The first thing Hermione did the morning after their plan to trap Harry and his friends had worked so perfectly was to visit Severus and ask him to arrange for her to visit her father's prisoners. Severus promised to do what he could, and it was actually the middle of the afternoon before he sent a message to Hermione to let her know that she and Draco were to be allowed to visit Malfoy Manor for an hour before dinner.
"Give them hell," Blaise said, from where he was sitting with his foot propped up to rest.
"Yeah, and don't forget to gloat," Theo added. "Rub it in that everything is their fault, and that they caused everything that is happening to them."
Promising to do just that, Hermione and Draco headed off to Severus's office, where they travelled through the floo and arrived at Malfoy Manor. Narcissa was waiting to greet them, and she assured them both that their injured parties were perfectly fine. Lucius was tucked up in bed resting, and Leah's arm had been fixed and she too was resting.
"Your father said to call if you needed him," Narcissa informed Hermione.
"I don't think we'll need him," Hermione said with a shake of her head, not wanting to disturb her father as no doubt he was at home fussing over her mother. "All I want to to do is see Harry and Ron."
"Do you have any idea what you're going to say or do?" Narcissa asked as she led the way down to the dungeons of the manor.
"Quite honestly, I have no idea," Hermione admitted. "I guess we'll just have to see what happens."
A few minutes later they arrived in the dungeons, and Narcissa pointed out the three rooms they'd prepared for their guests. She explained that each room held two prisoners, with the oldest Weasleys in together, Lupin and Sirius sharing, and finally Harry and Ron in the last room.
"I'm not bothered with anyone else," Hermione said. "I just need to see Harry and Ron."
"They no longer have their wands and they're restrained, but still be careful," Narcissa advised. "And remember to lock the door when you leave. I'll be upstairs, make sure you let me know before you go back to school. And do not stay too long. You have one hour and not a moment more."
"Thank you, Narcissa," Hermione said, smiling at the older woman.
She waited until Draco's mother had gone, before she unlocked the door to the room her old friends were being kept in, and with Draco right behind her, she entered the dingy cell. In the dull light she could see two figures huddled up on a long, thin bed, but neither of them made any move at the sound of someone entering the room. Wanting to see more clearly, she pulled out her wand and lit every sconce in the room, brightening the place significantly.
"That's better," she declared happily as she got a decent look at her two former friends.
Both Harry and Ron were looking despondent and dishevelled. Despite the fact they'd only spent one night at the manor, it already looked as though they'd been in captivity for weeks. As for their attitude, there was none of their usual defiance in their eyes as they raised their heads to look at their visitors. It would seem that they were fully aware of how useless their situation was, and had already consigned themselves to defeat.
"What do you want, Hermione?" Harry asked with a weary sigh.
"I just came to see the show, but it looks like I'm in for a disappointing time," Hermione replied. "I know things are bleak for you both, but I still expected some fight."
"Why waste our time fighting?" Ron snorted. "We've lost."
"Damn this is disappointing," Draco muttered. "I at least expected insults and bravado. Aren't you going to tell us that The Order will still win? That we won't get away with this?"
"We all know that isn't going to happen," Harry said, his voice flat and lifeless. "You've got us all. So who is going to fight?"
"Well, you did all walk into the same trap," Hermione said with a chuckle. "I have to admit, that was slightly careless. At least one of you should have stayed behind."
"We didn't know it was a trap," Ron snapped back.
"How did you mange that by the way?" Harry asked, only sounding mildly curious. "We should have had the upper hand. How did you know we were coming?"
"I don't suppose there's any point in lying to you, not now your time is numbered," Hermione replied. "I was warned that you were thinking of coming after me at school."
"You said no lies," Ron hissed. "No-one warned you. No-one knew to warn you."
"Someone did," Hermione replied with a shrug. "Believe me or not, but that put us on your trail. It led to me remembering about all the passageways in the castle, and Harry's map. We were covering them all when Severus and Lucius spotted your brothers in Hogsmeade, and they followed them to know where they were settling in. All we had to do then was to lure you in."
"Which was why you were in the library all alone," Harry muttered. "We should have known it was too good to be true."
"Yes, you should have," Hermione agreed. "But then again, there's a lot you should have done differently, Harry. Don't you think?"
"No, I do not," Harry snapped, showing some emotion for the first time as he glared at Hermione.
"Come on Harry, you're not stupid," Hermione chuckled. "Even you should be able to see where things went wrong for you. Instead of waiting and playing the long game, you rushed in and made mistake after mistake. Your painted targets on your back the minute you joined forces with Pansy to try and kill me."
"What were we supposed to do, sit back and do nothing?" Ron scoffed. "We weren't going to just let you and your evil bastard of a father take control."
"Yet that is exactly what has happened," Hermione pointed out. "And thanks to you, and the way you've targeted me, he's done it quicker and easier than he'd intended. Now he can do what he wants, and because you're here, and will never see the light of day again, there will be no-one to stand up to him. But if you'd kept your heads, you would have been there, lurking as a threat, and it would have kept my father in line. He would have been wary about doing anything to rile people, knowing they might well turn to you. But who are they going to turn to now their saviour has vanished?"
