Chapter. 5

A pawn

Hermione's notes: The golden trio was the perfect group.

Smart. Loyal. Valiant.

Who knows what that group would have been capable of by this point? Maybe the Order would have stood a chance if their champions had remained on one united front.

Whatever the 3 of us can be called now. We are no longer the perfect group.

Foolish. Traitorous. Spineless.

Those words describe us much better these days.

Don't you think Ron?

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.

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"I think she's waking up." A voice from somewhere near her says.

Her head is foggy, and her throat is dry. She doesn't open her eyes.

Distantly she realizes that voice belongs to Draco Malfoy.

Then everything comes back to her. Where she is and why.

Still alive. What a shame.

Ron- she remembers then she jerks to sit up.

She's in a bed that someone must have conjured to lay her on. The mattress is hard, and her back hurts. How long had she been asleep?

It takes her only a fraction of a second to find him. Ron is writing something on a parchment his attention on it, and not her.

Draco is towering above her smirking. She eye's salvation in his robe pocket.

Before she can think about it, she's slugs him across the face, and steals his wand right out of his robes. She hears a sickening crack, and hopes it had been his bone and not hers. She can't tell if her hand hurts or not. Adrenaline is dumping into her bloodstream. She feels a bit numb. Going from accepting her inevitable death, to hoping for it, and now running for her life it's perplexing. Her emotions are in a hundred different directions.

She's running out of the tent, her black cloak billowing in her wake. Her boots stomp and trample anything they come into contact with. Twigs break under her, and mud sticks to her shoes.

"Hermione! Come back!" It's Ron calling from behind her. His voice thundering with anger.

This is the benefit of having such a thin and wiry frame. She is quick and she is about to go even quicker.

Once she is far enough out of the wards she will transform. The wards Ron cast around this area, she knew immediately when they touched her that they had been cast to prevent apparition, and a plethora of other enchantments from happening within them. Changing into her anamagous is one of them.

Hermione whizzes through the trees, and brush. Her cloak snags on something and it rips when she jerks it free. Her legs ache with the effort, but still she pumps them forward.

Go! Run! The younger version of herself commands. In the distance she can hear more shouting. Ron and Malfoy are pursuing her. They would be less than thrilled if they caught her.

The final ward is coming up, Hermione can see the glimmer in the sunny morning air. She must have slept through the night.

She stumbles when she hears a voice much closer, to her than she would like, and much more feminine.

"Is Zat really you 'Ermione?"

Hermione's breath is coming out in short bursts, and she feels a dampness at her brow. She flies through the final ward, and is quite shocked to see a familiar woman standing in front of her.

Blonde curls, and milky white skin. Beauty so exuberant it is hard to look at for long. Fleur Dealcour. Fleur Weasley actually.

Hermione freezes.

After a beat the two women begin to circle each other. Eyeing each other up, and taking in the subtle changes they find, after all this time. They are predator and prey.

Fleur's hair is wind swept, and her mouth betrays her hesitance to attack. Hermione can't share in her sentiment.

Bill Weasley had been murdered brutally by Voldemort himself. There were even pictures of his desecrated remains, printed in the daily prophet. Yet here is Fleur helping the dark lord. Hermione has little doubt, Ron has stationed her here, outside of the wards for the exact possibility Hermione might escape. Was she the one Ron had sent his patronus to yesterday?

Hermione won't hesitate with Fleur. She wants to hurt her. To make her pay for besmirching Bill's memory.

"Avada Kedavra!" Fleur narrowly dodges it. She whirls around staring at Hermione incredulously.

Then Hermione has a better idea, a more personal way to end things.

A low growl escapes from the back of Hermione's throat. She crouches lowly, and begins to call on it. The animal within her.

Fleur takes a desperate step backwards, distancing herself from Hermione, who she finally perceives as a threat.

Transforming isn't painful, it's actually exhilarating. Like a steady stream of endorphins is circulating in her blood. When she is in this form her instincts take over.

