Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Harry Potter. If I did the books would have looked a bit different and I wouldn't be writing this.
AN: This chapter has been corrected by my lovely beta Sarah Liz B. Who I can't thank enough.
Chapter four
The hallway of the manor is eerily silent until there is a loud crack, the sound bouncing of the marble walls.
Blaise stands there in the middle, holding a trembling girl. He gives her one more reassuring stroke of her hair and then lets her go. Pointing his wand at her, her blue eyes widening again, he whispers, "Finite Incantatem."
The silencing spell falls off of her. He puts his wand in his sleeve, then he takes her wand in his hand and with his other hand takes her wrist. Again, dragging her along after him.
Hermione blinks several times with her eyes and is relieved to see that her dizziness is fading. Finally realizing that he doesn't know she is in fact Hermione Granger but the girl on the Wanted poster, she tries a thing Hermione Granger never would have done.
They were just around the next corner when she starts talking. Or to be more exact, starts whining. "Where are you taking me?"
"Be quiet, Sophia. Everything will be explained to you in time."
A thought crosses Hermione's mind. Had they found out that Sophia –she is now convinced her real name is in fact Sophia- still lived? Did they want her back, to serve Voldemort loyally, like her parents seem to have done?
"Where are we?" she asks again, still using the whiny voice.
Blaise suddenly stops and tugs on her wrist so she that is standing very close to him.
"Since when did you adopt such a whiny voice?" he asks, annoyed.
Dumbstruck, Hermione looks at Blaise. He knows who she is and more of all, he remembers.
"And since you asked so nicely, we're at Malfoy Manor. Now can we get along?" he turns away from her.
"I won't turn to your side," she says suddenly with a strong voice. In an instant she changes her plan again and uses her own striking confidence.
Idly, she wonders what they are even doing in Malfoy Manor, but she easily pushes the thought aside.
Blaise turns back around and lets go of Hermione's wrist, confusion written all over his features. "What?"
"Just so you know," Hermione said, standing a bit straighter, still sure that she has found the reason why they want her unharmed. She wonders how they have found out that she is still alive, even before she herself knew her true appearance, how she looks now.
"What are you talking about?" Blaise has now turned around completely and she has his full attention.
"Just because I turned out to be the lost Naberrie daughter doesn't mean I will betray my friends and join the dark side." She folds her arms in front of her chest and looks Blaise straight in the eye. While saying this, she forgets that he doesn't know that she is Hermione Granger, the girl he has known for years.
From confusion, Blaise's expression turns to complete shock. "How do you know that? Don't tell me you've known all these years! And why did you stay hidden then?" It looks as though Blaise is hurt.
But Hermione doesn't see that; no, she gets angry. Every thought about escaping, running away or even getting her wand back crosses her mind.
"No! The question should be how do you know? And don't tell me you've known for all these years," Hermione shouts, frustration written all over her face.
Blaise takes a step closer to her and says, as calm as when the discussion had started, "We knew when Draco's symptoms started last month that you weren't dead after all. We were so relieved. Aunt Cissa retired as soon as the news was told but Pansy knows her well enough to know she cried. Cried in relief because you, the daughter she had always wanted, was still alive. But we still didn't know where you were or who you were." He looks a bit sad at that, but then an angry glint forms in his eyes. "And now you're telling me you have known all along and you wouldn't even search for us?"
It is quiet for a moment as Blaise searches for his words. "So Aunt Cissa called for the seer again. The same one who had told Aunt Cissa and Uncle Lucius when Draco was born that you were going to be his mate." Blaise speaks quietly, slowly, but there is still anger shimmering in his eyes. It is only indicator that he is angry.
Hermione's hostile attitude has changed into a quiet, confused one. "What has Malfoy got to do with any of this?" Her arms hang again at her sides.
Again, it is Blaise's turn to be confused. The whole conversation just doesn't seem to make any sense.
"Hold on." He throws his arm in the air and makes a halt sign, walking the last few steps to her. He's standing so close to Hermione that she takes a step backwards.
"Tell me what you know and how, Sophia," he demands.
Hermione pauses and doubts for a second if she should say anything. But he has been honest too, though nothing has made much sense, so she takes a breath and tells him everything she knows.
She tells him about the letter and about Ginny looking up the information. She tells him another letter came, changing her into her real appearance. And she tells him that at that same moment her picture had been all over the front page of the Daily Prophet.
