"Hermione Granger?" he asked, too abashed by her presence to deal with Lestrange's jabs now, "How did you get her?!"
"We caught her trying to break into the Olive Hotel," boasted Greyback.
"Caught her?" mocked Bellatrix, "trying?!" she continued with a laugh, "She did break in, and she only got "caught" because Snape happened drop by unexpectedly. She would've gotten away with everything otherwise. Found out all of our locations, all of our informants, all of our followers, not to mention our funds. It would've been the end of us as we know it. I can't begin tell you how pleased I am Severus was finally able to prove himself useful."
"Blimey," griped McNair, "How about doing in Dumbledore? If that wasn't useful I don't know what is…."
"Sure," she drawled, "He seems to have an uncanny knack for luckily winding up in the right places at the right times," casting a scathing look towards Draco.
Draco scowled at her. There was only so much reprimanding he could take from his Aunt. He got plenty of it from the others didn't he?—their snide remarks… their sarcastic jokes. Wasn't being held up in a dingy old flat guarding something so uselessly boring and unimportant punishment enough?
"Well how does that bring her here?" said Draco, uncomfortable at the very sight of her.
"She got through our security and you need to find out how," said McNair.
His mouth hung open in shocked confusion, "Why me? I don't interrogate! I baby sit the stupid cup," said Draco defensively.
"Stupid cup?!" shrieked Bellatrix abruptly, "You find a precious piece of your merciful leader's soul, one piece of many that we have to thank for his preservation, "stupid" do you? Our Master has finally revealed to us the most sensitive, most secretive part of his existence, how he was able to return to us, his most loyal followers- and now entrusts us with helping him protect it and you go and —"
"Aunt Bella," Draco grumbled angrily, sick of her flamboyant outbursts, "You know that's not what I meant… It's just I get frustrated that I'm kept guarding it when no one is evergoing to find it way out here in the middle of muggle-fucking-nowhere. I mean, why can't I be doing something more useful—"
"I don't know," Bellatrix chided humorously, "why can't you do anything more useful? You couldn't kill Dumbledore, could you? That would've been pretty bloody useful."
As effective as a punch in the gut, Draco was rendered momentarily silent. "He's dead, isn't he…?" He finally mumbled, swallowing the stabs of guilt that he may forever keep them secret, "Isn't that what's important?"
"No!" she hollered, "that's not what's important. What's important is finding that loathsome little Potter brat and his friends and skinning them alive before they find and destroy another Horocrux! Do you not realize the severity of this little mudblood bitch breaking into that room at Olive Hotel?" nudging Hermione's limp body with the toe of her pointy boot, "They are close. Do you hear me? Tooclose! I think it's pretty fucking important that we find out how she did it then, don't you?"
"Yes," he grumbled again, "Of course it is…"
"And did you or did you not just say you wish you could do something more useful? Your Dark Lord, based on Severus Snape's advice, has declared you the one to find out this information."
To this Draco could not find a reply.
"Don't worry," Bellatrix went on, "Your Mother shall not be hearing about your ungrateful response to this more than generous opportunity to regain our Most Highest's esteem. With your Father not out of prison yet and every Auror in the ministry looking for you already, I just don't think she can bear it," she huffed.
"And just why exactly does Snape believe I am the one who will be able to extract this oh so valuable information from her?" Draco was finally able to formulate.
"Because you hate her," Bellatrix answered simply. "For Merlin's sake Draco, even out of Hogwarts you're still Snape's little favorite. Being so bored and alone out here and all, I presume he thought you'd be pleased at such a gift, a little 'Draco Doll' if you will. You've been given the chance to make her talk any way you see fit."
Draco could hardly believe the words he heard coming out of his own mouth, but with no solid good reason to get out of this, what with the corner he painted himself into already, before he knew it he said, "Well what needs to be known exactly?"
"I'm not sure, Carrow runs the Olive Hotel stronghold, and Snape was the one who saw how she got in," Bellatrix explained, "He'll be by at some point to discuss it, I believe he is still at Endless Point."
"So Snape has time to tour every hide out, but he can't answer a simple owl?" Draco growled angrily.
Bellatrix sighed, "I'm tired of hearing it Draco! If there was any new news on the next breakout, you, if not 'Cissa, would be the first informed. You know it could be any day now, just be patient," she looked distractedly at her watch, "I must be going, the Dark Lord has me on an important confidential errand," she said, beaming with obvious pride. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
Draco smirked, "You can't disapparate from here, you have to go out in the hall and even then you have to wait for me to turn the cloaking charm," he said with a quiet, triumphant laugh.
Bellatrix, with the apex of her cheeks slightly reddening, uttered, "Very well then, go do so!" And with that she slammed the front door.
