Thorfinn begins his training. Hermione plays her part. Yaxley and Dolohov have a close call with the cannibals.
TRIGGER WARNING! TRIGGER WARNING Graphic violence! Dubious consent!
After giving them far less time to court than Thorfinn liked, the old man came back out. The brothers were walking up to the house. The old man was holding a collar in his hands. After setting Hermione and Radnor to the side, Thorfinn stood up. The old man fastened the collar around his neck. His wife was standing behind him holding a box. He unfastened the shackles from around Finn's ankles. His wife handed him the box.
"Jest in case ye still try'n make a run fer it, I got a lil surprise." He turned a dial on the box, pushed a button and Thorfinn went down heavily at the jolt of electricity that went through his body. He laid there panting as he felt the edges of the collar. Hermione was staring in appalled fascination at the shock collar. He cursed silently as he regained his feet.
"Now yer training starts. The boys be takin' ye to the woods. Ye be setting traps. They be anxious to show ye how its done." The old man sat down and held out his arms for Radnor. In front of him was a monitor with several smaller screens filling it up. Thorfinn raised a brow as he took in the sight of several familiar paths he had run earlier getting to Hermione. "Yeah, I kin sit here and keep an eye on ye, boy. Remember that." He shook the box in his hand for emphasis. Hermione sat on the little stool beside him with her hand as close to Radnor as she dared to get.
On the ridge, Yaxley just barely kept Dolohov from blowing the old man's head off. Dolohov was cursing at the sight of his protégé with a shock collar on. As if sensing his anger, Thorfinn turned their way and casually raised his hand as if shielding his eyes from the sun. It was the only way to show them he was still ok.
"Jest remember, boy. The better ye do, the more reward time ye git with Missy." The old man roughly patted Hermione on the head. She stared at Finn trustingly. He leaned down, kissed her, whispered "I'll be back soon" and loped down the stairs to head into the woods. The cannibal brothers followed behind him. As he came to a clearing, they surrounded him. Big Whoop took charge of him there. He showed Thorfinn how to pull down a relatively small tree and tie it down, attaching a rope to the limb to catch an unwary hiker. The rope was laid on the ground and covered with leaves. They had captured many hiker using this method.
Next Spear Boy tossed him a spear and they practiced throwing them at a bullseye target. At first, Thorfinn deliberately missed the target as he watched their reactions. They started getting restless and grumbling at him. When he finally managed to hit ten in a row, the brothers whooped in excitement. Obviously he was doing good, to them.
Butcher showed him how to throw an axe next. Once again, it took ten hits in a row before they cheered him on. Little Shrimp was next in line with the bow and arrows. Even though he had clearly shown some skill earlier, they insisted on training him in the use of the weapon again, this time to THEIR specifications.
Long Nose showed him the best place and way of digging a pit with the impaling spears stick up. After showing him how to hide the pit, they showed him a trap that he never wanted to see again. It was a springboard trap that triggered a full length slicer. it basically diced a person like a slice of cheese. For this, they had taken a captive with them and turned him out.
Staring at the bloody remains on the ground, Thorfinn closed his eyes. He hadn't realized what they were doing in time to stupefy the boy. Hopefully, it had happened too quickly for him to feel any pain. As the day wound down, the boys gathered up the chopped body and carried it back home.
Thorfinn was relieved as he realized his 'training' was over for the day. He was anxious to get back to Hermione and his son. Burying himself in her arms, breathing in her sweet scent, that was just what he needed to forget the sight of that captive slowly falling apart. He just hoped and prayed to Merlin that she'd taken his words seriously. Anthony had been right: He hadn't disrupted her and Anthony's lives this much to just stand by and watch her die. If he couldn't have Hermione by his side, raising his children, then the cannibal clan might as well kill him, too. It would leave his son orphaned, but Yaxley and Dolohov would light their world up, coming to get the boy. They would kill every last one of them and take his son back home to his mother.
Back at the cabin, Hermione had indeed taken his words seriously. Therefore, everytime the old man barked at her, she didn't balk, she didn't spill anything and she didn't tell him no. Every time he wanted food, she ran to the kitchen. Every time he wanted a drink, she ran to get it. When he ordered her to help them get supper going, she went straight to the kitchen and began peeling potatoes.
As soon as supper was over, he ordered her back out to the porch as he resumed watching Thorfinn's training. When they came out of the woods, it was almost dark. The boys brought the fresh meat to ma and the sisters. Then they whooped their way back to the barn. Thorfinn and Hermione were given two tins of sausages and taken to the bedroom where they were locked in for the night, along with Radnor.
