Finally I manage to write another chapter. Feel like holidays should be banned as it makes inertia more and more appropriate, occupying most of my time!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
If Hermione called bread and water as breakfast, this would be the most lavish buffet she ever had. As though the Handlers worried about her health a lot, they gave her more than enough food to eat. Along with bread and steamed cupcakes, a quart of milk and orange juice were also served. On the top right of the food tray laid a small cup with different colours of pills. Hermione reckoned they were enhancement pills os pregnancy.
It had been almost a whole year since she had the last proper breakfast. During the hunt, she and the two boys never had proper meals, every day Death Eaters and Snatchers would be out there, waiting for them, chasing after them.
"Mum's beef and corn sandwich is a lot better," muttered Ginny.
"At least we don't need the pills," said Hermione.
"Those pills are more colourful than my life."
As Hermione looked up, the girl opposite her was looking around, then slowly her hand reached for the small cup of pills, then poured it into her long sleeve. But then, Umbridge's voice yelled,
"Alex Miller."
The girl stopped, then stood up and walked towards Umbridge.
"What are those in your sleeve?"
"What's what?"
With a flick of the wand, the pills levitated out of the girl's sleeve.
"Crucio!"
Before Hermione could let out a shriek, Alex was already on the floor, struggling in agony. Hermione remembered the Cruciatus Curse well, Bellatrix Lestrange gave her the remarkable experience. Just looking at Alex triggered all her memories back. She almost could not breath. Her blood was boiling in the veins and her bones were snapping, like fire burning sticks. The muscles twitched and twisted, and her skin felt like boiled.
"Alex, we do not want to hurt you, we just want you to be safe and healthy," said Umbridge.
Hermione sniffed at her pretentious sweet tone, how ironic it could be.
"Bring her in," ordered Umbridge and the Altruists brought a weeping girl into the room, scares were all over her arms and the back of her hands. As the girl sat down beside Hermione, she could recognise those scars—Black Quill. The scars read "I will not run away again", Hermione guessed she tried to escape but was caught. Umbridge punished Harry with it once, it carved deep into his skin, it was fortunate that she had Murtlap Essence to sooth his pain at that time, but this time, all she could do was sit there, watching the girl moaning in pain.
"Because you are still new here and feel uneasy, we won't punish escapers with Cruciatus Curse," said Umbridge. "But next time, you will leave us no choice but to use the curse on you."
Ginny let out a small cough, completely disagreeing with the unforgiving woman's words. Hermione remembered during Battle of the Astronomy Tower, if Harry had not given her the Felix Felicis, Amycus Carrow would have hit Ginny with the curse. Perhaps Ginny was also thinking of the same thing, tears were in her eyes.
"You should never run away. This is your home, you are protected, blessed, honoured to be here."
The girl's sob reduced to a weak and barely audible whimper.
"We shall never cry in here, for this is our paradise, we should leave our past and pain behind and embrace the warmth in here, the Education Centre."
Brainwashed did not stop here. After breakfast, Umbridge gathered everyone to the hall and she began her preposterous passage of praise, which Hermione reckoned she copied some parts out from different religious scriptures.
"Remember, we are safe, we are powerful, we are loved, we are cared," said Umbridge.
"We are safe, we are powerful, we are loved, we are cared," chanted back everyone.
"We shall treasure our body and serve the wizarding world."
Meeting Umbridge's eyes, Hermione had to chant with the others, Ginny was the only one who kept her mouth shut. Hermione wished she could get her to cooperate, punishment would be too severe for a girl like her, especially when she was not yet seventeen.
"Your body is a gift and it is very rude to question a gift," explained Umbridge in her queerly sweet voice. "It is your duty to help the inheritance of the Pureblood lineage and it is always your honour to serve them."
Hermione rolled her eyes, now she was more than certain that she would be a Pureblood family's surrogate mother. Surrogacy was not unfamiliar to her, but never had she imagined herself participating as the surrogate parent. The worst of all was that she had to live with the family and the child until she broke any laws or proved to be no longer fertile.
As three hours of lecture passed, it was lunchtime. Lunch was even more lavish. Apart from a few slices of cheese and pancakes, salmon was served with fried eggs and broccoli. To make things even better, apple and wild berry tea were served at the end of the meal. Hermione recognised the nutrients behind, it was the perfect meal for successful pregnancy, she had seen her mother eating all these food before having Olivia.
As if the Ed Centre was afraid of obesity, Hermione and the others were ordered to do stretching and aerobics for two hours straight before they could sit down and have another lecture. This time Umbridge was not their speaker, the guest of honour was a male Handler. Before the lecture started, Umbridge ordered Ginny to follow her. Unwillingly, Ginny got up and left the group. Before leaving the room, she had a last glance on Hermione, then followed Umbridge out of the hall.
"I know everyone of you here are willing to help magic lineage and make our population flourish," said the Handler. "But some women out there are not wiling to do so, they marry Muggles, and even stay single! They use all kinds of birth control and contraception to exploit the right of a magical child from seeing the world in their own eyes. These women are going against the future, they are procuress and prostitutes!"
Hermione also cringed at his words. Marrying Muggles had always been the aim for Ministry, to allow more and more Muggles become aware of the wizarding world, then build a harmonious relationship. But with Purebloods ruling, this became a taboo.
"The existence of Muggleborns is a reunion with the wizarding world. You are here because you were once one of us, so never shall you go back to the Muggle world."
The ironic statement almost made her laugh. If they hate Muggles, they might as well hate Muggleborns too.
As she went to the hall for dinner, somebody tapped her shoulder. It was Pavarti Patil.
"Pavarti!" exclaimed Hermione. "Padma, you are also here!"
"Where is Ginny? She's still here in the afternoon," asked Padma.
"Umbridge brought her away, didn't see her since then," muttered Hermione.
"Then she must have been wanted by a family."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't know?" exclaimed Parvati, then as they queue for dinner, she whispered,
"I have heard that, if they think you are ready to be a Maiden, they would take you out of the centre and let those Pureblood men buy you."
"Buy?"
"As far as I have heard, we can be sold for 50 Galleons, which was not much to the vaults of those Purebloods."
50 Galleons! This could buy her more than 40 books, and perhaps 7 wands.
Her wand was somewhere in the Ministry, she believed. That was the only safe place that could hold all stripped wands. And so staff could guard them day and night, ensuring nobody would be able to steal theirs back.
"Who was the head of Auror Office?" asked Hermione, hopefully he or she would be someone she could befriend.
"I don't know, but Flint could be one of them," answered Pavarti.
"One of them?"
"Still remember Marietta the sneak?"
Hermione nodded.
"She was now the wife of Flint, I saw her wearing the blue dress and holding Flint's hands when they found us."
"Found you?" asked Hermione, baffled. "But I thought she is Muggleborn!"
"We were on the run and came across her," said Padma. "We told her to keep secrets, but apparently she didn't."
"Selling us for social status, I guess," added Pavarti. "I mean, it is easy to sell others out for the betterment of themselves."
Hermione felt particularly horrible, and could no longer eat more of those peas and spinach mash. To ease hunger pangs, she managed to gobble down the banana greek yogurt and corn soup. As she lay on bed, her mind was heavy from all those lectures. Now her only hope was that those Death Eaters would not be her owner.
I know this chapter is relatively short but the next few chapters should be longer, a bit longer, or even a lot longer. You know why? ;)