Chapter 5: punishment

Hermione took Ron and Ginny to a spare classroom. "Okay. I had to do this with Harry and I hope you will understand. You have to give me a Wizard's oath not to tell anyone who my master is."

Ginny nodded instantly and Ron hesitated a second before complying. Hermione quickly told them the necessary things to do and the spell was finished.

Hermione sighed in relief that the two hadn't resisted. "Thank you SO much you guys. If I hadn't done that, I would've been in serious trouble. Even more than now."

Ginny felt sorry for her friend. Hermione had been protecting them and was going to be punished for it. Why did everything have to be so unfair for the girl?

Ginny sighed. There wasn't much she could do about it.

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The weeks flew by and one day an Eagle Owl flew down to Hermione at breakfast. She quickly cleaned up the spilled orange juice and untied the scroll he was carrying. She handed him some bacon and he took off.

This letter is charmed so only you can read it.

Come meet me at six o-clock sharp

Point your wand at this letter at six and say activate.

You- Know-Who

She looked up at the Head Table and saw Snape looking at her in shock. One thing was for sure; He knew who the letter was from.

He gave her a questioning look and she mouthed six.

Hermione turned to her friends and told them she was going to work on a project for History of Magic. They nodded. She looked at Snape and mouthed "Office". They stood and headed out of the great hall.

She ran non-stop to Snape's office taking shortcuts and got there before him. A few minutes later he arrived and he let her in.

As soon as he locked the door she showed her true emotions.

Severus could see she was terrified.

She sunk to the floor. He waited for her to speak.

"I don't know what to do! I'm so scared. I don't even know how mad he can get!" she wailed.

"Will he call everyone like he said he would or will it just be me? I hope he doesn't call everyone," she whispered.

"Oh. What am I going to do?" she asked looking at her Professor.

"First, can you tell me why he has called you? That could give me an idea of how angry he might be." He said

She told him of his visit and what happened there. "I didn't tell him how I knew what it was because I didn't want you to get in trouble."

"I really don't know how angry he might be right now." Snape said.

Hermione whimpered and buried her face in her hands.

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At 5:50 Severus felt his mark burn. His eyes widened and he had an urge to go and warn Hermione. He knew she wouldn't feel it because she was the one who was going to be punished. He left the room and apparated to the Dark Lord's side.

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At 5:57, Hermione picked up the scroll with trembling fingers. She ran out of the castle and passed kids swimming in the lake.

She got out her wand at 6:00 and said "Activate". She landed hard on a stone floor and lost her balance. When she looked up she saw she was in a large room about three times the size of the Gryffindor common room.

She was sitting in a green hoop she saw instantly had been made by magic. When she put the tip of her robes over the edge it burned to a crisp in about 2 seconds. If she tried to get out she would be burned alive!

At least she was safe from others… for now. The room had no windows and it felt strangely like a prison. When she examined the circle she was sitting in she noticed four places where the floor stuck up oddly.

Suddenly the door flew open and chains popped up from the floor and latched onto her wrists and ankles. That was all she needed. He had called everyone.

At first she was confused because only Lucius entered and closed the door. Then he spoke. "Fall over?" He waved his wand and the chains disappeared.

She automatically knelt before him.

"Get up! You will follow me. But first, give me the necklace!" he barked.

She stood up and took off the necklace but didn't give it to him.

"Well?" he asked

She pointed to the ring.

"Ah. You figured out what it did. Were you trying to escape?" He asked sharply.

She shook her head. "I'd never seen magic like it and wanted to know what it was." She held up the tip of her robe.

He waved his wand and the circle disappeared. As soon as it disappeared she handed him the locket. "Follow me. I hope you remember what I said to you." He said wickedly. Hermione gulped and paled.

She followed him out of the building and into a tunnel. When they reached a door he opened it and stepped into a cave. She followed behind him.

What she saw terrified her more than anything. There were at least 60 Death Eaters standing there with their wands pointed at her. She couldn't see anyone's faces but one Death Eater's wand looked slack. She knew that was Snape. She stared right at him terror etched all over her face.

She looked over to Lucius. He smirked at her.

'You said you would do anything if I didn't harm your little friends didn't you?' He said evilly.

'I was honest with you! You asked me why I acted the way I did and I answered you truthfully. I tried really hard to please you but not because you were my master. It was because I liked you! You protected me. You seemed to care for me! I almost thought of you as a god father! But I guess I shouldn't think of you like that. After all you are my Master.' She said sadly

'Yes I am! And I don't think I ever wanted a daughter!' he said cruelly.

