Disclaimer: See last chapters

A/N: This chapter contains mature themes of rape, without going into detail. So be warned.

Hermione dropped down onto her knees as she sobbed, tears flowing heavily down her face as the man beside her yanked her arms as hard as he could before tying them tightly. She shook her head, about to scream something when he wrapped a gag around her mouth, stopping her from begging him to stop.

She knew she was being punished, that this was all her fault for saying no. She wondered what was going to happen to her, she wondered if this was going to be any worse than what she had said no to, but then again – nothing could have been worse than that.

She could feel Draco by her side, his hand on her shoulder as her whole body shook, he ignored her apologizes that were muffled through the gag, shaking his head – he knew that wasn't her fault, none of this was. "It's going to be okay." He whispered, trying to reassure her, knowing that for once he was wrong. She wasn't going to be okay and nothing would ever be the same again after this, he bit down on his lip as he wanted to tell her what was going to happen but he had no idea if it would do more harm than good.

"Get out!" He heard from the other side of the room, nodding and grabbed the other man who ran out of the room with him – both of them equally scared of his father. "I told you that you belong to me, do you understand what that means?" Hermione looked at him as he walked over to her, nodding slightly,

"Well, maybe you should try acting like you understand from now on," She nodded again, tears falling down her face as he stood in front of her, backhanding her hard as she fell to the floor she had spent the whole day cleaning again.

"You never say no to me! You will never say that again!" He screamed at her, grabbing her by her long hair as he dragged her over to the bed she had to make every single morning, the bed she had refused to lay in with him that evening, the bed she knew was going to make a whole new and different kind of hell for her.

She shook her head, screaming through the gag as she fought him off, kicking him as hard as she could. He laughed at her futile attempts to get out of the ropes that bound her hands together as he traced his rough hands over her body. "You," he placed a kiss on her collarbone, "are," he moved his lips to her chest, "mine.." he whispered against her trembling skin. Hermione closed her eyes, pretending none of this was happening, the only thought being Ron, wishing she was back home with him, in his arms.

~ .. ~

Draco took her lightly by the arm after all the ropes were taken off, biting down on his lip as he let his eyes wander over her shaking body. He knew the girl that had been at breaking point, had broken, and his father had broken the famous Hermione Granger – the greatest witch of his age.

She didn't utter a word to him all the way to her cell, she didn't cry, she didn't smile, she didn't ask for water – nothing. He wondered if there was anything left of the girl he had met on that first day at Hogwarts, but then he knew after what his father had done to her, that Hermione Granger would never return.

He watched her for a moment longer, the way her hair dropped over her face, covering up the tears he knew were now falling down her pale and bruised face. Her nails dug deeply into her exposed knees as she kept her eyes focused on the floor. He bit down on his lip, shaking his head as tears threatened to fall down his own face before he stood up and walked out, locking the door behind him.

Draco frowned, remembering all those 'mudbloods' that had come back just like her – they were never able to get over it, and even when they managed to smile, it would happen again and again and again...

Hermione Granger, the greatest witch of his age, that bossy, bushy haired girl, Harry Potter's best friend and part of the famous three that saved the wizard world.. she was gone. She had been replaced with Slave Number 76. The master now owned her in every sense of the word, and that wasn't going to change. And then he wondered – why was he even trying to save her? It was too late already, she's already gone.

"What can you possibly want from me? Can't you see I'm already gone?"

~ .. ~

Hermione looked away from the door when it opened the next morning, the light stinging her eyes before she could quickly close them. "Come on.." Draco whispered to her, lifting her lightly by her arm as he tried his best to forget about the way she flinched from him, the way her whole body shook when he touched her and the way she had to force herself not to cry when she saw him or heard him speak.

"The master needs you." He muttered, wishing he could set her free right now but he knew neither of them were willing to face the consequences when they got caught. He knew he had to wait for the right moment.

She didn't say anything as he took her up the steps, this time yesterday she would have made a half-hearted attempt to star ta conversation, telling him how scared she was and she would have forced a smile on her face as he promised her once more – a promise he wasn't even sure he could keep anymore.

