Chapter Eight:
Branded
Precious and fragile things
Need special handling
My God what have we done to you
We always tried to share
The tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through
– Precious by Depeche Mode-
"This compartment's empty." Ron said nodding to the open door in front of him.
Harry made to follow Ron into the compartment, but stopped when he realized Fred and George, who had been just ahead of them, had kept walking. Just another of how things had changed within the last few weeks.
George and Hermione had remained civil, friendly even, but it just wasn't the same when they were both around. They weren't together anymore, they weren't anything. Harry and Ron had both tried their best to cheer Hermione up, and the act she was putting up was pretty good, but Harry could see that she was still hurting, that the break-up had affected her more than she wanted them to know. It was obvious that she wished things could be different but for some reason she didn't think that they could be. Harry just wished he knew why.
"Harry? Are you going to actually go into the compartment?" Hermione asked him, looking at him quizzically. He was still standing in the doorway.
Harry blushed bright red and mumbled an apology before hurrying into the compartment. Hermione smiled before following him in, Ginny and Luna coming behind her. Ginny quickly pushed past Hermione, taking the seat by Ron, Luna setting next to her.
Harry sent her a friendly smile and nodded towards the empty seat next to him. "Thanks." She said quietly, sitting down placing her satchel on the seat beside her. She took Hogwarts a History out of her bag and began flipping though the pages trying to find the place she had stopped at last.
"We've barely left, and you're already reading." Harry said, shaking his head at his friend. "Normally you at least wait till me and Ron start talking about Quidditch."
"Oh, don't you know Harry?" Ginny said before Hermione could respond herself. "Hermione loves her books more than life itself. To her nothing can compare, not her family, not her friends, certainly not her boyfriend. In fact, I think I forced to choose between the two, she'd choose her books. Live her days out as a spinster, with nothing but her books and cats to comfort her." Malice laced her words and Hermione flinched at the coldness in her friend's voice.
Ginny hadn't been quite as understanding as Harry and Ron when she had found out that George and Hermione had broken up. In fact she was quite angry about it. And quite vocal.
She didn't understand why they had broken up and Hermione hadn't explained it to her. All Ginny knew was that Hermione had decided, in her opinion, out of the blue, that they could no longer be together, and now her brother was hurting. Hermione couldn't blame her for being angry with her; she just wished she would understand that she was hurting as well.
"Knock it off Ginny." Ron said, glaring at his younger sister. "Or else you're going to have to find another compartment to set in."
Ginny huffed angrily, her angry gaze moving from Hermione to Ron. "Last time I checked, Ronald, it was George that you were related to, not Hermione. Maybe you should start remembering that."
"Yeah and last time I checked there were seats elsewhere on the train." Ron said standing up and opening the compartment door. "Maybe you should go find one."
Ginny looked at her brother in disbelief before getting up and leaving, slamming the door angrily behind her, causing it to rattle loudly.
"You didn't have to do that Ron." Hermione told him quietly.
"Yeah, I did." He told her, "She doesn't have the right to say anything. You broke up with George, not my whole family."
"He's right." Harry said, somewhat surprised by Ron's understanding.
"She's just looking out for her brother." Hermione said sighing sadly. "I can't blame her for that."
She turned to stare out at the landscape, a look of longing in her eyes, and spent the rest of the trip like that, barely talking to anyone else in the compartment, not even to reprimand Ron when he swore and called Snape several names that Harry agreed with full-heartedly, but Hermione never seemed to agree with, or when Luna began describing animals that he knew Hermione didn't believe in.
Harry wanted to say something, wanted to make her feel better, do something, anything, he just didn't know what.
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When they arrived at the station there were several Order members already waiting for them. Tonks sent them all a large smile, wishing them all a happy Christmas, before Ginny quickly pulled her aside, talking and giggling with her quietly.
"Hello everyone, I hope the train ride was pleasant." Mr. Weasley told them.
"Oh yes, Mr. Weasley. We weren't attacked once." Luna said with a broad grin.
"Uh, well yes, that would make for a much more pleasant train ride." He said slowly, "Why don't I help you find your father?"
"Alright," Luna said. "Bye Harry, bye Ron, bye Hermione. Have a fun holiday."
"Bye Luna." They called after her as Mr. Weasley led them away. Hermione turned back to the remaining two Order members and smiled at Charlie. He quickly glanced at George, who was standing as far away from Hermione as he could, before looking back at her with a nervous smile, offering to take her trunk.
"Thanks." Hermione said quietly, placing her hand in his offered one. They would be apparating back.
"Think nothing of it." He said, this time with a real smile. He pulled her a bit closer before apparating.
A moment later the landed in the Burrow's backyard, where it was already beginning to snow. Ginny and Tonks followed shortly after that, beating George and Fred by mere seconds. Ginny shoved past her, knocking purposefully into her shoulder and pushing her into Charlie, before going inside. George sent her an apologetic look before he and Fred followed her into the house.
"This is going to be an interesting Christmas, isn't it?" Charlie asked, looking down at her.
"To say the least." Hermione said quietly, stepping behind Harry and Ron, who had just arrived with Moody and Mr. Weasley.
As soon as Harry entered the room, he was pulled into a bone-crushing hug by Mrs. Weasley. She was mumbling something about how she had been worried that something was going to happen at the station. Ron was pulled into a hug as well, but when it came Hermione's turn she didn't get hug, instead she got a fake smile.
"It's wonderful to see you again too Hermione." Mrs. Weasley said. "I've made up all the bedrooms. You and Tonks will be in Percy's old room."