Hermione drops the stolen wand to the ground. Then her joints begin to contort, and her back bends. Her skin ripples, and hair erupts all over. The black cloak on her back falls off her in useless scraps of fabric.

Fleur's eyes are wide as saucers at the sight of Hermione. At the sight of a full grown lioness leering in her direction.

Hermione prowls.

Like this Hermione exudes. Power. Strength. Insidiousness. Fleur is prey.

Hermione lunges forward, and Fleur falls back into the mud bracing for a powerful strike that never comes.

In a jet of red light Hermione is flung backwards through the air away from Fleur. Her back smacks into a tree, and the air rushes from her chest.

Hurried foot steps surround them as Hermione struggles to right herself, and catch her breath.

When she pushes to stand she falls again as Malfoy fires a charm at her. It covers her in a blue haze, and she can feel herself going back. Her limbs distorting once again back into their original state.

Fleur is the only one shocked at having seen Hermione's anamagous form. She knows it's because Malfoy had already known. She had to reveal herself to him after a battle once. Malfoy must have told Ron or he's occluding. His face is emotionless.

Hermione has no time to feel shame for her sudden nudeness.

"You tried to use the killing curse on Fleur?"

She catches her breath for a moment. "Why did you teach me the unforgivables, if you didn't expect me to use them?" She manages tauntingly.

Ron has cleared the distance between them, and his hand is around her throat closing off her supply of air.

A look of pure fury behind his sapphire eyes.

"I never expected you to attack Fleur, with them!" He yells at her.

His grip is iron clad, and Hermione's fingers claw at him in an attempt to pry them away from her throat.

Fleur is being helped to stand by Malfoy. While Hermione starts to see stars.

"Ron stop," The part veela woman says. "Let 'er go."

Hermione had always suspected Ron was as taken with Fleur's looks as any other wizard. She also began to suspect, Ron might do much worse than choke her if Fleur was not present at the moment. There is ruthless look about him.

Hermione had just about mauled her to death, and it's surprising to her that Fleur isn't goading Ron on. Instead she's telling him to stop.

Fleur's eyes are misty, and a look Hermione knows all to well is on her face. A look Hermione sees every day in the mirror. It's the look someone has when they've been betrayed by someone very dear to them. Hermione ignores the twinge of remorse, that threatens to arise. These people aren't her friends.

Ron relaxes his hand, and Hermione falls into a fit of coughing as her lungs replenish.

With her attempt at escape dashed, she decides to go back to her other plan. Provoke them into killing her.

"Never try that again. Never raise a wand to her."

"Oh sure-" Hermione hacks out. "I won't try to attack Fleur." What point is there, it is 3 on 1 now. She turns her head up to look into Ron's still blazing eyes. "But can i tell her," Another cough. "what a bitch she is?"

One horrified gasp. 2 tense wand arms. Malfoy had already rearmed himself.

Hermione continues.

"Wherever Bill's body ended up he's rolling over in his grave."

"I'll just silence her." Malfoy is about to cast it, but he is paused.

"No." Fleur demands with her chin jutted up in challenge. "I weesh to 'ear what she 'as to say."

"Fleur, that's not going to hel-"

"Go on 'ermione. Say what it iz you think of me."

Fleur doesn't come any closer to her. Malfoy and Ron are still between them acting as shields.

"I think. Molly had your number, from the very first time she ever met you. You are a shallow, empty, trivial excuse for a woman. You didn't deserve Bill. At least now that he's dead you can't plague him anymore."

Ron doesn't comment, or react.

Fleur turns her back to Hermione, so she can't make out her reaction. The woman begins to walk away back towards the direction of the tent without another glance back.

Hermione is however disappointed her words hadn't hit the mark enough for anyone to fire any spells at her. What would it take to get them to kill her?

Ron bends down until he's eye level with Hermione.