Blaise looks a bit bewildered and shocked. "He just sent her a letter from the grave. How eerie is that?" he mumbles at first, before shock spreads over his face. "Wait! You said Ginny. You mean the Weasley girl? How do you know her? Have you been going to Hogwarts too? Why didn't you try to get in contact with us Sophia?"
Hermione bites her bottom lip in thought. Should she say anything? Would she be in more danger then she is in now? His blue eyes are piercing hers so she decides to tell him something. "Yes, I went to Hogwarts. And I didn't look for you or anybody else because I remember nothing. Even after I found out, I didn't remember anything." Hoping he will forget his other question she stares, determined, back at him.
A looks of sadness fills his eyes. Very slowly his hand comes up and strokes some lost blonde hair out of her face. "I'm sorry you don't remember." His hand gently strokes her cheek and then grasps her chin, making her look straight into his eyes. "But you still didn't tell me who you were."
Hermione feels uneasy by his familiar touch but is mesmerized by his blue eyes who seem very familiar to her. Without knowing why, she heard herself say, "Hermione Granger."
Blaise doesn't shout or cursed. He simply stares straight in her bright blue eyes a little while longer. Then he surprises her by taking her hand and walking, brining her along behind him.
"Wait! Aren't you going to explain anything at all?" She has snapped back to her old self and is demanding again.
"Not here I'm not."
"Hmpf, men," she huffs, irritated, walking alongside him, taking from him the pleasure of towing her behind him.
"You owe me some explanations."
"That I do, princess," Blaise answers sarcastically.
Blaise stops at a dark wooden double door. He takes one look at her and then opens one of them. Taking a step aside to let her enter first, she walks into what she assumes is a sitting room.
It is small and dark, but somehow cozy. A huge fireplace is on her right side but it is unlit due to the heat of summer.
There are two loveseats sofas, which looked very comfortable, next to the fireplace, facing each other.
A single sofa, with the same dark color as the others, stands straight in front of the fireplace but behind the other sofas, giving the room the appearance of a square.
Two windows in the wall near the door give a view of a beautiful grass field. The sun is shining and no cloud is to be seen for miles, but even the sun has difficulty in lighting up this dark room.
Hermione doesn't dare to go in more than the few required steps. When she finishes looking around, she turns and looks at Blaise, who's still standing in the doorway.
"Wait here. I'll come back and then everything will be explained." He turns away and closes the door.
Leaving Hermione alone. Scared, wandless and very confused.
For a moment she just stares at the closed door before realizing that there's only one thing she can do. Try to escape. She pushes away her confusion and fear, and takes two steps to the door. She pulls and pushes at it but it won't yield. Finally she gives an angry kick at it and turns away. "It was worth a try," she says to herself.
Her eye catches the windows. She is on the ground floor so that should be an easy escape. Not really believing they will open, she takes slow steps to the window on her left. The handle of the two door windows opens easily. When she opens the window, a slight breeze enters the room and the sound of a songbird fills the silence.
Taking a deep breath, she first takes a peek out of the window. Not seeing anyone outside she takes one more look behind her before jumping on the windowsill and out the window. She lands with a soft thud on the grass.
Straightening up, Hermione takes one more surprised look into the room and then quickly walks away from the open window, still not really believing she has escaped that easily.
She walks off to the left again., Why she does that, she doesn't know and how to get out of here is still a mystery. But at least she is out of the room, at least she has escaped easily. Now, the more she thinks about it, she is afraid there might be a reason why she could escape so easily. Not finding a reason as to why they would want her to escape so quickly, she shakes the thought away.
Hermione girl of principles, or at least, she has been raised that way. She needs to get back to her friends because they need her. If she is honest - and a bit selfish - she needs them. They are all she has left. Hermione has one big fear: being alone. She doesn't know why or how, but knows she needs Ron.
But a voice deep inside herself tells her something she has always known. Even with her friends and with Ron, she still feels alone.
Rounding a corner, she comes to a sudden halt. Gone is the grass and the nothingness. Now there are well-kept flowers, bushes, trees and gravel. This is a part of the garden where the residences would wander on a nice day like this.
Hermione still doesn't see anyone but she doesn't take her changes and walked a few steps backwards, planning to go past the other side of the house. Turning around, she almost runs into the chest of a man that is close behind her. She gasps and walks a few steps back, hitting the brick wall behind her.