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley." Hermione told her, smiling as politely as she could. She could see Ginny smiling smugly in the background. Maybe it was for the best, Ginny obviously didn't want to share a room with her right now and she didn't know when she would start talking to her again, she just hoped it was soon. She hoped the way that Mrs. Weasley was looking at her would end soon as well.
Hermione quickly took her trunk from Charlie, not quite meeting his eyes, and hurried up the stairs. She hadn't meant to make things so uncomfortable; she just hadn't known what else to do. Besides, if it was up to her she would have spent the holidays with her parents, eating her mother's horribly baked cookies, setting through her father's endless lectures about anything and everything and being able to see her family again. She would have loved to go home to a place where she was actually wanted; where she didn't feel uncomfortable the minute she walked in the door, to a place where she wasn't reminded of what she couldn't let herself have. But it wasn't up to her. It never seemed to be up to her.
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"Knock, knock."
Hermione paused, stopping her unpacking and looked up to see Harry standing in the doorway.
"Hello Harry." Hermione said with a small smile, "Are you done unpacking already?"
"No, but who really needs to unpack?" He asked with a grin.
"I'll remember that when you want you my help to find your socks that have been pushed down to the bottom of your trunk." Hermione said, standing up to put a few more items into the wardrobe.
"So, do you plan to ever come back downstairs?" Harry asked, plopping himself down on Hermione's bed.
"I haven't decided yet." Hermione said, her voice carrying from the wardrobe. "Mrs. Weasley didn't seem exactly thrilled to see me."
"George told his mum to lay off, he told Ginny as well," Harry told her, "So it should be better now."
"All the same, I think it's better if I give them some time to cool off before I make another appearance." She told him, "Besides, they're George's family he deserves some time with them."
"Makes sense I guess." Harry said with a nod, "I guess we'll just have to figure something to do up here."
"Harry…"
"Come on, I'm not going to leave you up here all by yourself." Harry told her. He wanted her to have an enjoyable time this Christmas. He wanted her to know that he and Ron were her friends no matter what. She had been the one to remind him of that last year and he would make sure that she knew that she remember it now. They were in this together, whether any of them liked it or not.
"That's sweet Harry, but I doubt Ginny or Mrs. Weasley are going to forgive me sooner if you spend a lot of time in my room alone with me."
"Good point." Harry said, "I'll go get Ron."
And when Harry came back into the room, Ron in tow and chessboard in hand, Hermione allowed them to distract her. Choosing to focus on the two boys bickering over who would play first, instead of the sense of foreboding that had been at the forefront of her mind ever since she stepped off of the Hogwarts Express and onto the platform.
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Death. Surrounding her everywhere. Horrible flashes of her loved one's startling gray faces, as they died in front of her. Cold emerald eyes, mocking her as they cried out for help they would never get. She could hear screaming and she knew that it was her.
Hermione awoke in a cold sweat, her legs tangled almost painfully in her sheets. There was a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach and she longed for the relief the dreamless sleep potions had once brought her. Its effects had begun to diminish, what had once enabled her nights of endless sleep, now only lasted hours and then the dreams would begin again. Terrifying images that stayed with her throughout the day, making it harder to pretend everything was okay, when all she really wanted to do was sleep uninterrupted by anything else.
Not that it mattered much now, she had used the last of her own supplies that night, and the small dose she had saved had only helped her sleep for a few mere hours from the looks of the clock on the wall.
Tonks sighed contently from her own bed and Hermione smiled slightly despite herself. She wished she could trade her own dreams for those Tonks had. They seemed much happier.
Hermione pulled the quilt off of her, swinging her legs over to the side. She didn't want to stay in this room any longer than she had too. She spent enough time up here, unable and unwilling to face too many Weasley's at once. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were still angry with her and Fred still didn't know what to say around her, torn between defending his twin and not wanting to be like Ginny and his mother. Charlie and Bill were always kind to her, but she could tell they knew more than the rest of the family by the looks they often shared with their father. Instead, Harry and Ron spent endless hours up here with her or she spent time alone, reading or just staring out the window, wondering when things had gotten this complicated.
She stood up slowly, cringing as the floorboards groaned beneath her. Seeing Tonks still fast asleep, Hermione hurried to the door, exiting the room quickly, trying to be as quiet as possible as she hurried past bedrooms and down the stairs. It was dark on the lowest level on the house and Hermione barely escaped bumping into the table before she reached the kitchen cabinet. She had just enclosed the tea cup in her hand when she heard the floor boards groan again. This time it wasn't her.
She stilled, unsure of what to do. She hadn't thought to bring her wand down with her.
"Hermione?"
She jumped and almost dropped the cup in her hand. Quickly turning around, she let out a sigh of relief seeing who was standing in the doorway.
"You shouldn't do that Harry." Hermione said clutching the tea cup close to her chest. "If I had had my wand, I would have stunned you."
"Sorry." Harry said trying to suppress a grin. It was fun sometimes to see the normally cool and composed girl flustered.
"What are you doing down here anyways?" she asked placing the cup down on the counter.
"I couldn't sleep and Ron's snoring was getting to me." He explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "Figured I'd come down here and get some water."
"You'd think you'd be used to his snoring by now." Hermione said with a smile.
"I don't think you ever really get used to it." Harry told her.
"Well, would you like some tea?" Hermione asked, reaching up for another cup from the cupboard.
