Chapter One
Hermione opened her eyes blearily. For a moment, she felt panic clench her chest dully as she thought she'd gone blind. No – the room was plunged in darkness. Damp, cold. As her wrists burned and ached above her head, she realised she had been tied to the wall. As she groggily regained consciousness, newer pains stabbed at her body. Her head throbbed and her lips felt swollen. Her mouth was dry, her throat like sandpaper. How long had she been here? How did she get here? Her brain sluggishly attempted to sift through the memories of the last few days. She opened her mouth to call out. "H-help," she managed to whisper hoarsely. Her throat burned as she tried to call out again, "Help. Please." A hot tear leaked out of her eye and landed with a splash on her thigh. That's when she realised – she was naked. The cold of the dungeon floor seeped through her skin and settled in her bones.
With a whirl of colour, Harry's feet thudded against the ground hard with the force of Apparition. He staggered slightly. In the distance, the whitewashed Shell Cottage came into view bathed in moonlight. Relief flooded through him. "Is everyone OK?" he asked desperately.
His eyes fixed on Ron, Dobby and –
"Where's Hermione?" he breathed, as a cold dread crept up his neck.
Dobby twisted his fingers on his tunic, his large eyes fixed on the floor. "Dobby is trying –"
"Where's Hermione, Dobby?" he croaked, panic rising like bile up his throat. "Just tell me!"
Dobby let out a whimper, as he slowly fixed his large orb-like eyes onto Harry. "Dobby is s - sorry… Dobby is – is f-failing H – Harry Potter. M - Missus Hermione let go of D – Dobby's arm."
"No, no, no," said Ron, his eyes wild as his hands grasped his hair. "No. It can't be true. Where is she? Where the hell is she, Dobby?"
"Malfoy Manor?" croaked Harry, his fingers digging into the elf's shoulders. Dobby nodded before letting out a ragged sob. Harry clenched his eyes shut as Ron roared.
"We need to get her out of there now!" screamed Ron, his face red as he slammed his hand on the table at Shell Cottage.
"Calm down, Ron," said Lupin, placing his hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"No!" He shrugged off Lupin's hand. "You weren't there – you don't know – they'll kill her. Bellatrix, Malfoy – they called V – You-Know-Who!"
Lupin sighed and cast his eyes around the cramped room. McGonagall's face was ashen, her lips pursed tight as she stared down at her hands. Kingsley was gazing out of the window, seemingly in a world of his own. Tonks was rubbing a shell-shocked Harry's back gently.
"We can't do anything right now," he tried to explain again gently before Ron cut him off.
"Why not? What's the point of having the Order of the Phoenix if you're all just a – a bunch of fucking cowards?" Ron spat, pacing the room.
"It's not that simple," said Lupin calmly, "The wards around the Manor are extensive. They would have rectified the loophole of house elves Apparating there. Frankly, they were careless for not excluding house elves in the first instance. Unless we raise an army to rescue Hermione and – "
Ron opened his mouth to reply when Lupin raised his hand. "Let me finish," he said firmly. "Unless we raise a large army to rescue Hermione, we can't even begin to dream of storming in. We would face huge losses that would leave us weaker in our fight against You-Know-Who. I know it's not easy and it isn't what you want to hear right now, but we can't jeopardise the lives of other Order members for a mission that might be doomed from the start. They'll be expecting us. It's likely that they've already moved Hermione to another location." He stopped himself from saying if she's still alive, but his unspoken words seemed to hang ominously in the air.
Ron opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish as the logic of Lupin's words began to untangle his hysteria. "B – but we can't just leave her there."
Kingsley sighed. "I'm afraid we don't have another any other choice."
Severus Snape eyed the glass of fire whiskey clenched in his hand carefully. He took a gulp, letting the raw warmth flow down his throat. He turned his chair and stared at the slumbering portrait of Albus Dumbledore. "It's nice to see somebody can get some sleep around here," he muttered, his words slurring slightly.
Suddenly, a sharp pain gripped his arm and the glass of whiskey tumbled out of his hand, shattering against the floor. "Shit," he hissed, grasping his arm tight.
"A late night call?"
Severus glared at the portrait of Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling down at him.
"What do you think?" he seethed. "Shit!"
In moments, he threw on his cloak and mask and pressed his wand against the dark mark blighting his pale skin. He stood in the middle of the office, bringing his wand to his arm and then he was gone.
Hermione felt waves of tiredness flow over her battered body. From the corner of her eye, she could see light piercing the darkness of the room. Am I in a dungeon? she thought, her brain foggy and slow. She closed her eyes - she couldn't stave off slipping out of consciousness any longer and nor did she want to. At the sound of voices, she tutted irritably and clenched her eyes shut. "Go away," she whispered as her head lolled forward. The volume of the overlapping voices increased, cutting through her sleep and a bright light began to bleed through her closed eyes. Why couldn't they leave her to rest? "Go away!" she tried to shout but the sound escaped as a strangled cry.
She opened her eyes and blinked against the sharpness of the light. She squinted as a figure in black came into view.
"Well, well, well … if it isn't the insufferable Miss Granger."