"Greyback, take Potter to the cellar. I want to keep the Mudblood for myself."
Hermione's breath hitched in her throat at the sound of Bellatrix's words. She looked around at Harry in horror, who struggled against Greyback's grip as he was pulled from the room.
She was alone.
Bellatrix grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the center of the room. She threw her against the floor and bent so she was mere inches from Hermione's face; she could smell the foul stench of Bellatrix's breath.
"I'm going to give you a chance to talk before I turn my wand on you, Mudblood."
Hermione dared to look up and meet her black, heartless eyes. They were harsh with malice, as if laughing at her. Her voice was deadly quiet.
"Where did you get the sword?"
Hermione's voice shook as she struggled to remain calm, feeling extremely vulnerable without her wand. "We found it, I swear – "
"LIAR!"
The Cruciatus Curse stabbed her body like a thousand scalding knives. She could hear herself screaming from far away, as if she was watching the scene happen from across the room. The pain made her want to give up…made her want to die…
And the it was suddenly over. Hermione lay panting on the floor, struggling to catch her breath as she willed her sore body to get up off the floor…to have some sort of dignity as she faced this evil woman…
Bellatrix was in her face within seconds as Hermione stood, her hand now bearing a jagged knife. She held the knife to Hermione's throat and whispered close to her ear.
"You're not making this easy for yourself, Mudblood. This could all go away if you would tell me where you got the sword."
The fact that Bellatrix was so melancholy about using the Cruciatus Curse made Hermione's anger suddenly rise.
"Go to hell!" she spat through clenched teeth.
With a flash of the knife, Bellatrix sliced at her throat, making Hermione yelp with pain as the witch threw her to floor once again. She raised her wand to Hermione, who held her hand to her throat to keep the blood from flowing so freely.
"I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?"
"We found it – we found it – PLEASE!" Hermione screamed, as the Curse hit her once again. She couldn't bear it, she wanted to die and release herself from this never-ending pain…and she would kill to see Ron one last time…
"You're lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, tell the truth!"
Hermione screamed as Bellatrix grabbed her arm and began carving slices into it, drawing blood with every cut. Tears streamed down her face as she pictured Ron's face at this gruesome action.
Bellatrix dropped her arm, still hovering threateningly above her, kicking her in the stomach as Hermione rolled onto her side in the fetal position. "What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!"
"Nothing, I swear we didn't take anything – " She was cut off again by her own scream as the red streak of light hit her once more. Her throat was raw from screaming and she knew her body couldn't take much more…
"What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!"
She screamed louder than she had before as the pain seemed to increase with every hit from Bellatrix's wand. "How did you get into my vault? Did that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"
"We only met him tonight!" Hermione sobbed. "We've never been inside your vault. . . . It isn't the real sword! It's a copy, just a copy!"
"A copy?" screeched Bellatrix. "Oh, a likely story!"
"But we can find out easily!" said Lucius. Hermione's head whipped around at the eldest Malfoy in the corner of the room; she had forgotten there were other people in the room. "Draco, fetch the goblin, he can tell us whether the sword is real or not!"
Draco rushed out of the room and in the direction that Harry had been dragged from her.
"While he's gone," Bellatrix said, an evil smile curving across her lips, "let's have some more fun, shall we?"
"No –" Hermione begged, but the red light had hit her once again, and this time she could no longer fight it. As she fell out of consciousness, the last thought in her head was how now, more than ever, she wished she could see Ron once again.