"That would be nice." He said nodding his head in agreement. He watched as she stood on her tip toes, trying to reach the top shelf where the rest of the tea cups were.
"Let me help." She said coming up beside her. He put his hand on the small of her back, gently pushing her to the right to allow himself enough room.
The small, familiar action, made her blush and think of George. He had done the same thing whenever he would help her into the common-room. "You know, you never asked me." Hermione said quietly.
"Asked you what?" Harry asked looking down at her.
"About what happened with George, you were the only one that didn't." she said quietly.
"Your relationship with George, whatever it is, isn't any of my business." Harry said shaking his head. "And by now I've learned that I shouldn't try to make you tell me anything, it only ends badly.'
"Still" Hermione said, "Thank you. It's…it's nice to know that somebody's on my side."
"I'm always on your side, Hermione." Harry told her, "I thought you knew that."
"I do, its just….its just really nice to hear sometimes." She said fighting back tears.
"Oh, Hermione don't cry." He said glancing around the room frantically. "You know I don't know what to do when people cry."
"Sorry." Hermione said with a small laugh, wiping at her eyes. "Things are just so confusing right now….'
"Things will get better soon." Harry said taking her hands and pulling her towards him. "I promise things will be better soon." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer, allowing her head to rest on his chest. "Everything's going to be fine." He repeated.
And feeling secure in his embrace, Hermione allowed herself to enjoy his comfort, to break down. She allowed herself for the first time that year to show Harry that she wasn't as strong and confident as she appeared to be. She allowed herself to believe Harry when he said things were going to get better despite her suspicions that they would not.
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Breakfast in the morning was a rather awkward affair; somehow managing to surpass the first breakfast during the holidays when Mrs. Weasley had deliberately given her the worst food on the table; it hadn't been horrible but Hermione was the only one with even a hint of anything burnt other than toast. Harry was watching Hermione closely, not even trying to appear subtle about, as if expecting her to burst out in tears again at any moment. Ginny was watching her as well, though Hermione doubted it was for such caring reasons.
Mr. Weasley broke the tense silence, asking how everyone had slept the night before. Harry blushed deeply and Hermione was reminded of the time over the summer when the same question had been asked. She had spent the night scared and in Harry's arms that night as well.
"Well I don't know about everyone else, but I slept great." Tonks said and Hermione fought the urge to giggle, sharing a smile with Harry instead.
There was a loud pop from the yard and then a knock on the door. Tonks quickly put down her silverware and stood, reaching for her wand as she walked up to the door, Mr. Weasley and Bill close behind her. "Hello" she called through the door. She did a rather good impression of Mrs. Weasley and most people would not be able to tell that it wasn't her.
The safety measures the Order was taking were just another reminder of how much things had changed and the real reason that Hermione and Harry were both there. It stung a little worse each time she heard Tonks impersonate another member of the Weasley family; guilt over putting them all in danger, worry over what would happen if someday it wasn't an ally on the other side of the door.
"It's Remus." The voice from the other side of the door came.
"Remus who?"
"Remus Lupin, my middle name is John but when I was a child I used to pretend I didn't have one because I thought John to be too plain."
"You were an odd child." Tonks said quickly unwarding the doors to allow him in.
"I never claimed to be anything else." He said with a smile, as he came through the door. Hermione noticed Mr. Weasley shoulders had slumped in relief at seeing the professor and Mrs. Weasley snapped back into action, as if trying to make up for the few moments she had been frozen worrying herself about who was at the door.
"Hello Remus" Mrs. Weasley told him. "Harry, Ron, help the professor with his things." she instructed the boys. They pushed back their chairs and grabbed his bags; Harry taking the larger bag, while Ron took the other smaller one, following his friend up the stairs.
"He'll be staying in Bill's room!" Mrs. Weasley called after them. "Ginny dear," she said turning back to the table, "come help me in the kitchen. You too Tonks, if you don't mind."
"Of course not Molly." Tonks said with a large smile. "Lets just hope I don't blow anything up this time." She told Hermione quietly.
Hermione forced a smile at the older witch as she hurried into the kitchen. It used to be her who Mrs. Weasley asked to help.
"Hello Hermione" Remus said sliding into the seat beside her.
"Hello Remus." She told him with a smile, she was happy to recognize that this one was genuine.
"I'm glad I have a moment with you alone. Well pretty much alone," He said glancing at the remaining members at the Weasley table. Mr. Weasley was reading the paper, while Charlie explained something to Fred and George, though Hermione could tell by the look on George's face that he wasn't really listening. Fred seemed rather interested though. Hermione hoped it wasn't her presence that was upsetting George.
"I was hoping that if you had a moment later, you could stop by my room." Remus told her.
"Of course." Hermione said looking away from George. She hoped he hadn't noticed her watching him. "Any particular reason?"
"Severus, Professor Snape," He said correcting himself, "sent something with me for you. I figured it would be something that you'd prefer to receive it in private." He said glancing over to the stairs where the boys were loudly coming back down.
"Yeah." Hermione said quietly, following his gaze. "I'll make sure that I do."
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Hermione carefully shifted the cups in her hands and knocked gently on Bill's door. She heard quiet shuffling before it was opened and Remus's head popped out. "I come baring hot chocolate and curiosity." Hermione told him with a smile.
"Thank you." Remus said accepting his cup and gesturing her in.
"Where's Bill?" Hermione asked, taking in the empty room.
"He's bunking with Charlie." Remus said setting on the bed across from the one she was on. "He was nice enough to give an old man his room."
