Dancing in rain – I'm so glad you liked the chapter I dedicated to you. I hope you'll keep on enjoying it. You have been my most dedicated reader thus far and I thank you so much for it!
Someonelse – I hope all the headgames aren't confusing. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far and thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you will keep enjoying it.
Hermione's entire body ached from the punishment it had received not only from her training, but from being hit by Malcolm as well. The guard's arm was welcome, as she did not think she would make it to her cell by herself. She still couldn't believe that Sirius was with her.
They had led him into the room thinking him to be her dog and that his presence would soften her to them. The fact was though that it made her resolve two fold and she would find a way to get them all out of this mess. Her brain was working overtime now, trying to figure out what the failsafe would be that Marcus would have put onto the collar.
She thought of all that Malcolm taught her during their session and she used her own observations as well. There was no doubt in her mind that the bracelets and the collars were intertwined, it would have to be them that linked the two people together. So how did she get the collar off of her if she couldn't cast spells on the man or have someone else hurt him?
"Would you like to sit down for a minute before we continue?" The voice interrupted her thoughts causing Hermione to jerk suddenly.
"Hmm? Oh, yes that would be appreciated thank you." She said with a weak smile.
The guard led her over to an empty room and pulled out a chair for her to sit on. Hermione sat down and panted softly as Sirius snuggled up against her legs. He whined at her as he looked up at her with those puppy dog eyes and Hermione thought she would melt.
"Its so good to have you with me old friend. I just hate that you have to be captive with me." She said softly and pulled Sirius into another hug.
"I'm sorry." The guard said quietly.
Hermione looked up at the man and frowned. "Obviously not sorry enough to be leading me to my cell and not outside of this horrid place." She growled.
"It's my job, the end result of what I do will only better mankind." The guard said.
"You really believe that do you? I suppose you believe that Hitler was right in condemning the Jews then as well don't you?" There was a look of disgust on the young witches face.
"I..my previous employer insisted that I work here." The guard continued. "You see the company holds some Interesting Policies that will help greatly."
She had been looking down at Sirius, but suddenly her head jerked up and stared at the guard. Did he really just tell her what she think she did? Hope flooded inside her and she stared at the man to try and dig the answer from out of his eyes. He gave her a barely perceptible nod which she returned with her own.
"I'm better now thank you. You can continue to do your job, since it is so important to you." She tried to keep the venom in her voice, knowing there would most likely be eyes and ears throughout the building.
The guard nodded and took her arm again, leading her at a pace that she could handle. "So are you really a witch?" He asked curiously.
"This company is insane. Do a few Wiccan rituals and they call you a witch. Seem to think I can do extraordinary things." She said.
The guard smirked. "Well I have to say I've seen extraordinary things from a few people around here."
"Believe what you must then." Hermione stated simply and ended the conversation.
They entered her cellblock and Hermione noticed Ginny had woken up and was now looking past Draco and over to her. Draco turned slowly and his eyes flickered down to the dog walking with him. His brow furrowed slightly and Hermione could see the confusion on his face.
Sirius's animagus form was still unknown to many, and seeing as it was Sirius's secret Hermione had never told Draco about it. Ginny on the other hand looked a tad more hopeful than she had at first.
When Hermione entered her cell she turned to the guard. "Can I remove this?" She asked as her fingers touched the muzzle on Sirius's face.
"Yes, but if he tries to bite anyone he will be shot." The guard said.
"I understand. Will..will you be my guard again?" She asked softly.
"I have recently been assigned to this wing, so yes. My name is Colin." He stated.
Hermione nodded and smiled slightly. "Well thank you for your kindness. Every little bit helps in a place like this it seems." She said with a grimace.
Colin nodded and then left the cell, locking the door behind him and leaving the block.
Hermione knelt down and undid the muzzle on Sirius's face. When she removed it Sirius leaned his head down and rubbed his nose with his paw, as if scratching an itch he couldn't reach till that moment.
"Oh Snuffles. I feel so awful. You shouldn't be here, your being here means you are in the same predicament as me and yet I'm happier than I have been in quite some time. That is awful isn't it?" She said with a guilty look upon her face.
Sirius lifted his head and tilted it when he looked at her, then he stepped forward and nuzzled his nose into Hermione's neck as if to tell her that there was no place he would rather be. Hermione's eyes filled with tears and she hugged her friend tightly.
Ginny groaned and rubbed her forehead before she sat up in her cot. The last thing that she remembered was hearing a noise in Hermione's room and then suddenly she was grabbed from behind. Whatever it was they did it knocked her out cold she realized.