"Don't bring my mother up again." His tone is deadly low. He pulls the shirt from his own back and tosses it at her. Her cheeks flame at the sight of his bare chest, and they practically radiate the heat of a thousand suns when she realizes she is still very much naked.

Hermione slips into the shirt, and Ron jerks her forward.

They are herding her back to their camp she guesses. She doesn't have to turn to know both of their wands are probably pointed at her back.

She catches Malfoy looking at her, as they go through the first ward.

"What?"

"I think the day might come when you'll start to regret spewing every spiteful little thought that bounces into your head, Granger. Choose your words more carefully."

What exactly is that supposed to mean, she wonders.Yeah, that'll be the day, Hermione's inner self comments.

Hermione is back in the tent, Fleur is already inside. A cupboard has appeared in the room. In it are vials of all sorts. Hermione thinks she can make out the names on a few of them. It's a wide collection of elixirs and potions alike. Fleur seems to be cataloging them, or maybe looking for one in particular. There are ingredients strewn about the countertop. Was Fleur brewing something?

"Perhaps it escaped your notice, that you are still very much alive." Ron starts.

"Why is that, exactly?" She avoids looking at him. His chest is still on display, and she doesn't want to be caught looking at him like that.

What were his plans? Voldemort's plans.

Ron summons another shirt for himself. She feels she can look at him properly again.

Fleur flits about in silence, still gathering her essentials. Ignoring their presence.

"I have use of you for, now."

"That just clears everything up doesn't it." She responds in the most sarcastic tone she can muster.

"For my own purposes i cannot reveal more than telling you, you must remain alive, and your help is needed."

"My help?" Hermione almost laughs but her cheek remembers the slap Malfoy bestowed upon her yesterday.

"Yes. So i assure you, regardless of whatever ill advised actions you take, you won't be able to provoke me into killing you."

So he knew what she had been hoping to accomplish by pissing them off. He really was smarter than she ever gave him credit.

"So what does the Dark lord want with me? If not to kill me?"

"The dark lord?" Draco asks joining the conversation. "What does he have to do with anything, Granger?"

"Well obviously you've taken me hostage in order- in order to- because of his orders right?"

Malfoy is the one to laugh at her now.

"We aren't following Voldemort's orders, any longer. As of last night When Malfoy port-keyed you here. We have entirely new orders to follow."

Right when Hermione starts to think she has a grasp on things, and they seem to make sense. Ron goes and says something else that throws her entirely back into confusion.

"Who's orders are you following now?" Who would rank higher than Voldemort to the Death eaters?

"Sorry can't say, at the present time."

"Who would you be listening to that's above Voldemort?"

Ron gazes at her with mirth.

"It seems to me, you're still operating under the assumption that we're on Voldemort's side right now, but I don't recall having said such a thing."

Is he insinuating what she thought he was?

"You called me a mudblood, just yesterday." Her brain is going haywire.

"I couldn't be sure no one else was around listening."

She had found it hard to believe Ron really believed in any of the pureblood propaganda, but all the same it was sort of nice to hear.

"Tell me you aren't really trying to make me believe you've been working for the Order this entire time?"

"Of course not, the Order is finished as it should be." Malfoy answers for Ron.

"As it should be?" Hermione is quick to defend the Order. "How dare you."

"If you knew even a fraction of what i do, about your precious Order-"

"Draco. I'll remind you just this once, to keep in mind the end game of the orders we've been given." Ron's voice is domineering.

Malfoy seems put out by this, but leans up against the wall.

"If you aren't working for Voldemort or the Order than who-" Hermione starts to question.

"Like i already said i can't say at the present time. All you need to know is that no one in this rooms means you any harm."

"No one means me any harm? Is that right." Hermione scoffs. "From what i've experienced in the last 24 hours you and Mafloy lured me into a trap. I've been imprisoned, tossed about like a rag doll, knocked out, choked-" Hermione jerks her thumb over at the blonde man." Oh and Malfoy slapped me to!"