"I'd hardly call you old." Hermione said, "But if it gets you your own room, I say go with it. I've been rooming with Tonks and she had very interesting dreams and tends to talk in her sleep. A very bad combination."
"I can imagine." Remus said with a laugh.
"So, what exactly did Professor Snape give you?" Hermione asked, carefully placing her half full mug on the dresser. She had been dreading this conversation with Remus since he brought it up; she very much doubted Professor Snape had sent her a Christmas present.
"This." He said carefully picking up a green velvet pouch from beside him.
She took the pouch carefully from him; he had obviously been handling it with care. Looking inside, she saw there were several viles of dreamless sleep potion, more then enough to last her through the Christmas holidays.
"I still remember some things from my potion class days." Remus told her, "And I know what that is. Anything you'd like to share?"
"Occlumency lessons mess with your minds." Hermione said quietly, "This helps."
"That doesn't explain why you're taking it when you don't have the lessons." He said.
Hermione was quiet for a moment before looking up at him, unsure of what to say. He had just called her bluff.
There was a knock on the open door and Hermione turned to see Harry standing there with a smile on his face. "You know, if you don't think Mrs. Weasley would like it if you were alone with me, I doubt she would approve of this." He said his smile growing wider.
"Good point." Hermione said quickly standing up. "Thanks for this Remus." She said gesturing to the bag.
"Of course." He said standing up as well.
Hermione smiled hesitantly back at him before moving towards the door and hurrying past Harry who was looking at the bag questioningly.
"Giving her her Christmas present early?" Harry asked.
"No, just passing along something from Severus." Remus said forcing a small smile. He had hoped that Hermione would tell him what was going on but Harry's unexpected appearance had put an end to that.
"I think I prefer my idea." Harry said quietly. Remus noticed that the smile was gone from his face.
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The fire's warmth soothed Hermione greatly as she sat hugging her knees next to the fire. The Burrow had been colder then normal the last few days, but no one other then Hermione seemed to notice. She couldn't help but wonder if that was because everyone else was welcome, and she wasn't. Maybe it was all in her mind.
"It's your turn." Harry's came from her left.
"What?" she asked jerking in surprise.
"It's your turn." He repeated. "You know exploding snap. It was your idea to play."
"Sorry." Hermione said sending him a guilty smile. "I got distracted. One of the logs in the fire looks a little like Dobby."
Ron snorted loudly into his drink and Harry shook his head at her, clearly amused that she could be so easily distracted. If it had been the truth she would have laughed along with them.
The door in the kitchen opened loudly, banging against the wall in the kitchen, and loud laughter and talking could be heard as Charlie and Bill returned with his sister and brother right behind him.
Hermione froze, her arm reaching for a card. George was laughing, enjoying himself, and she knew the moment that he saw her his good time would stop. That's how it always seemed to go lately. He'd come into the room smiling, see her and suddenly he had somewhere else to be. She'd set down at dinner and he would cease speaking unless he was spoken to by someone else first. She felt horribly guilty and she knew the others could tell. Harry had begun to make sure he was seated next to her at every meal, striking up a conversation with her that had nothing to do with the one going on at the table. Allowing her peace at mind knowing George didn't have to worry, and giving her a distraction. She wasn't sure when Harry had gotten so insightful, but she was grateful that he had.
The three stopped in the doorway, taking in the three teenagers playing by the fire who were now all watching them. It was obvious however that Hermione was only staring at one of them.
"No need to worry yourself Hermione, its only Fred." Ginny said narrowing her eyes on Hermione. "George stayed behind at the shop with Lee to work a little longer. Wonder why?"
Hermione felt tears prickling at her eyes, and she quickly turned away so that no one would see. That had stung, it really had. She felt terrible enough without Ginny reminding her constantly the pain she was causing. And that's all she ever seemed to do since they had arrived here. In fact she couldn't remember the last time Ginny had spoken to her in a nice way. She had asked her to pass the potatoes the night before at dinner, maybe it was then.
She had worked so hard to hide her feelings about the danger she was in, so that her friends wouldn't worry, wouldn't do something stupid, but she didn't want them to think that she was completely emotionless. She didn't want them to think that she had never cared about George, because she did. She still did. She didn't want them to be apart, but she knew that they couldn't be together. It was too dangerous for him and too worrisome for her. She couldn't live her life in fear that something was going to happen to him and she couldn't allow herself to make him a target because he loved her, there were more then enough targets already.
"Shut up Ginny." Ron snapped, glaring at his younger sister. She scowled back at him, but remained silent as she turned around and hurried up the stairs, most likely to her bedroom.
"Come on Hermione." Ron said in a much gentler tone. Hermione got the feeling that he had seen the tears in her eyes. "Let's go take a walk. I know you wanted to see the fairies lighting up the fur trees. They should be out soon."
"Okay." Hermione said quietly, "Let me just go get my coat."
She was back within minutes, hurrying down the stairs, wrapping her Gryffindor scarf around her neck, to where Ron was waiting for her.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said with a small smile. He really was trying his hardest to help and be supportive of her decision, though she didn't think that he was very upset about it. "Just the two of us?"
"Yeah, we're all used to it and Harry's…Him and Fred are doing something." It was clear by the way he wasn't meeting her eyes that he wasn't telling her something, but Hermione couldn't bring herself to mind. She kept enough things from him, somehow it seemed fair.
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"We're all really sorry about Mum and Ginny." Ron said shoving his hands in his pockets.
"It's not your fault, Ron." Hermione told him, shaking her head. "I broke up with George and they have the right to be angry."