No sooner had the door closed than Thorfinn had his arms wrapped tightly around Hermione and his son. Hermione stiffened instinctively until the ghost peered around his shoulder and shook his head at her. "Don't try to get away from him, Hermione. Not right now. He NEEDS that hug. Don't reject him. He's just seen something that I seriously doubt he's ever seen as a Death Easter!" On hearing that, hermione relaxed into his embrace.
"These people, no, these ANIMALS! How have they never been caught? How? They make the Death Eaters look like tame, little kittens!" Thorfinn muttered hoarsely.
"Because there has never been any survivors left to stop them. And the law is obviously too scared too even attempt to catch them." Anthony said. "No, actually the law HAS tried to catch them, only to fall victim themselves."
"When I have her and my son safe, I'll burn these people to the ground. They'll never come back after I'm through with them!" Thorfinn vowed solemnly. Anthony could see and hear how dead serious Thorfinn was. He suddenly pitied these people. They had picked the wrong witch to capture and had pissed off the wrong wizard. He knew one thing: if Thorfinn hadn't been a stone-cold killer before, he was definitely going to be one when he left here.
Thorfinn slowly took Radnor out of Hermione's arms. He sat down on the bed, pulling her with him. Once again, he was in awe as he stared lovingly at his son. Radnor stared back at him curiously. This was the most attention, aside from his mother, that anyone had paid to the child. He suddenly reached up, patting his father's chin. Thorfinn laughed softly as he tappedRadnor's chin. The little boy surprised them as he gurgled happily. Then he whimpered and reached for Hermione. Still clad in Finn's shirt, she simply slid one shoulder off and quietly began to nurse him. Thorfinn scooped her into his lap as he shoved back with his feet, putting his back to the wall of the room.
He ran his hand over the blond curls. "He has your hair. Your eyes and nose, too. He really is a beautiful child." He said as he propped his chin on Hermione's hair.
She smiled. "He might have some of my features but his coloring is all you. If anyone were to put the two of you side by side, there's no way to hide the fact that you are his father." She ran a finger over his downy, little cheek. They watched as the baby tried to keep his eyes open. Slowly but surely, they closed until he was sound asleep, with a tiny trickle of milk running down his chin.
Thorfinn shifted Hermione to the bed beside him as he stood up. Taking Radnor, he laid him into a dresser drawer at the side of the bed, covering him up with Hermione's earlier discarded dress. Hermione started to protest until Thorfinn kissed her. He removed his jeans as he pulled his T-shirt off of her. Hermione tried to shove him away. He scolded her. "Don't push me away. This is what we have to do to get out of here! If the old man doesn't hear some activity from in here, he might separate us. I can't protect you and Radnor if he does that. We are supposed to be making pretty grandbabies for him, remember?"
"Do it then. Just don't expect me to enjoy it with you." She snapped at him. He laughed at her as he went after her weak spots again. His hands went into her hair and held her head still. As he gently nibbled on her earlobes, feeling her shiver, he raised his head.
"Oh, you'll enjoy it all right. We're married now. Legally. We can do this anytime we want to, once we're away from here. I will get us away from here. Then these animals will regret having ever laid hands on you. When we get back to Britain, we'll be a family, you, Radnor and me. We don't have to stay at Malfoy Manor. I'll take you and Radnor home to my mother. She's been dying for a grandchild to spoil for years. but mark my words, darling, we WILL be a family!" He told her firmly. With that, he kissed her as he took her.
Out in the living room, hearing the bedsprings squeaking, Anthony watched as Pa and Ma exchanged satisfied looks. He hoped like hell thatThorfinn's plan worked. He hated the thought of both of them possibly dying, leaving Radnor vulnerable and in the hands of these savages.
Up on the ridge, Yaxley and Dolohov were watching as the lights went off in the main cabin, but stayed on in the barn. Yaxley took first watch, telling Dolohov to put a disillusion spell on the tent as he went in. Curious but puzzled by the order, Dolohov stopped with one foot inside as he put the spell on. Looking back, he watched Yaxley put the same spell on the tarp he was laying under. He zipped the tent mostly closed as he laid his rifle down beside him.
About two hours later,Yaxley's caution paid off. The mountain men apparently didn't need much sleep as they whooped and hollered, running through the woods. They came up onto the very ridge where the two Death Eaters were camped. Both Yaxley and Dolohov were as still and silent as they could be while the mountain men walked right between the two of them. Dolohov was never more glad that he'd actually followed an order that Yaxley gave him!