Malfoy refrains from commenting but his lips betray the tiniest degree of amusement.

Ron thinks about it a moment. "To be fair, you clocked Malfoy back for that slap pretty good. We mean you no harm that might cause death." He amends.

How reassuring.

Malfoy is scowling, rubbing his nose soothingly. Ron must have healed it before they pursued her. There are still bits of dried blood on his upper lip.

"I'm also not at all interested in whatever it is you think you have in your head, that you have to protect for the Order. So stop looking at me like you expect me to start torturing you. It's annoying."

Hermione is less than convinced. These 3 were high ranking Death Eaters. They had killed many of the Order's soldiers. People Hermione had known well. As far as Hermione believed, they had betrayed the Order to save their own skins. They hadn't turned until it was obvious the Order was a sinking ship. Cowards.

"Why would you betray Voldemort? Was he not a kind master to his newest recruits, how terribly shocking that is."

"All of us have our reasons."

"Kindly elaborate on them." She motions with her hands to the three of the people who are staring at her.

"For my Bill." Fleur's voice is musical as it cascades over Bill's name.

Hermione looks down. Maybe she felt a bit bad for taking a shot at Fleur.

Malfoy speaks next. When Ron nods at him.

"My wife was a Greengrass as you already know. What no one outside this room knows, is that her parents weren't her blood parents. Daph was muggleborn."

Hermione sucks in a breath.

"That makes my daughter a half blood. I'll die before i let anything happen to her."

Hermione conjures up the image of Malfoy's daughter. White blonde curls, sharp features. Cassi. Cassiopeia Narcissa Malfoy is a mouthful but it fits the little girl in Hermione's opinion. She is very like her father. Cunning. A true a Slytherin.

"I'm sorry for not having told you about Daphne." Hermione did feel bad. Even if she disliked Malfoy, the little girl was an innocent.

Draco doesn't respond.

She turns to Ron. To the person she was the most interested in hearing from.

"Well?"

"I made a promise to someone. I intend to come through."

Hermione's eyes narrow and she isn't sure how she feels about all of this information.

One of his siblings perhaps? Ron told her George was dead. Could George perhaps have had some last minute request before he died. One that Ron didn't mind honoring now, since their family was mostly wiped out. Hermione had felt that a reason Ron might have left was to preserve the family he still had alive at the time. Percy was still alive as far as she knew.

"You'll make an unbreakable vow to me."

"Excuse me, i'll be making a what?"

"An unbreakable vow, Kitty." She despises it when Malfoy calls her that. It isn't half as clever as he thinks. "It's a spell used to-"

"I know what it is." Hermione refuses to let him finish his condescending remark.

An unbreakable vow? To what end?

"I don't understand why i'd have to make one to him." She motions at Ron.

"Draco will do the binding."

"Oh no. I don't think so, Ronald. This is a question you don't just get to ignore. If you want me to make you some kind of vow, i have to be willing. I'm very much not willing, if you are wondering."

"Then maybe we will kill you, after all." Malfoy supplies.

She snorts.

"She isn't afraid of that. She wants to die, actually. Haven't you noticed the way she's trying to goad us into it? Trying to use whatever she thinks might hurt the most against us." Ron shares on her behalf.

Malfoy looks at her like he's eaten something rather unpleasant.

Ron runs his hand through flaming locks. Thinking.

"The vow goes both ways, you make promises to me, and i make them to you. It's an exchange."

"Yeah. One little problem, Red. There isn't a thing in the world you could offer me. Nothing that i would want enough to agree to a vow with you at least."

"What can i give to Hermione Granger, to bring some life back into her?" He mumbles under his breath.

Something occurs to him, his eyes flick up to Malfoy. In an instant it's like they've had an unspoken conversation.

"It might be soon for me to offer, but i think it's imperative to the plan to give you something to live for."

"Ron." Malfoy warns.

Ron waves him off into silence. Malfoy's lips are tight. Whatever he has to offer it makes Malfoy nervous.