This time yesterday she would have been taking steps back when they got to the door she knew her master was waiting behind, but it wasn't yesterday anymore, instead Hermione just kept her head down and walked through the doors with Draco, without a moments hesitation. She had nothing to lose anymore.

Draco could tell she was tired of everything, tired of fighting and hoping. He bit down on his lip when she bowed down, something she always seemed to 'forget' to do. "You may leave now." His father motioned for Draco to leave the room, he nodded and let her arm go gently, begging her with his eyes not to do anything stupid – but then he knew it probably wasn't even a question anymore – the light in her eyes was gone, the fight inside of her had disappeared as well. She wasn't going to cause any trouble anymore.

Hermione watched him leave and then looked back at the man she loathed so much, finding herself wishing he would just kill her and get it over and done with already. She was sick and tired of sitting up all night and thinking about her friends, and Ron – she didn't even know who had made it out of the war alive, she didn't even know if her best friends would be okay. She was sick and tired of clinging onto the hope that Draco was going to be able to get her out of this house, out of her own personal version of hell.

"Come with me," She took his extended hand, forcing herself not to cry as she stared down at the floor, her whole body trembling with fear. "Lay down like my good girl." She nodded, too scared to talk as she did as she was told, not even bothering to fight him. She closed her eyes, knowing what was going to happen and she thought about her life before all of this, letting her brain completely blank out what was happening. She bit down hard on her lip as she tried her best to forget any of this had ever happened, that it was all some massive nightmare that she could wake up from any minute now.

~ .. ~

Ron stared down at his food, trying his best to focus on eating and just getting on with his life – trying his best to escape the thoughts of Hermione not being here. Ginny saw the tears running down his face before he could even wipe them away, her arm automatically moving around him as she held him tight. "Ron.." She whispered, shaking her head, trying to stop her own tears.

"Sorry, I'm sorry.." He looked at his sister for a moment and then around the room before pulling away from her, ignoring the looks on his family's face before running as fast as he could out of there.

Ginny watched him leave, looking around the table and then at Harry, "I should go talk to him.." Harry stood, as Ginny shook her head, standing up too. "Let me.." She walked out of the room, going upstairs. She frowned as she walked up the steps, almost feeling the grief already, realizing not for the first time that it had been three whole months since Hermione had gone.

"I miss her too much," She stopped when she heard Ron sob, she had only seen him cry once since she could remember, and she was pretty sure that time was also related to Hermione. She was about to walk into the room when she heard the voice of her other grieving brother – George. "I miss her too.. I know it's hard for you." She sighed, knowing that Fred and George had thought of Hermione as a little sister, both of them pulling pranks and teasing her like they did to her.

"People understand when you're sad, you're allowed but.. sometimes, it feels like people think I should just forget her, just.. move on with my life. But I don't know how to, how can I give up on what seems to be a lifetime of love, for the sake of three months? I know she's not dead, George, I can feel it here.." She heard his hand thump onto his chest, and she could imagine the tears falling down his face, "I know she's not gone, I love her so much.. and you've always said, with Fred gone.. you feel like a part of you has been missing since that day.. well that's how I feel about her.. and it's not totally missing yet. It can be fixed."

"Well.. then she'll come back someday, she's going to be okay.." Ginny smiled sadly – her two big brothers reunited in losing someone they loved more than life itself.

"The Ministry said they had leads.." Ron muttered, the smallest bit of hope could be heard in his voice, none of them had ever really had much faith in the forever corrupted wizard government. "Yeah.. and they don't think she's dead right? I heard mum and dad talking about it." Ginny felt a lone tear fall down her face at the thought of her best friend being dead, her ear pressing against the door as she closed her eyes.

"No.. they just.." There was a long pause, and then something smashed, jumping back from the door, Ginny bit her lip and tried to listen to the conversation. "They think she's been taken into the bloody mudblood slave trade.."

"She's alive, though.." He whispered almost to himself, trying to convince himself that he was right.

"Of course she's alright.. and Ron, you know what Hermione is like, I bet they will send her back if she's with some low life pure blood family, she'll never give them a break. That girl is a fighter." George tried to comfort his younger brother, trying to give him a little bit of hope.

Hermione was a fighter..