Chapter 2
Hermione and Malfoy landed in a great hall way. She fell instantly to the ground as she was still bound by magic. When she looked up, she saw that Lucius and Narcissa were also there.
"Well done son. We're so proud of you," said Lucius jeering. "She shall stay in your room," he said gazing down at Hermione in disgust. "I don't want to see anything of that filthy mudblood. Enjoy her." He sneered at Hermione and walked off, with Narcissa following in his wake.
Draco took out his wand, and with a flick of his wand, the ropes around Hermione's legs and ankles vanished. She flexed her ankles to see if they would work.
"Get up," he demanded. She did as he asked and gingerly stood up on her very sore legs. The cruciatus really had a lasting effect. Malfoy grabbed one of her arms and led her. They walked down a large corridor, up some stairs, along another corridor, up another flight of stairs. Hermione knew that her legs wouldn't sustain her weight for much longer. The rounded another corridor when they finally reached a stop.
Malfoy unlocked the door they were stood infront of and gestured for Hermione to go in. Again, she did as he wanted and headed into the dark room. Malfoy turned on the lights from behind her. Once her eyes had accustomed to the light, she was overwhelmed by the room she was standing in. It was full of dark woods, beautiful artwork and tapestries and green coloured walls. At the centre of the room was a large 4 poster bed with emerald drapings. It was stunning.
Malfoy locked the door and turned to Hermione.
"You stink Granger. Go and wash." Malfoy gestured to a door to what she assumed was the bathroom. Hermione made her way over and stepped into yet another extravagant room. The bathroom was mostly made of dark marble. Her eyes were drawn to a very large corner bath tub. She turned the taps on and went to close the door. There was no lock. Great. She walked back over to the bath tub, sucked in her breath and took off her clothes. She found some bubble bath and poured it in.
Once the bath was full enough she turned the taps off and climbed. Her legs and arms were shaking, still feeling the after effects of the curse. The water was far too hot and burned a little, but it was nothing compared to what she experienced earlier. She welcomed this pain as she sunk into the bath. Mechanically she went about washing her body and her hair. She could only find men's shower things, but the sent was relaxing.
Her thoughts turned to what had happened. The reality of it hit her. Tears streamed silently down her face as she thought of Harry and of Ron. How stupid she was. What a dire situation she was in now. Gone was her usually fierce and upbeat spirit.
After a while Hermione realised how cold the water had gotten. She was shivering. She tried to climb out of the bathtub but her muscles refused to cooperate; the mixture of the remnants of the curse and freezing water had stopped her. She tried yet again and failed. She was getting colder and colder, and getting very tired. The realisation that she could die right here, alone in this bathtub hit her. Maybe that wasn't so bad. Maybe it would be better than facing up to what might happen to her. She began to sob hard body shaking sobs.
Hermione began to lose consciousness when she felt a pair of strong muscular arms pull her out of the bath. She was wrapped in a soft warm towel. She was held in a tight, comforting embrace and Malfoy held her close as she fell asleep in his arms.