"Do you remember what happened in france?"

"Ginny died."

"How?" He smiles like there is something she doesn't know, and truly she doesn't.

"I don't remember much or what killed Ginny, i just remember that she died while we were there."

Hermione assumes it was either the fact that she hadn't seen Ginny killed. Or perhaps her PTSD. That she couldn't recall much of that time of her life.

"I remember when the bombs fell. I know that was a turning point in the war."

Voldemorts coup de tat of the muggles, and wizards in France would have made him infamous if he wasn't already. What happened there, was what caused the war to remain in a 3 year deadlock in Britain. The war was isolated to their homeland. France had been Voldemort's attempt to spread his control across the world. It had all ended with France practically blown off the map. Now the rest of the world has left Britain to it's fate. Refusing to send aid to either of the warring parties. The rest of the world is waiting to see how things go, terrified to pick a side. Lest they be bombed into oblivion like France. Hermione wonders briefly if the Order's failure would cause other nations to begin to step in, or would they simply bow to Voldemort's will?

"Why do you think that is? That you don't remember?"

"The healers say i have PTSD." Her arms snake around her to cross over her chest, protectively.

"Do they?" That knowing look of his, there is something disquieting about it.

"Well yes-"

'Did you ever think I wasn't half as stupid as you thought?'

"You didn't, Ron."

"See. You really are the brightest witch of the age, Hermione. Once again Neville was right."

Before he had left them, Ron had seen fit to tamper with her mind. Her memories.

Ron was dropping her hints, all this time. Telling her things Neville had said that she couldn't recall.

She couldn't even recall the last time she ever spoke to Ginny, nor the last time she ever saw Ron before yesterday. How had that not raised a red flag in her mind?

Had she known at some point why Ron turned to the other side? She must have. It explains why he'd obliviated her. To cover his tracks.

There are gaps in her memory, and she'd let the healers explain them away with a diagnosis of PTSD.

What a fool.

"How much am i missing, exactly? How many memories have you stolen?"

In a calculating drawl, "Make the vow, and in return i will vow to begin returning them to you."

"So i get my memories back, and what are the terms of the vow i have to make you?"

"You will vow, not to raise a wand against any person of the Weasley, nor Malfoy houses. That includes Fleur. You will vow not to try and escape from here again. You will vow to obey me should i need to command you. Lastly you will vow, not to turn into your anamagous without my explicit, consent."

Hermione baulks at all of it with a scoff.

Agreeing to become a model prisoner indefinitely in exchange for a string of memories she had no bearing on. They could be horrible, torturous things. Things she was much better off forgetting.

Ron can tell the offer is still lackluster.

"Don't you want to see them again? Neville? And Ginny. Even if they are only in memories."

Her heart feels like it's being weighed down by the entire weight of the world. Her friends. Her dead friends. If Ron is to be believed, they are there in memories she can't recall. More precious moments with them. Hermione can see their smiling faces once more. She could hear their voices again, she was starting to forget the sound of them.

"You bastard."

Ron was always skilled at chess. He had all but just declared checkmate now. Dangling Neville, and Ginny in front of her like that, it's cruel.

If she can believe them, Ron, Malfoy and even Fleur didn't mean to torture or kill her. The Order secrets she wanted to die to protect weren't of interest to Ron.

Maybe Hermione didn't need to die, not yet. Not until Ron didn't need her anymore. In the meantime why not enjoy the company of the good old days?

She could play the dutiful pawn, for just a little while. Play along with whatever plans Ron had made. But did that mean she was betraying Harry? By allowing herself to slip under Ron Weasley's thumb.

"No. I can't it would be a betrayal to Harry."

"It's funny to me how fiercely loyal you remain to him. I guess though it makes sense because you don't remember."

"Remember what?" Her voice is panicked at the implication.

"That this," He motions all around them, at everyone in the room. "everything we have all be through, was entirely his fault."