Draco went over the desk, and spun what resembled a silver top device. Filled with absolute dread, he turned to finally face the fact that Hermione was actually there, on his floor, and was his responsibility.
McNair was rolling her over so that she was on her back. Her mouth opened slightly; she seemed white in the face. Draco began to wonder how long she had been out—dreading what it was going to be like having to deal with her once she regained consciousness—when McNair hunched over her, attempting to wipe her long hair off her face as she sprung to life.
McNair's gasp of surprise was cut short by Hermione, who had snatched his wand from his pocket faster than he could stop her. Jabbing it at his throat he was limp next to her on the floor, stunned, before anyone else in the room even had their wands out.
Sitting up, she ducked out of the way of Greyback's petrification, sending out a nonverbal petrification herself that Greyback was somehow miraculously able to dodge as well, but not without crashing into a coffee table, breaking it into pieces.
Jugson, showing the most signs of life since he arrived at the flat, went to stun her—but she was standing now and cried out "Protego!" shielding herself in time.
Draco, so stunned at the intense battle before him, was the slowest to respond. He was able to knock Hermione's jelly leg jinx off its course to Greyback, who was just getting back on his feet. He cursed loudly, his eyes wide with anger, as he advanced upon her. Hermione stared him down confidently as she took a dueling stance. He loomed over her, his shadow overcastting her. She was a second too late to realize McNair was making a move from the floor and he was successful in grabbing her by the ankle and yanking her back down. After crumpling on herself, she immediately punched him in the face, which resulted in a blunt kick in the stomach from Greyback.
"Fucking mudblood!" he roared angrily.
She groaned loudly as she retreated into a fetal position, her face screwed up in pain. Greyback stepped on her wrist forcing her fingers to uncurl and McNair's wand rolled away.
"Get it Malfoy!" he ordered.
Draco, in trance by the scene of brutality, lurched to life, and went for the wand.
McNair, rising to his feet, grabbed Hermione by the neck of her robes. He lifted her up off the ground, her feet swinging inches above the shabby carpeting.
"You'll pay for this little stunt you dirty bitch," he growled, and he threw her into the wall, knocking a hideous painting depicting a vase full of flowers down with her. Draco grimaced at the thought of how that must have felt when Greyback was already picking her back up, this time with Jugson swooping behind her and holding her arms behind her back. She tried to struggle her way out of his grip when Greyback backhanded her across the cheek. Hermione fought to hold in a yelp, then merely stared hatefully back at Greyback, gathering up the blood now in her mouth and spitting it at his feet.
"Bugger off," Draco finally stammered, sick of seeing grown men throw someone so tiny in comparison across the room, "She's just a girl!"
McNair glared at him, "Don't you dare underestimate her, you should see what she did to the hotel room when her and Snape dueled. Must've been trained by Dumbledore 'imself…"
"Well knock it off then," Draco replied, "Don't go wrecking my room as well!"
"She's startin' to bleed all over," Jugson said, appearing to hold her up as Hermione had let her knees give out from exhaustion. She was letting blood from her split lip run freely down her neck, as well as a few nicks and scrapes she had earned along her forearms. She was dewy with sweat.
"Betcha' feel real bad now dontcha' Granger? Well we can help you feel all better just as soon as you tell us what we need to know. You ready to mind your manners now, you filthy freak?" Greyback asked.
Hermione lifted her wobbly head up, "Fuck you, you inbred, dickless follower," she said with a satisfied smile.
Greyback looked like he was going to crack her across the face again. "Think she needs to cool down a bit boys," he finally replied. He grabbed her by the top her head, squeezing tight onto a handful of hair, and dragged her across the small apartment down the tiny hall into a dank bathroom. Before Draco could follow him in there, Greyback had ripped her robe off of her and pushed her into the porcelain bathtub. Covered only by an under tank top and black boy cut briefs, Greyback turned on the shower, blasting her with cold water.
Draco watched her scream and writhe with discomfort, freezing water washing her blood away, first turning it pink until it ran clear. Frantically she felt around above her head for the knob until she found it, kicking her feet while she adjusted the temperature. Greyback looked over his shoulder to Draco.
"C'mere," he demanded, pulling Draco over to the tub. He looked down at Hermione who looked at him for what seemed the first time. Her eyes narrowed in recognition and he felt like she was silently appraising him. He watched her chest heave up and down as her once-panicked breathing began to slow, her tank top clinging to her. Greyback grabbed Hermione's hand and thrust it into Draco's. Draco felt Greyback squeeze his fingers around Hermione's dainty hand in a tight grip. She looked at Greyback with apparent fear as to what his next move would be when he pointed his wand.
"Bondileous permactus," he enchanted, binding Hermione to Draco.
Hermione started to look like she was going to object, but her head began to wobble again and she slumped over, passed out.
"She's your problem now," Greyback muttered.