Her hand went to her neck that was feeling stiff and weighed down. When her fingers touched the cold metal, she wondered if this was what had happened to Hermione and Draco. She let her eyes take in her surroundings.
A glass cell was the realization. Sitting up and turning slightly she looked into the cell beside her. There was an older gentleman lying on the cot directly beside hers. He seemed to be sleeping, but his eyes opened slightly and he gave her a sad smile.
Tears filled Ginny's eyes. This wasn't a man that should be incarcerated. She turned and took in the rest the cell block. The cell directly across from hers was empty, but the bed looked like it had been slept in. There were two men talking in the cell beside that one and Ginny ignored it for a moment to look at the cell beyond that held a young girl that she recognized from Hogwarts.
Ginny had taken a job with Madame Pomfrey and so knew a lot of the children that were attending Hogwarts. She had always wanted to become a Mediwitch and she so enjoyed school, when she wasn't nearly being killed, that it was a dream come true. Her eyes flickered back over to the cell with the two people talking and when she saw Draco Malfoy turn to face her fresh tears filled her eyes.
He had gone through so much in his life, from an abusive deatheater father, to becoming a double agent for the order. He had seen death, felt the bitter sting of betrayal and so rarely felt happy times. Draco had been a complete git in Hogwarts, but Ginny soon realized there was so much more to the man when he was older. Hermione had opened her eyes to him, and she had accepted him as a friend in doing so.
Eventually as time went by, Ginny started to feel somewhat jealous of her friend. Draco and Ginny had become close friends, but she never would have betrayed her friendship with Hermione. The two of them weren't lovers anymore, but Ginny never got the confidence to tell Draco how she truly felt about him.
When Draco looked at her, she felt her heart flutter wildly. Their eyes never left each other until his eyes suddenly hardened with anger and he turned to attack the man in his cell. She realized that the man Draco was trying to strangle was none other than Marcus Flint, known Deatheater. Her mind started buzzing and she wished she knew more about what was happening to the group of them.
Ginny screamed and hit the side of the cell when she saw Marcus cast the cruciatus curse on Draco. When it was all done Ginny watched as Draco pulled himself up and walked over to the wall closest to her. They stared at each other then, trying to comfort each other with their eyes as best they could.
Motion caught her attention again after a little while and she watched as Hermione was led to the cell across from hers. Sirius was with her and that made Ginny feel a touch of hope. Whoever it was that kept them here did not realize that Sirius was an animagus and were allowing him to stay with Hermione within her cell. Hermione gave her a pointed look and she returned it with a hopeful one.
When the guard left all the prisoners alone, Hermione took off Sirius's muzzle and Ginny watched as she stroked the dog. After a few minutes Hermione looked up at Ginny and started to sign to her in traditional sign language. Her friend had taught her the language shortly after they had left Hogwarts and was rather thankful for it now.
"Are you ok?" Hermione signed.
"Yes, Just a bit foggy." Ginny replied.
"Good. I'm teaching Draco how to sign." Hermione added.
"I will help." Ginny replied with a smile.
Hermione nodded and put her hands down fast. Ginny saw the motion down the end of her aisle and watched as two guards along with a tall man who had the face of an angel. A woman was following behind with tears streaming down her cheeks. The woman kept grabbing at the tall man and he kept shrugging her off until they reached the old man's cell.
Draco recognized the woman immediately as the old man's handler, but it was the first time he had seen this man. Hermione watched closely, taking in every detail of the man and woman that had just arrived. Ginny had stepped back to the opposite side of her cell, as if keeping distance between her and them would make her invisible to them.
The guards opened the cell and the man and woman walked into it. After a few moments of arguing the tall man reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. He stood there yelling at the woman who was grabbing at him, while his arm raised. The old man was sitting on his bed silently watching the two people.
Everything was silent and for each person it was as if in slow motion. Ginny watched in horror as bone, blood and brains spattered onto the cell wall, causing her to scream loudly and huddle herself into a ball. Hermione screamed and started to thump the wall as she watched the man turn his gun to the hysterical woman and shoot her twice in the chest. Draco watched with grim resignation knowing that this could end up being all their fates if they lost their usefulness. Sirius barked loudly feeling utterly helpless and knowing that if he revealed himself now they would all end up like that.
The man with a face of an angel gave each witch and wizard an evil grin before talking briefly with the guards. He then left the cell and walked down the aisle as horrified glares followed him. Each of them turned to each other and they tried to reassure each other, but having seen this almost broke them. Hermione turned to look at Hailey and the young girl was in the back corner of her cell, crying.