Now, the second half of the cliffhanger. To those of you regretting your life choices, know that you are not alone. THose you waited, welcome back. I hope everyone enjoys this little thing I wrote that I own nothing of.
Chapter 40
Still twitching, Hermione tried to control her limbs, but they refused to allow her to scramble away fast enough. The witch grabbed her by the hair and activated another portkey. At the next location she dropped the used item and retrieved another one, then another. Hermione lost count of how many times they spun through time and space before landing in a dark, dank, dingy room. One bare light bulb illuminated the room. Someone flung an ancient looking quilt on an equally old looking mattress. The metal frame didn't appear to be much younger. Hermione glanced about the sparsely furnished room, a table and chair being the only other furniture in the room.
The woman looked about debating with, then nodding to, herself. She dragged Hermione over to the bed frame and magically restrained her there, sitting on the floor. "You don't deserve the bed, no, no you don't. Only good girls get beds, and you're not a good girl. Didn't stay gone, no you didn't." She moved across the room and began rummaging through a cabinet full of vials.
Hermione took advantage of the distraction to whisper, "Tangle? Are you okay?"
'Recovering. Foggy.' Came the reply.
"Stay where you are for now."
Hermione watched while the woman drained several vials. She shuddered a few times before collapsing on the bed. Hermione shifted, working to get comfortable. She had a feeling she might be there awhile.
Three British aurors popped into a filthy storage room to find an unconscious Harry Potter, lying face down. Immediately the mediwizard auror dropped to his knees next to him and began working to revive him. The bubblegum pink color drained out the hair of the female auror when she picked up Hermione's broken portkey. The mediwizard flicked his wand and began chest compressions while watching his scan. The last auror began scanning for magical signatures, though the tall dark skinned man kept an eye on his associate.
"Kings, on my signal I need a short gentle shock." Kingsley Shaklebolt joined him.
"What are you doing, Fergus?" asked the witch.
"CPR, Tonks, and I need to shock his heart back into rhythm. On three, Kings. One. Two. Three." The wizard ceased compressions and moved away from Harry. As soon as the shocking spell faded he surged forward feeling at Harry's neck. "Oh, thank Merlin, he has a pulse."
"But where's Hermione?" asked Shaklebolt.
"Shite," Tonks swore, "they went to a quidditch match in France."
Narcissa just realized how much time had passed when her niece entered the box with two French aurors. "Dora?" she asked, then noticed the usually brightly colored witch's mousy brown hair. "Oh, Salazar, Hermione."
The occupants of the box stood frozen and silent, staring at the aurors in disbelief. Behind them the crowd roared as the match continued. Tonks took a deep breath and stepped further into the space. "Twenty minutes ago Hermione's emergency beacon activated. A team comprised of Kingsley Shaklebolt, Fergus McMagnus, and myself responded. We found Harry collapsed. McMagnus revived him, and the French authorities have taken him to Misericorde Magique for evaluation and treatment.
"The only trace of magic in the area belonged to two different portkeys. Kingsley and the French team are tracing them."
"But these things take time." Lucius spat.
Tonks nodded sadly. "But these things take time. The bad thing is that Hermione lost her emergency escape, but the good thing is that the kidnapper might think that was the only item meant to track her. They might overlook her ring."
"And her bracelet." Theo chimed in.
"This gives us two items to possibly track. We need you to activate the tracking spell. The next obstacle will be any security and privacy wards erected once we find her location."
"Winky." Narcissa said taking Lucius's hand. "Oh thank you."
"Winky?" questioned one of the French aurors.
"Hermione's personal elf is bonded directly to her, not the family."
"Perfection. We'll get started on the paperwork to get her brought over. It should only take half an hour."
Sirius put his hand on Narcissa's shoulder when she started to protest the wasted time. "Half an hour or so is better than never. Patience. We should go check on Harry.
"You're right, Siri. Of course, you're right. We should focus on Harry."
Money and an escort by the authorities saw them taken directly to Harry's bedside. He smiled weakly until he noticed Hermione wasn't there. "Woman with portkey. Shocked us. Took necklace, said it was tracker. Told Hermione she wasn't a good girl." He struggled to talk, pain lacing his voice.
"The letters." gasped Narcissa. She sagged against Lucius. This couldn't be happening. Why couldn't those letters have been from a harmless insane person, or mean spirited person. At the moment Narcissa would have celebrated if someone could have proved Molly Weasley wrote those letters to torment Hermione.
