Disclaimer: If I ever gave the pretense that I am J.K. Rowling and therefore rich beyond my wildest dreams, please contemplate the fact that there would be no point in me posting it on the web if it was going to become some form of short book set after Hogwarts (even though the books clearly point to disgusting Ron/Hermione fluff). Winces at the thought and begs audience not to sue her as she is hardly wealthy.
A/N: Yeah, go me I've posted quite quickly haven't I! However I am sorry to inform you all that I haven't answered all the question in this chapter (because that would be plain boring) although I think you must appreciate the fact that this is over 1000 words long without the disclaimer or this little note included. I know its more angst than humour at the second but give it time.
Previously: "Harry will be here any second now."
The phrase 'Speak of the devil' was one that fitted in all counts the situation which Malfoy and Hermione were in at this moment in time. The words had proven as effective as a simple: 'Acio' or any other summoning spell, for Harry had appeared mere seconds afterwards. The kind-hearted friend which had comforted Hermione over the years seemed to have disappeared and in his place there was a man with wild hair, a smirk upon his features and a look in his eyes akin to Voldermort himself.
He cast a hungry look at Hermione who in turn tried to shield herself behind Malfoy, whom moments ago had been her worst enemy. Draco almost looked smug but after remembering the promise he had made with Harry, dutifully stepped aside leaving Hermione exposed. A brief look of betrayal crossed her features which quickly changed to cool calculation as she surveyed Harry.
Potter allowed her a minute to gain her fighting stance in preparation for the long awaited battle between the two. They acknowledged each other with a nod (from Hermione) and an eager grin (from Harry). The resemblance between Malfoy and Potter was easily recognisable, they both quite clearly had a deal between the two which unfortunately involved an unwilling Hermione. However the most prominent similarity was that of their sheer arrogance and the constant belief that they would get what they want (which by the looks of things was Hermione).
As Harry made his introductory speech the face with its infamous scar scrunched up making him looked every inch as evil as the words which came out of his mouth. There was something inhuman about the way his voice came out silky, cutting and snake-like. Stained red marks on his grimy teeth confirmed not only that he hadn't brushed his teeth but that he was carnivorous and possibly cannibalistic .
"I've been waiting for this moment Hermione, all those years and finally you won't be able to escape. Malfoy can't help you now because that's why he was here, to distract you from working out how close I was to trapping you. That was always his purpose my dear sweet mud blood, all he had to do was report back to me every little thing about you and finally the time has come for me to collect. You may leave Malfoy."
He made a swatting gesture like he was removing an unpleasant pest as he finished his speech with the air of someone who was far more important than God himself. Hermione expected Malfoy to fight back and show the world what an arrogant ferret he was, yet instead he made a low bow and replied quietly: "Yes master."
Harry watched Malfoy till he was no longer visible through the naked eye. After casting a 'silencio' which would block out any noise that they made, he assessed her quivering appearance with cold, beady eyes and if she didn't know otherwise Hermione would have believed he was Voldermort himself.
She blinked for maybe a fraction of a millisecond and he was upon her, severely undermining her personal space. Hermione couldn't remember how many times he kicked her, (he appeared to enjoy inflicting pain using muggle methods) all she could feel were bruises blossoming over her exhausted body and when she finally collapsed he caught her and apparated. She had been lied to long enough to know that his words of love were false and his actions spoke 'louder than words'. The only thing which had shocked her was the depth of Malfoy's betrayal and to think their relationship was so false that every single thing he had done was for her new enemy's benefit.
She would not accept that.
The fabricated woven cords which Potter was made of had at one point (probably at the point when Ron had died) become so thoroughly knotted that the finished product was enough to make you wince. Maybe she felt like she understood why he lashed out at her the first time (the same day Ron was buried), the weeks, months afterwards however provided no such excuse.
Though now she came to think about it what about Draco's secret relationship with her? That had started way before the funeral or for that matter Ron's death, now Harry was either psychotic way before the beatings or Draco liked me before the arrangement. There was no other explanation, Harry had partly been lying and nothing would make her lose faith in the belief that he had liked her before their deal.
They would not convince her otherwise.
Having removed her from Hermione's home for ten years, he had dumped her in a cell that was incredibly small; testing her theory she stretched out her arms and found that she could easily touch both walls on either side of her. When she removed them one of her hands felt slightly greasy and on further inspection she discovered a crimson residue (most likely blood) covering one of the walls.
It was when she opened the door and entered a massive area that her suspicions were proved dangerously correct, it would appear that he had locked her in the chamber of secrets. Harry knew full well that she was not a parseltongue and that wandless as she very much was, this made it impossible for her to escape.
Still on the bright side of things Hermione who had gotten to know Harry far too well after his change, knew that he was one to gloat over his possessions (it made his inflated ego even larger). In fact she was perfectly able to admit that she would be treated like an Elizabethan women in the case of the-boy-who-shouldn't-have-lived. Her rights were as of now non-existent, she was inferior and Hermione knew that he would use her like the average bigoted male of that time period.
Her opportunity of escape, when it came must be used to its absolute potential for she was aware that after then he would never let her out of his reach. For all he was capable of he might even chain her to him; something which was beyond undesirable. If anything Hermione feared that she would experience Stockholm syndrome (where the victim becomes attached to the kidnapper) and this possibility caused her to hug herself trying to feel some form of happiness or love in a cold, unfeeling atmosphere.
Grasping the imaginary, tightly bound scrap of sanity which was contained within the deepest recesses of her brain, she called to any god that may be in the sky: 'give me hope'. Her mind resembled an old thoroughly browned sheet of parchment made up of symbols long forgotten and she could sense herself losing all knowledge of what that information meant; as the days passed Hermione was finally beginning to doubt herself.
The man that held the key to freedom finally appeared that night at precisely the same time he had arrived in her flat many weeks previous; even after his transformation Harry still had a sense of humour (and irony). He took his time making his way over to her new home (cell) in the hidden chamber at Hogwarts because he wanted for her to hear him, sense him before he arrived; a scared Hermione was easier to defeat. Why? You might ask, has Harry stolen Hermione away and for what motive you might wonder.
The answer was simple yet extraordinarily complex. Although positioning Hermione in a place where he has won a victory against Voldermort may hint at the answer. Or for those more cynical, may just inform a person studying his character just how self-absorbed Harry Potter is. For why else would he visit/entomb a girl in a place where glory and success emits from every stinky corridor in this labyrinth of death?
Something told Hermione that she would not escape this time, with her life and as a beam of light brought her back to her senses she saw a message written above her an old memoir perhaps of a similar, young red headed girl who too had felt the kiss of death.