"It'll blow over soon." Ron said with a reassuring smile, "George understands and he's fine with it. Well, maybe not fine, but he's taking it pretty well considering. Mum and Ginny are just being stupid. They don't know about everything that's going on."
"No, they don't" Hermione repeated quietly. Maybe it would just be better for everyone if she went back to Hogwarts. She would be safe there, but she wouldn't be imposing in a place where she was causing so much pain.
They continued walking down the path in silence, Hermione rubbing her hands together for warmth. If she looked behind her, she could see the very top of the burrow in the distance. She turned back around, to make sure she didn't run into anything unexpectedly, and heard something snap, breaking the silence. "Did you hear that?" Hermione asked turning to Ron.
"Hear what?" He asked glancing around them.
There was another snap, this time Ron heard it as well. "What was that?" Ron asked. "Whose there?" He called out, reaching for his wand.
"Ron, don't!" Hermione said trying to quiet him. This all seemed too familiar to her. She grabbed for her own wand and spun around trying to figure out where the sound had came from. But it was silent around them and it was hard to see anything that was further then three feet away. When had it gotten so dark? She didn't remember it being this dark a few minutes ago.
"Oh look," A frightening voice said from behind her, "Their scared."
Shadows were coming out of the darkness, large cloaked figures surrounding them where they stood, each with their wands drawn; an intimidating sight for even the most skilled Aurors.
Ron made a move to raise his wand but before he even had the chance to do anything, one of them had already yelled "Stupefy" and he was lying unconscious on the ground. Hermione was completely alone.
Hermione screamed, unable to stop herself, and reached out for him but two of the figures stopped her. Her arms were grabbed roughly and she was pushed against the nearest tree. She tried desperately to break free from their grip, twisting and pulling, but they wouldn't let go, instead they pressed harder and she could feel the bruises beginning to form.
She looked up at the cloaked men in front of her and she realized she had never been so scared. Through everything that she had been through before, Harry and Ron were always there. She always felt safe with Harry and Ron beside her, but this time Ron was already in trouble and Harry was no where to be found. She didn't know whether to sigh in relief that at least he was alright or cry in despair because he wasn't going to be there to save her this time.
One of the men made a grab for her wand, releasing his iron clad grip on her arm, and she saw her only chance. She wouldn't go down without a fight, she knew that. Hermione kicked out, her foot connecting with the man's knee causing him to fall to the ground. Startled by the unexpected movement, the other man's grip had loosened and Hermione was able to wrench herself out of his grasp, knocking him into the tree they had pinned her against. She felt a surge of pride in knowing that she had been able to hurt them back and then she ran as quickly as she could towards the trees, hoping to find some protection there.
She heard shouts behinds her and curses flew past her, one skimming her shoulder causing her to slow down slightly. Then one familiar voice seemed to raise itself above the rest, she vaguely heard the word "Crucio" before she fell to the ground shaking in pain. A horrible scream of despair came from her lips, before she choked, gasping for breath it seemed impossible for her to get. She felt as though every part of her was on fire, as though there was blood pouring from every pore of her body, and worst she could smell it, feel it as it trickled down from where she had bit down on her lip viciously in pain. She prayed that it was the only place it was coming from.
"This all could have been avoided if you had just stayed put, like a good little girl." A deep male voice came from above her. Slowly she felt the pain began to lighten and while it still felt like hell, the sense that it was never going to end was gone and she could feel her muscles relaxing ever so slightly. She was still shaking, but she wasn't sure if that was from the pain or from the fear of what was going to happen now.
She opened her eyes slowly and jerked shakily at the silver mask staring back at her. She had seen masks like that before in the Department of Mysteries, they had haunted her dreams since.
"The more you fight this, the longer it will take Miss Granger." The familiar silky voice said as the man pulled her roughly up off of the ground. "Now, be a good little girl and do as you're told." He said shoving her into the center of the circle they had formed. There had to be at least eight of them.
"Such a pretty little thing." He continued, backing her further into the circle. She stopped before she got too close to the Deatheater behind her, allowing him to stop right in front of her.
"I can see what the Dark Lord sees in you." He said running his hand down her cheek, causing her to flinch away. "Don't worry." He said leaning closer to her. "I would never hurt something so precious."
His words caused her to shiver and not in the good way. He had somehow managed to make her feel violated with his mere words. He lifted the same hand he had used to touch her, and removed his silver mask, revealing long silver hair and gray cruel eyes.
"Lucius Malfoy?" she whispered in disbelief.
"Good," He said with a smirk. "I was worried you had forgotten me." He stepped closer to her, causing her to take a step back. His gaze was lingering on her a little too long and she felt herself begin to shake harder, this time she knew it was in fear. His face was impassive but she was able to read one emotion in his eyes, but it was not hate or the normal disgust she had expected. It was desire.
And the realization of what was happening came crashing down on her. She had lived in fear of something happening for so long that when the Deatheaters appeared out of the darkness a part of her had been expecting it. It wasn't until now that the reality was catching up with her. Something bad wasn't going to happen, it already was.
Lucius was advancing on her, an evil smirk on his face, and she could feel the surrounding Deatheaters coming in closer. She had no where to go. Ron was unconscious and she couldn't even see him from where she was. No one had known exactly where they were going. Most of the house hadn't even known that they had left. No one was here to save her. And just like in her dreams, no one was coming.