Lucius kissed her temple. "Stay strong, beloved. Our treasure isn't a helpless baby this time."
"No, she's a stone cold hellcat." Dudley replied. "Remember, kittens have claws." Sirius clapped him on the shoulder.
Hermione had no idea how much time had passed before the witch woke up. Her arms ached from being held up at odd angles and her butt had gone numb. She couldn't keep from groaning aloud. The witch stood and shook herself. "Oh, hello, dear. Aren't you such a little thing to be such a nuisance." She moved to pace in front of Hermione. "I'm sure you're wondering why you're here?
"You see, little one, you are the innocent victim of circumstance. Just like my mother and little sister were. Death Eaters destroyed my world, so I returned the favor." She smiled maliciously. "They took my future. I took theirs. Gave you away for worthless muggle paper and laughed as they struggled to find you." She spun in a circle, a manic light shining in her eyes.
"You were supposed to stay gone, so they would stay broken. As broken as I am. Now, I have to break you, so it breaks them again." She whipped out a wand, brandishing it wildly, "Crucio." She laughed in delight as Hermione screamed.
When the insane witch tired of the torture curse, she amused herself by slicing Hermione's clothes and skin with cutting curses. She mocked the girl in a sing song voice as she lacerated her skin. At some point, she grew tired of her game, her shoulders sagged and she lowered her wand. "It's nothing personal, you know. I'm sure you're really a very sweet girl who just couldn't stay missing." Anger surged into her voice by the end of the sentence. She shot another cutting curse at Hermione. Then she dropped into a trance.
A banging noise startled her, snapping her out of her daze, the maniacal light fading from her eyes. "Wow, you're really bleeding, aren't you? This is messier than I imagined it would be."
"Could I ask a favor?" Hermione asked in a small voice. "Would you let my arms down? I can't really feel them anymore."
"What's the harm? Not like you can get out of here without a wand." She slashed the ropes, and Hermione's wrists somewhat, with her wand.
Hermione's arms fell to her sides. She wiggled her fingers, trying to wake the nerves. "In my hand..." her voice trailed off. She felt a cold tickle cross her skin.
Her kidnapper eyed her suspiciously. "In your hand, what?"
"Nothing, just an old poem. My muggle mother used to recite it to me."
"Go on." she leaned forward, closer to Hermione's face. "Let's hear it. You should remember your Mummy as you die."
Hermione stalled until she felt the cold tickle reach her wrist. "In my hand is my killer snake." She flung Tangle at the witch's face. The tiny Zithna snake sank her fangs into her cheek, injecting her with venom.
"Get it off, get it off." She pulled at the snake trying to dislodge her. Tangle retracted her fangs and dropped to the floor. She slithered under Hermione's legs, heading for safety. The other woman collapsed, twitching and foaming at the mouth. She was dead in a matter of seconds.
Hermione breathed in through her nose and blew out through her mouth several times, calming herself down and trying to assess the situation. "Good work, Tangle."
'Bad witches need to bathe more.'
Hermione chuckled and began crawling for the unknown witch's wand. Her blood made the floor slick, and the pain from the lacerations further slowed her down. Just as she reached the wand, Winky popped into the room with Tonks. "Winky has found her mistress. Oh, do not bes dying, mistress." the house elf wailed.
"I'm fine, Winky," she reassured her tiny friend, "I'm sure this looks worse than it is."
"Regardless, let's get you to the hospital." She pulled out a portkey. "Winky, I hate to do this, but you have to return home now. But Aunt Narcissa promised she would send someone to keep you updated."
The little elf looked torn, desperately wanting to stay with her mistress. "Winky, I promise I'm fine. And I need you to take care of Tangle. She had to bite someone and I don't know what that will do to her. Will you take her home with you and take care of her?"
Winky grinned widely as she plucked the snake from the cold floor. Tangle purred as she twinged herself around the elf's warm hands. "Winky will be taking the best care of pretty Tangle." She petted the snake twice before popping away.
"Good job distracting her. That is about to be one pampered snake." Tonks sat on the floor next to her. She tapped the portkey with her wand and wrapped her arms around her. "Hold on as best you can."
The instance they arrived healers swarmed them. Wands swished and flicked diagnostic and healing spells. Voices called out for certain potions. As the healing began to take effect, Hermione slid into the bliss of unconsciousness.
