 'ickle Ronnekins, don't you?"
Draco glared at them. "Did all FOUR of you have to come? I have nowhere to hid you!"
"That's all right!" Fred smiled. "We know invisibility spells. We'll sleep up here for the night, invisible of course, and tomorrow we'll all bust out of here. The four of us, you, Hermione, and Harry. Sound good?"
He stifled a yawn and looked at them as though they were crazy. "Weasley, I can't believe you brought the whole family."
"I didn't bring them," Ron said in his own defense. "They followed me. Fred and George like adventures and trouble and Ginny, she well...um..."
"Fancy Potter, do you?" he asked Ginny with a smirk. She blushed as red as her hair. "Not to worry. Secrets safe with me. Now you lot get some sleep. Hermione'll be up in the morning to check on you." He left quickly eager to get back to Hermione before she had fallen asleep.
x x x
When Harry escaped, he ran to Hermione's room. She was laying in bed crying...with Malfoy right next to her. "Every time I go to sleep, Draco," she cried. "Why won't he ever go away?" They hadn't noticed Harry's presence and he decided to keep it that way.
"It's only normal to remember a traumatizing experience," Draco told her in comfort, holding her in his arms. "It will probably just take some time."
"But I... I thought that once he was gone, I'd be alright. I'd never have to worry about him again. When you went to find Ron, I fell asleep and he was there. He was there, Draco."
Harry took this as his cue to step forward, making them away he was in the room. "We shouldn't wait for morning," he told them. "It's time to go."
A/N...This is just three days after a month which is usually my deadline so I'm sorry. I know updates are always few and far between but I'm hoping they're worth it. Let me know in a review.