"Potter and Weasley aren't here to save you this time." Lucius said his face inches from her own. Her breath hitched at his close proximity and he smirked down at her before he roughly grabbed her, pulling her towards him. He forcefully pushed his lips against her own, causing her to cry out in pain and in fear. She barely registered him pushing up her jacket and skirt, exposing her stomach to the cold. "Don't worry." He whispered against her lips, "It'll only hurt for a moment."
He had lied. A horrible pain rippled through her body, beginning at her hip where he his wand was digging into her skin, as he murmured something. She screamed out in agony, but Lucius continued. Some part of her brain recognized it to be some sort of spell, but the pain was too intense for her to decipher what he was actually saying. She hadn't realized that there was a curse worse then the Cruciatus. She wished that she hadn't had to find out the hard way. Through tear filled eyes she could see the Deatheaters smiling at her, knowing that they had done well and that they're master would be proud.
She felt Lucius step away and the pain began to dim slightly, but only slightly. Hermione ground her teeth trying to stop herself from yelling out in again, knowing that they would only enjoy it. She barely remained standing.
"Oh it's no fun if she doesn't scream." One of them said walking towards her. She recognized his voice but she couldn't place it.
"Come on." He said grabbing her hair, "Give us a scream." He pulled her head back violently, using her hair, causing her to whimper in pain. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of a scream. They wanted it too much.
"Well if you won't scream for him." Another voice said, "Then maybe you'll scream for me. Crucio!"
She was hit by sudden pain once again and she had no choice but to scream, there was no way that she couldn't. She hit the ground painfully, her body trembling terribly. She wanted it to stop. She just wanted it to all stop. The curse was worse this time, as if more hate was directed in it.
She could vaguely hear sudden shouts and footsteps around her but everything was hazy and she couldn't make out anything for certain that was going on.
Suddenly the haze over her mind began to lift and Lucius was crouching down in front of her. "So you won't forget us." He said placing his hand on her still burning hip causing her to cry out in pain and then suddenly he was gone. All that remained was the echoing of a pop signifying that he had disapparated out.
She heard someone calling out for her from above her. A smile played on her lips as she realized that someone had finally came to rescue her. To rescue Ron. She was content before everything went black.
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"Hermione! Hermione!" Harry called, completely ignoring everything else that was going on around him. Nothing else would matter if she wasn't alright. He could never forgive himself if something had happened. He could never forgive himself if he was too late.
A stray hex flew by his side and he dogged it, crouching down and then froze. From his position he could see her now. She was leaning against a tree a Deatheater hovering over her before apparating away.
"Hermione" he breathed.
Harry was at her side in an instant, leaning closely over her body making sure she was still there. She was unconscious but she was breathing. She was breathing, she was okay. But she looked so still lying there bruised and broken. Her clothing was torn, she had twigs and dirt entangled in her hair, there were bruises on her face and her lips were cut and swollen, a trail of blood traveling down her face from her mouth. He really didn't want to think about how that had happened. Looking over her, he saw just how not okay she was.
"How is she?" Remus asked, crouching beside him. Harry glanced at the older man and saw his own horror and worry reflected in his eyes.
"She's still breathing." Harry told him quickly but it hurt realizing that that was the only reassuring thing he could honestly say.
"Did you see what happened?" Remus asked taking his cloak off and quickly draping it around her.
"When I spotted her there was a Deatheater leaning over her." Harry said softly, "But he Disapparated as soon as I saw him. Is she going to be alright?"
"Unfortunately I don't know, but we need to get her back to the house. Nothing appears broken and I don't smell much blood. She should be okay to be carried." Remus said. He moved closer to her, tucking one hand gently underneath her knees and another behind her back. Harry watched as he lifted her up effortlessly, his face dropping as he got an even closer look at her. "The other member's should be able to handle the rest of them. It looks as if it's dying down anyways." He said turning back towards the burrow.
Harry looked around and saw only a few Deatheater left fighting, most of them had fled the scene but one or two seemed to have been caught. He was amazed he hadn't realized all this was going on around him.
"Come along Harry." Remus said gently. He held Hermione close to himself as he carefully made his way down the path. His senses were alert and he was prepared for anyone who may come up unexpectedly. Moony was going wild inside, angry at the thought of loosing someone as precious and vulnerable as Hermione. Merlin help any man that tried to do her harm again tonight.
"What do you think happened?" Harry asked racing to catch up with Lupin as he walked.
"Nothing good." He said softly looking sadly at Hermione. He too wondered what exactly had happened to her and the ideas floating around his head were not comforting him. Hermione shifted in his arms, her hand latching onto his robes, gripping tightly. She mumbled something, her face contorting in pain, and Remus picked up his pace. He could see the Burrow coming closer. He needed to get her there before he could do anything else to help her.
There was a loud bang and Harry looked away from Hermione and Remus to see Mrs. Weasley standing in the Burrow's doorway looking out at them.
"Remus! Harry! What happened? Where's Ron?" She asked frantically.
"He's fine." Remus told her, "Fred and George are taking care of him." Harry felt horrible as he realized that he hadn't thought of what had happened to Ron. Not since he had heard Hermione's fearful cry.
"Remus what's going on—Oh my." She croaked out. They had gotten close enough for her to see Hermione clearly. "What happened?" she asked.
"We're not sure." Remus said, "Let's just get her into the house. You can take a look at her there. Go collect the medical supplies and get Ginny, we may need her help as well."
"Alright." Mrs. Weasley said nodding her head grimly, "Take her up to mine and Arthur's room. We'll have the most room to work there."