She awoke surrounded by concerned faces. Narcissa held one hand, while Theo held the other. "Hi." she whispered.
"Hi, yourself." Theo replied.
"Did you find Harry? Is he okay?" She struggled to sit up.
"No, darling, lie back. Harry is fine. He's right over there." Narcissa indicated the hospital bed next to hers.
Draco grinned impishly, "The scandal of a Malfoy sharing her hospital room will have tongues wagged everywhere."
Lucius swatted him in the back of the head. "In this instance no one wanted to be parted from either one of you, even the patient. So with a little convincing, "
"You mean Sirius gave them crazy eyes and threw around his family name." Draco interrupted, earning himself another swat.
"Harry is recovering here with you." Lucius continued as if Draco hadn't interrupted.
Hermione looked past Theo to see Harry looking pale, but alive, nearby. He gave her a wave. "What happened? Who was that woman?"
"Questions the aurors will have answers to later. Now that you are awake the healer will want to examine you again for lasting damages. I will go summon him."
An older gentleman entered the room. "Bon matin. I am Healer Royer." He approached the beds. "Alert patients, bien. If the scans of this morning show improvement from last night, we should be able to discharge into the care of their personal healers." Audible sighs of relief indicated several people worried the injuries might have been more serious. "If we could clear the room?" He smiled as everyone filed out of the room. "Shall we start with you, mademoiselle?"
He raised his wand and passed it over Hermione with several twists. He then turned and repeated the process with Harry. Healer Royer reviewed the colored images dancing over them. His lips curled in an enigmatic little smile. Once he was content he dismissed the spell. "Is there anything either of you would like to discuss before your parents join us?" He looked at Hermione.
"No, that would be rather impossible."
"No judgment either way, mademoiselle. My job is to ask these questions."
"I understand. But our families can come back in now."
Once everyone settled back in, Healer Royer began, "Mademoiselle Malfoy sustained numerous lacerations from curses. She lost a moderate amount of blood and received blood replenishing potions. Her assailant held her under the Cruciatus curse for an amount of time. She has bruising and muscle strain from the spasms. She will be sore for a bit. While there is no lasting damage, there is a possibility of tremors for some time. There are potions to help minimize them. They are rather difficult to create, making them expensive."
"Severus Snape is a close family friend."
"Never mind then, I will procure you a list. Onto Monsieur Potter, according to Auror McMagnus he was repeatedly shocked by a muggle taser. In layman terms his heart stopped once, but the auror used CPR protocols and restarted it."
"Harry died for a moment?"
"Theoretically, I won't bore you with all the technical details, his heart never stopped, it just didn't pump blood through his body. His chest will be sore and bruised for sometime at the site of the charges. I see no reason not to discharge you both this afternoon. I'll start the paperwork."
Around lunchtime Viktor arrived with Fleur Delacour. "Mila, had I known this would happen, I would have insisted on a different match. Why did you not say?"
"We didn't know where the letters were coming from. And I refuse to allow my decisions to be dictated by fears." She smiled at him, "And we are fine. And the danger is no more."
"Still." Viktor protested.
"Just drop it, mate. She's adamant no one blame themselves." Draco told him. "Either it is no one's fault, or her fault. Her next line is to blame herself. Spare us."
"Do they know who the witch was?" asked Fleur.
"They should be reporting soon." Hermione told her. "How have you been?"
"I am well. I have been working at Gringotts in Paris. I will be transferring to the London branch next month. I am 'oping we can visit each other and maybe be friends."
"I would love that. I will totally be your friend, I'm sure the others agree."
"Merci." She settled on the foot of her hospital bed. The girls quickly began catching up.
An aide collected the lunch trays when Tonks and a French auror entered. "Wotcher, all." Tonks smiled, her hair back to bright pink. "How are the patients today?"
"On the discharge list." Harry smiled. "We are getting sprung this afternoon."
"Awesomeness." The French auror frowned and adjusted his uniform tunic. "Sorry, Jean-Luc doesn't like me much. I'm too informal." She grinned impishly. "But do we have information for you. And may I say wow, just wow."
"You know who the witch was, and why Hermione?"
"We know everything. Mademoiselle Psychopath kept a diary. Or rather she kept a rambling account of the events leading up to the first kidnapping, lots of crowing afterwards, then her anger when the papers revealed Hermione's identity. Ending with her plans to fix what she saw as a major problem. And, boy, was she nuts."
