A/N: Okay, I know I have a problem with "lost the war" scenarios okay ^^; I kinda had a dream that set this up, so please bear with me lol
The war was done. In an instant everything had gone silent. Spells stopped firing as all eyes fell on The Boy Who Lived… Dead.
A maniacal laughter rose up from the Dark Lord. One by one his followers joined in, until their laughter overwhelmed the battlefield. Voldemort put his mark in the sky. And all hell broke loose.
Screams overtook the laughter as the few survivors took off to escape. Hermione watched Ginny try to drag her mother away from a body and paused her run to cast a shield just as a spell reached them. The hit of the spell on the shield got through to Molly, and the pair took off.
Something heavy hit Hermione in the head and she blacked out. She never even saw who hit her.
Muffled sobs interrupted her dreamless sleep. Her mind felt foggy, and she couldn't quite piece events together. Like everything were mismatched puzzle pieces and she was supposed to make them fit. With a quiet groan she tried to open her eyes, but something stuck them together. When she rubbed it away and opened her eyes she saw it was blood that had glued her eyes shut.
Carefully she reached up to feel her face for injuries, finally reaching the side of her head with a wince.
"Son of a-" She grumbled, looking for her wand. Of course they'd take it- She spotted the pieces of wood on the floor of her cell and rolled her eyes. They'd even severed the heartstring. Either way, she picked up the pieces and pocketed them. She sat back on the stone floor she'd woke up on and carefully used a wandless healing charm on her head.
Once her vision cleared a bit she decided to call out to whoever else was in the cells with her.
"Hello?" She asked out into the room. It was dim, stone floors and walls. Cells lined the other side of the room and Hermione could make out a couple of figures in them, though none of them moved.
"Who is that?" A voice came from her left and Hermione sighed.
"Fleur?"
"Oui- 'ermione?"
"Yeah…" Hermione sighed and moved to the front of the cell to try to see the other woman. "You okay?"
"I'm alive."
"I guess.. That's fair." She could see Fleur's hand outside her cell. She was two cells down on the same wall as her. "Do you know who else is here?"
"There's a girl across from me." Fleur said, pointing to the cell. "I can't see 'er, but she's bleeding bad. It's coming out of the cell."
"Shit-" Hermione was about to ask something else, but an elf opened the large door and came inside. She was smaller than Dobby had been, with ears that drooped forward like a beagle.
"Miss is to come with Tippy." The elf said in her squeaky voice. She conjured a pair of leather cuffs that were tied together with a magical rope, and approached Hermione's cell. "Please turns around, Miss."
"C-can I ask where I am?" Hermione asked as she knelt down and turned her back so the elf could tie up her hands.
"Malfoy Manor, Miss." Tippy said, grunting as she struggled with the cuffs. Hermione flinched on instinct, but righted herself. The elf was only doing what she was told.
"Now, no trouble, Miss. Tippy is ta put Miss in her place."
"I just-" Hermione shuddered. She heard Fleur moving around.
"Tippy, yeah?" The frenchwoman asked. "'Ermione was tortured 'ere before. She can't be 'ere."
"Tippy is sorry Miss." The elf tapped her shoulder and Hermione stood carefully, using the cell wall to help her up. "Tippy was friends with Dobby, see. So Tippy likes Miss. But Tippy must obeys her master."
"N-no I understand." Hermione sighed. "Can I at least go see my friend? I'm all tied up. I can't do anything." The elf watched her for a moment before sighing.
"Oh alrights Miss, but no funny business." The elf helped her over to the cell where Fleur was pressed against the bars. Hermione gasped when she saw the other witch. Her long blonde hair had been chopped short and bruises marred her face. A cut bled above her eye and it looked like someone had burnt her hands.
"Oh- What did they do to you?"
"Nevermind it. You're going to be okay, 'Ermione." Fleur reached out and smoothed a wayward curl from Hermione's face. "Just be strong."
"Fleur- your hair." She didn't know much about veela, but she knew they got their magic from their hair. Fleur's wand's core had been her grandmother's hair.
"I'm only a quarter, I'll be okay." Hermione leaned forward and rested her forehead against the bars. Fleur copied the movement on the other side. Hermione muttered the healing charm to heal Fleur's face to the other witch's surprise.
"Miss, we has to go." Tippy squeaked behind her and Hermione stepped away. Walls up. No emotion. No memories. Don't let them see you weak. She turned and followed the elf upstairs.