"Of course." Remus said. Mrs. Weasley nodded her head before quickly hurrying back into the house calling for Ginny to follow her.
Remus carefully maneuvered himself through the doorway, banging his own shoulder roughly on the doorframe to insure that she didn't hit her head. He took the stairs slowly, Harry trailing close behind him not wanting to leave her side.
The master bedroom was the first room in the house, and the door was already opened as Remus carried her in. Harry vaguely realized that it was the only room he had never been in before, as Remus gently lowered Hermione onto the bed. She still hadn't woken up. He noticed Remus gently pushing back the hair that had fallen on her face. It was a tender gesture, one that would normally make him feel comforted that his friend was so cared for, but this time it only made the bruises on her faces more visible. He fought the urge to go move it back.
Mrs. Weasley bustled into the room a moment later, Ginny close behind her. She didn't seem to notice his presence but Ginny certainly did.
"You can't be in here." Ginny said pushing him towards the door.
"And you can?" he asked angrily. He wasn't leaving. She of all people couldn't make him.
"I know you want to help Harry, but right now I think you should wait downstairs." Remus told him. "I'll come and get you as soon as I can."
"Once mum cleans her up a bit you can come back in." Ginny told him gently. Still he hesitated. He didn't want to leave her. He didn't want her to wake up thinking that he didn't care enough to stay.
"Do you really think Hermione would want you to see her like this?" Ginny asked him. Her voice had taken on a tone he had never heard her use before. It reminded him greatly of her mother. "You know she wouldn't. If you don't want to go all the way downstairs, then just wait outside the door okay."
Harry didn't like it but he nodded in agreement anyways. It didn't look like they were going to let him stay, no matter what he said. He gave Hermione one last longing look before walking out of the room. He heard Ginny shut the door behind him.
He took up post next to the door, planning to ask anyone who came out what had happened as soon as they came out.
The thought of loosing her terrified him, and unfortunately the possibility was quite high. Tonight had proven that. Hermione was the epitome of everything that Voldemort was against. A muggleborn at the top of every class was hardly an example Voldemort would want known. And she meant so much to Harry, the closest female friend he had ever had. Voldemort knew that having her ripped away from him, after everything that had happened between them, would kill him. And that seemed to be what Voldemort was always after.
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"Do we know what happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked Remus quietly.
"You know as much as I do." Lupin said, "Bill and Charlie were outside when they heard her scream. By the time we got there Ron was unconscious and so was Hermione. But Harry did say that he saw a Deatheater standing over her."
"Is she…Is she okay?" Ginny asked quietly. There was a slight panic underlining her words.
"Maybe you shouldn't be seeing this." Mrs. Weasley told her.
"No! I want to help." Ginny said, "After everything I said….I need to help mum. Besides if there's something worse then cuts and bruises you'll need help, you know that."
Molly still looked uncertain, but nodded her head in acceptance. "Go get one of her nightgowns" She instructed Ginny "Will need to get her out of these clothes."
"Alright." Ginny said hurrying out of the room.
"Remus" She said turning towards him, "Please help me get her undressed."
"Don't you think Ginny should help you with that?" Remus stammered, "I mean surely I shouldn't--she wouldn't want me to--"
"We both know what might have happened." Mrs. Weasley said looking down at Hermione's unconscious form sadly. She had
"I don't want Ginny to see that. Now, help me get her sweater off. We need to see how badly her injuries are."
Remus moved closer as Mrs. Weasley sat on the edge of the bed. She had barely pulled up the hem of the shirt, her hand grazing Hermione's hip, when Hermione shot straight up, gasping in pain.
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"Hermione! Hermione you need to calm down." Mrs. Weasley said, placing her hand on Hermione's knee causing her to flinch away. Everything ached, everything stung at the slightest movement and she could feel phantom hands on her still, holding her down, causing her more pain.
"Hermione its okay." Remus said trying to sooth her. "It's over now, your safe."
Hermione choked out a sob and her hands fisted into the material around her as she breathed deeply. It was over; she repeated to herself, they couldn't hurt her anymore.
"Hermione, I know it hurts and I know your still very upset and I understand, but we need you to tell us what happened." Mrs. Weasley said. "Not everything, but we need to know what's wrong so we can fix it."
Hermione choked back another sob and shook her head vehemently. "I'm fine." She said still shaking slightly, "Nothing's broken, or anything like that."
"Nothing might be broken but you are most certainly not fine." She continued, "Now I know you don't want to talk about it but we need to know so that we can help you."
"They came out of no where" Hermione said quietly, "We didn't have time to react. All of a sudden Ron was stupefied and there were deatheaters grabbing at me. I tried to run, I tried to fight, but I couldn't…they stopped me. It hurt so bad…"
"They used the Cruciatus?" Remus asked, though it came out more as a statement than a question.
"They used an unforgivable on her?" Ginny gasped from the doorway. Hermione's labored breathing was all the answer they needed.
"Hermione, Hermione" Mrs. Weasley repeated grasping Hermione's hand in her own. Hermione pulled away from her quickly, but she had gotten the girl's attention.
"Hermione," she repeated again, using her most soothing voice. "We had Ginny get you a nightgown to change into. I know you're in a lot of pain right now, but we need to get you out of these dirty and wet clothing. Would you like us to help or would you prefer to do it yourself?"
"I can do it." Hermione said softly, taking the nightgown from her with a shaky hand, "Just give me a minute."
"Alright." Mrs. Weasley said patting the bed gently, it was clear that she was unsure if they should leave her alone, but unwilling to say so. "We'll be right back when your finished."