The other auror spoke up, "Her name was Annabella Moran. Her mother was British, Nichole Moran, nee Rosier. She was the youngest child of Evan and Agatha Rosier. She married Julien Moran straight out of Hogwarts. They had two children, both girls. At some point Evan began pressuring his son-in-law to join a certain organization under a particular mad man. Julien refused, and took his family to his native France."
Tonks took up the narrative at this point. "And we all know how well Moldie dealt with rejection. So, he sent some thugs to scare the family. Only, they screw up and go too far. Julien, Nicole, and Lisette, their youngest daughter, died of smoke inhalation when the Death Eaters tried to burn them out. Annabella survived because she was out with friends. Because the attack was supposed to get them to join, not punish them, no one cast the Dark Mark in the sky. Without proof of Death Eater involvement, the authorities ruled it an accidental fire, claiming it spread too fast for the family to escape."
"We could not find evidence that Mademoiselle Moran targeted Lucius specifically. She knew you came to France on business. Her original plan was to ambush and attempt to kill you. When she learned you and Madame Malfoy brought your daughter with you, her plans changed."
"They stole her future, so she stole yours. She wanted you to know her pain, because she thought you were a Death Eater." Hermione said quietly.
Tonks nodded, "She didn't even have to use the Imperius curse on a schizophrenic. She just told him that the baby had the special light he was looking for and that the darkness was after it. He did the rest himself. She took the baby to the black market in Monaco and sold her to the Grangers. We know the rest."
"Once Hermione returned to the Malfoy family, she began planning how she could remove her again. She created a series of portkeys to disorient Hermione and throw pursuers off the trail. She carried the first portkey with her at all times. She was in the middle of trying to arrange transportation to England. We assume it was just by chance she discovered Hermione was in France, she certainly wasn't ready for the abduction."
"I almost feel sorry for her." Hermione said quietly.
"What?" Draco exclaimed.
"She lost everything that matters and lost her mind in her grief. If she hadn't tried to destroy our lives, too, we would feel bad for her."
Dudley frowned, "Even worse, we only have the word of an insane person that it was these Death Eaters. What if it really was just an accident? No one set the fire?"
"You're right, pup, that makes it worse."
Tonks nodded. "Friends report that after a point which would have been your kidnapping, and before she learned for your return, Annabella was a kind, generous, mentally stable person. Last February she became obsessed with justice and started behaving irrationally. Healers prescribed potions to help. They might have stabilized her behavior, but didn't stop her mind."
"Now what happens?" Lucius asked.
Jean-Luc straightened his tunic again. "The Commandant feels it is in Mademoiselle Malfoy-Black's interest that we declare Mademoiselle Moran's death accidental poisoning. The screenings identified so many different substances in her bloodstream the healers were a bit surprised she could function. With your permission, we would like to downplay Mademoiselle Malfoy-Black's involvement. She is a minor and the victim, she should not have to have any more limelight thrust upon her than necessary. The Commandant is working with your Head Auror to create a joint statement praising the British aurors prompt response, and our full cooperation."
"Amelia thinks the bare bones of the story should be sensational enough even for Skeeter."
Glancing at Hermione for her approval, Lucius spoke, "I think I speak for everyone when I agree completely. The less focus on the teenagers the better. I would ask that you keep the events under wraps until they have been discharged. That way reporters don't try and sneak in for a picture or a quote."
"That is a reasonable request. I doubt anything is ready to go any sooner than this evening at the earliest. More likely tomorrow morning. You should be away to England before then." The aurors left, one of them with a much more friendly wave than usual, probably just to annoy her companion.
"I have a question." Harry said, mostly to Sirius. "Why did he say Hermione's last name was Malfoy-Black?"
"When I made Hermione my heir, she became the next head of house. If I don't have male children of my own, which seems more and more likely with every passing year, it will be her responsibility to care on the family line and name."
Narcissa nodded, "It will be up to her and her husband if their first son takes the Black name, or if it will be a second son. Though a daughter could be her heir."
Hermione yawned, "All problems for another day."
"Indeed, my treasure. You and Harry take a nap. The rest of us will leave you to your sleep." Lucius kissed her forehead.
Before leaving the room, Theo kissed her cheek softly. "Sweet dreams. I love you." He whispered
"Love you, too." she whispered back.