"No-one," Draco answered with a dark smirk. "There is now no-one to save them, no-one to offer them hope. So now The Dark Lord can do whatever he wants, and if people don't like it, they've got no-one to turn to. No-one to fight with. But if you lot were still there, you could have quietly built an army. You could have gotten people to join your cause, and you could have been a threat."
"But luckily, you're too rash to think about the long term," Hermione continued. "So I guess what I am really here to say, is thank you. Thank you for making this all so easy."
"You may have won, but we've still had our moments," Ron sneered, smirking at his gaze landed on the cane Draco was leaning on. "Or have you forgotten your crippled boyfriend?"
"Crippled?" Draco laughed, standing up straight and swinging his cane around. "I'm nearly finished with this thing. By the summer, I won't need it any more. My injury was temporary. Unlike Potter's."
"What?" Ron muttered, frowning in confusion.
"Oh, haven't your shared your news, Potter?" Draco laughed. "Even if he wasn't going to die soon, Potter's days of vision are coming to an end. So I guess we're doing you a favour really, Potter. You'll be dead before your sight goes."
"What is he going on about?" Ron asked Harry, deliberately ignoring Draco and his gloating smirk.
"The injury to my eyes is serious," Harry told his best friend. "My vision isn't getting better, in fact it's getting worse. I was going to wait until after we'd dealt with her and her father, before telling everyone. But I guess it doesn't matter now. In a few months I'll be blind. Or rather, I will be if we live that long."
"I wouldn't be counting on that," Hermione remarked. "Your days are numbered, Harry."
"I know," Harry replied with a calm nod of his head. "But you shouldn't be so cocky, Hermione. Even without a saviour, people will not stand for your father's dark ways. Sooner or later people will rise up against him, and you won't win every battle. Even if we're not here to see it, you will fall. You will be defeated."
"If it helps you face what's coming to you, keep thinking that, Harry. Who am I to deny you some comfort in your final days." Bestowing Harry with a final smile, she turned to Draco and announced she was done.
"Are you sure?" Draco checked. He knew Hermione had been slightly disappointed that they hadn't had more action the previous day, yet it seemed they were leaving now without any action.
"I am," Hermione confirmed. "I have to admit, I did wonder if I want to enact some physical vengeance on them, but I'm good. They're going to get what's coming to them, and I want to focus on the future."
"And what will the future hold now these two are no longer an issue?" Draco asked.
"World domination of course," Hermione replied with a wicked grin. "My father may be the Minister of Magic, but there's a whole world out there. Why stop at Britain. Let's rule the world."
"Sounds good to me," Draco chuckled.
Throwing one final look at their prisoners, Hermione and Draco turned and left the small cell. Locking the door behind them, they headed upstairs to tell Narcissa they were done and heading back to school.
Arriving back to school, they thanked Severus for arranging the visit, before joining their friends and heading for dinner. Over dinner they cast a spell around them to they could talk in private, and Hermione and Draco filled their friends in on the fact Harry and Ron had given up and accepted their defeat.
"But will everyone else?" Blaise asked in concern. "I know we caught most of The Order, but not all of them. Just look at McGonagall, she doesn't like what's going on. She wants to change things."
"I'm sure she does," Hermione agreed, glancing over to her former head of house and spotting she was sitting with a frown on her face, a look which seemed to be permanently etched on her face these days. "But she won't rock the boat unnecessarily. She very clearly views her role here at Hogwarts as a protector to the vulnerable students. She won't risk losing her job. She might object to some things and voice her disapproval, but she won't ever fight unless she thinks she's going to be on the winning side, and with Harry gone, there won't be a chance of anyone forming a rebellion that people will honestly believe can defeat my father."
"So you don't view her as a threat?" Theo checked.
"Not a one we need to worry about," Hermione replied.
"But there are other people in The Order," Blaise pointed out. "There are other Weasleys."
"Barely," Draco snorted.
"I think The Order that were left were the ones with Harry and Ron," Hermione said. "That's not to say they didn't have more support, but that will dry up now they're gone. As for the Weasleys, the twins have kept out of things right from the beginning, so I can't see them wanting to join in anything now. As for Molly, she's lost her home, her husband, has one son in a coma and three more have just vanished, along with a boy she thinks of a son. She won't be in any state to fight."
"There is the Weasley girl," Daphne reminded Hermione. "She was no shrinking violet."
"She isn't, but Ginny is also smart," Hermione replied. "She'll know that without Harry and the others, their chances of defeating my father are slim to none. There is a chance she might try to lead a rebellion, but I think that she'll take the time to see the bigger picture. I think she'll put her remaining family first and toe the line like a good girl."
"And if she doesn't?" Draco asked.
"Then she'll face the same fate as Harry and her brothers," Hermione replied forcefully. "But let's not borrow trouble. Let's be grateful that Harry and his posse have been dealt with and we can have a peaceful end to the year."