Hermione waited until they were out of the room before she placed the nightgown on the bed beside her, and carefully tried to get up. Her muscles protested painfully, and she couldn't stop herself from whimpering in pain. Reminding herself that the sooner she changed, the sooner she could be healed, she forced herself to stand up, clinging to the bed frame as she did so. Maybe she should have just let Mrs. Weasley stay and help, but that would have meant her touching her and right now she couldn't stand the thought of anyone doing that. She knew Mrs. Weasley meant her no harm but that didn't stop her from flinching painfully every time she got too close.
Hermione noticed her hands were shaking as she reached up to unbutton her sweater, at some point her coat had been taken off, but she wasn't sure when, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.
She fumbled with the buttons, but eventually she got them all undone and was able to slowly shrug the sweater off her shoulders. It hurt terribly, but she was relieved that she had been able to do it without calling for help; she wanted to see for herself how she looked, before she let anyone else see her, what they had done to her.
She turned around slowly, determined to look herself in the eye through the mirror no matter what she saw, and had to stop herself from screaming from what she saw.
Bruises and scars weren't the only reminders that they had left her with. There on her hip, where she had felt such excruciating pain from Lucius Malfoy's wand, was something she had only seen once before; hovering high in the sky the night of the Quidditch World Cup. They had branded her, they had branded her with the Dark Lord's mark making sure she would never forget what they had done to her, never allowing her to forget how easily they could have killed her if they had wanted too; her own reflection, her own body, a mocking reminder of what had happened. It screamed at her, as if trying to tell who she now belonged to.
And it was all too much for her to take. She heard a sob escape from her mouth, unable to hold it in any longer and she swayed where she stood, anger and misery washing over her painfully. Several things happened at once; Hermione grabbed the bedpost to keep standing, as another cry came from her lips, this one much louder than the first, and then the mirror shattered powerfully, glass flying everywhere. Hermione did scream then, sliding to the floor, trying to protect herself as pieces of the glass flew all around her, cutting her and embedding into her skin.
She heard people yelling and footsteps, as the door opened. Someone was yelling her name but she didn't look up until they were crouched right in front of her.
"Hermione! Hermione are you alright?" Harry was right next to her, trying to pull her hands away from her to see what was wrong. There were others in the room as well, though she could see no more then there legs as the circled around her watching and trying to figure out was wrong.
"Hermione, what happened?" Harry asked looking at her face. It was slashed, and more cut up then it had been, in fact most of what he could see was slashed and cut up much worse then before. It was obvious she had received the full front of the blow when the mirror was broken.
He seemed terrified and Hermione wanted to answer him, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him what she had seen, what they had done. "Hermione tell me what happened, how did the mirror get broken?" He asked.
"I…I think I did it." Hermione said quietly.
"What do you mean you did it? Why would you—"
"I didn't mean to." She said shaking her head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, but I was upset and it was so horrible. It was mocking me Harry, it was."
"Hermione what are you talking…" Harry saw Hermione's hand more traveling down to cover something on her side. He hadn't even realized that she wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Hermione what happened?" he said looking down at her side. Her grip got tighter the more he watched it and he knew that she wasn't telling him something. "Hermione what did they do?"
She shook her head again but didn't say anything. She couldn't bring herself to say it. He reached down to remove the hand covering her side.
"Harry no!" But he had already pulled her hand away. She heard him gasp and looked up to see an expression of anger and surprise on his face and she looked away ashamed.
"Oh Hermione, what did they do to you?" He asked still unable to tear his eyes away from her now blemished skin, where the dark mark stood out vividly.
"He made sure that I wouldn't forget."
A/N: Okay, so should I duck flying objects since this took so long to get out. I really am sorry, but I finally have a valid excuse. Or at least I do in my own opinion. My computer died, in a no repairable way and I lost pretty much everything on it. And then I had to wait until I could get a new one, something that takes time. So unfortunately writing really hasn't been possible. Add that to the fact that I lost 75 of what I already had written and plans I had drawn up and I have a memory like a goldfish, it took some time to redo this chapter and prepare for future chapters. But I really am sorry. For anyone reading Forced into Love, its the same reason I haven't updated it as well. I am however almost done with the next chapter and just have to send it to my beta. More apologizes.
I hope everyone liked this chapter, some big stuff was happening at the end, big stuff that will affect future chapters (hint, hint). I'm not completely happy with it, but hopefully everyone else likes it.
I know Mrs. Weasley and Ginny might seem a little harsh, but Mrs. Weasley reacted badly when she thought Hermione had been two-timing Harry in fourth year, I think she would certainly act harshly when she found out she had dumped her son. And Ginny, who I've always thought was like her mother, would feel similar. Because they don't know why Hermione broke up with George, they've come up with there own reasons for it, reasons they don't like.
Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors. I'm just no good at that.
Big big thanks to everyone who reviewed. I do love you guys and really appreciate everything you have to say. A couple people commented on Hermione's hypocriticalness is the last chapter, because she wanted Harry and Ron to trust her but she wasn't willing to confide in them. I agree to a certain extent, but Hermione thinks what she's doing is for their own good (which to be fair so did Harry and Ron when they followed her to Snape's) and she feels like after everything they've been through, it should be up to her to decide what to tell them and what not too. They tried to force her into telling them something. Hopefully that clears it up. If not, feel free to ask more questions.
PLEASE!!!!! Review. Comments, questions, and ideas are always welcome.