Her mouth hangs open. Ron. He had been alot of things in all the years she knew him, but a liar wasn't one of them. Hermione believed he meant what he said.

"Harry- was he the reason you became," Her voice whispers the last part. "a Death eater?"

"Part of it." Ron's face gives nothing away.

"I don't understand, how could-" She feels lost.

"Take the vow. Then you will understand everything." He shrugs his shoulders.

Something else occurs to Hermione.

"Taking my memories, was that an order for you, did whoever it is you're following now- did someone instruct you to?"

"Yes, i was following orders."

Hermione is stunned into silence. 3 years. He had taken her memories 3 years ago. Is that how long this trap she'd walked into, had been set? A plan 3 years in the making. The implications of that are astounding.

"You betrayed Voldemort for a promise you made to someone?"

"We have established that."

"The person you made the promise to, is it the same person giving you orders?"

Ron squares his shoulders. She thinks she hears him mumble something to the effect of 'To smart for her own good.' That's as good as confirmation for her.

"We aren't on the same side?" She asks just to clarify.

"Harry, and the Order even if it weren't gone, still remain your top priority?"

"Of course." It's a reflex. Even though what Ron has said has made her wary, for now she has no reason to feel otherwise.

"Then we remain on opposite sides. Have you ever heard the phrase the enemy of my enemy is my friend, perhaps?"

"So you want us to be allies, on different sides? Both against Voldemort?" Hermione really doesn't like this.

"If you have a better plan Hermione, i'm all ears." He lights up a cigarette and the fumes surround her. Is she imagining the warmth, between them? Ron is practically in her face, towering above her. Dwarfing her with his height.

Who was Ron taking orders from, and why?

The younger version of Hermione in her head, sits upon a swing innocently swinging her legs back and fourth. She shrugs her shoulders at Hermione as if to say 'Your guess is as good as mine.'

He takes her silence for relent.

"Allright, so we have a deal?"

With a sureness she doesn't at all feel, she extends a hand out to Ron. His hand is hard, and calloused on her own, but it exudes more of the warmth she thought she'd imagined.

He tugs her a step closer.

Hermione feels entirely vulnerable, standing with only his tshirt to cover her.

Was she insane? Or was she out of options?

"Hold this for me won't you, ally?" Before she can answer he's sticking his cigarette in between her lips. She can taste him. The taste is salty, and sweet and she doesn't mind the flavor of the cigarette like she thought she would either.

Ron's tugging her sleeve up with his free hand, his eyes don't linger on the mark there. The one Bellatrix had carved into her skin. When he pulls his own sleeve up she doesn't allow her eyes to linger on his mark either. The black skull and snake are unsightly on his smooth skin.

"Come, Draco. Do the honors."

The unbreakable vow is made.

For the first time in along time, Hermione Granger stops thinking. She stops plotting. Answers will be hers soon, and she allows that though she may be a pawn in Ron Weasley's plans she feels a sense of relief at not having to be in charge any longer. No one is looking to her for answers, or begging her to come up with some last minute plan to save them all.

The Order of the Phoenix is over. A sentence Hermione hoped she would never have to hear.

Author's note/ Hi lovelies, please go easy on my guy Harry. This chapter was a-lot of backstory, and long conversations, but we needed them to move forward. Don't know about you all but i am psyched to start releasing Hermione's memories for you to read. I know i'm torturing you guys, and everything is confusing for now, answers will come in time. Got to keep you interested after all. So, thoughts? Tell me what you thought about Ron having tampered with Hermione's memories. Oh, and please let me know what you think of Ron accusing Harry for being at fault for everything that happened to them? How did the reveal about Hermione being an unreliable narrator feel? How did the anamagous part go? I know so many fics make Hermione a healer, but i am so bored with that trope. So i came up with this instead. I live for your comments and the theories you guys come up with. If you have any questions i will be glad to try to clear it up in the comments, the best i can without spoiling anything.