Severus knew that Hermione was talking to Lucius by her destroyed expression. Lucius looked plain shocked. Then the look was gone and his face hardened. He seemed to say something to her and she looked away. The poor girl looked like she was going to cry!

The look was gone in seconds replaced by a determined expression. "Can I use my wand?" she asked.

Lucius sneered and nodded.

She whipped out her wand and closed her eyes. Without warning they opened and her wand moved. Everyone was on the floor in seconds except for Lucius and Snape.

She started hexing the people coming to their senses.

She stunned a couple of people, blasted a couple of people, set some on fire, and did body binds and the bat-boogie hex.

Soon there were only two people standing unharmed. Severus & the Dark Lord.

Bellatrix finally managed to sneak up on her when she was trying to calm down.

"Iaculo!" she screamed. Suddenly Hermione was hurtling across the cave at a dizzying speed, mind racing, wondering what was best to do, until her body landed with a sickening crunch against the opposite wall. Bellatrix cackled wildly, gleefully, the sound bouncing off the walls as Hermione had done only moments before.

Bellatrix walked over to her. "Did the poor ickle mudblood fall? Well let's help her up then. Legereo" she yelled.

Hermione was raised into the air spinning uncontrollably going so fast she couldn't tell who was who. She felt Bella raise her higher and as soon as she started falling Hermione conjured a trampoline under her. She hopped to her feet and stunned Bella.

She turned to see every other Death Eater conscious and healed. She recoiled in fear and felt like giving up. They were all pointing their wands at her and had murderous looks in their eyes. The bad thing was she no longer had the energy to fight.

She thought about Harry wanting him to be her last thought before she was engulfed in pain. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain. She waited for 4 seconds but no pain came.

She opened her eyes wondering what was happening and saw everyone backed away from her. She realized they thought she was going to attack! She wanted to but had no strength left.

"I'm not going to attack if that's what you think. But before you hex me into jelly tell me one thing. Why? Why is it you enjoy seeing people in pain? I never enjoy it when I have to hurt you. Just think about it." She said softly.

Suddenly she turned towards Lucius. "AND YOU! I THOUGHT OF YOU ALMOST LIKE A GOD FATHER AND INSTEAD YOU SHOVE IT IN MY FACE! YOU TRIED KILLING SOMEONE WHO WAS LIKE A BROTHER TO ME! THEN ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS RISKS HIS LIFE TO SAVE HIM. YOU DON'T CARE. YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE. YOU DIDN'T EVEN CARE ABOUT ME. YOU JUST PROTECTED ME SO YOU COULD USE ME TO DO YOUR DIRTY WORK! I COULD'VE HEXED YOU. YOU WERE AS SURPRISED AS THEM! BUT I DIDN'T AND NOW I WISH I DID." She screamed at him.

She slid down the wall and buried her face in her hands waiting for the pain. She felt someone touch her shoulder and she looked up. She wasn't surprised to see Snape there next to her.

Bella finally woke up and jumped to her feet. "Aww! What a sweet sight! Too bad I have to destroy it!" she cackled madly. Snape scrambled away. He didn't want to leave her but an angry Bella was not something he wanted to deal with.

Bella's words seemed to jar everyone awake. "Go on then! Do it already!" Hermione screamed at her.

Bella was taken by surprise wondering if it was a trap. It hadn't been but it was then. She shot five spells at Bella at once. The conjunctivitis, Reducto, impedimenta, Lanlock, and finally she blasted Bella into a brick wall. Everyone stared at her in shock. She stared back at them and then looked at the floor guiltily, "Oops" she muttered.

Just then Hermione felt the floor drop from under her and pains fill every joint in her body. It felt worse than when Bella had done it before. She screamed and writhed in pain. Severus looked around to see who was doing it. His eyes widened when he realized one person was the Dark Lord.

When it finally stopped she realized Lucius had snapped when she attacked Bella.

Bella and Lucius were standing over her their wands pointed at her. "Hurts doesn't it pet?" Bella asked with a grin on her face. "All you have to do is ask and I'll stop." She said with the same cat-like grin on her face.

Hermione seemed to consider the offer but asking Bellatrix 'Please' was not an option to her.

She murmured something indistinct. "What was that, ickle Mudblood?" Bellatrix leaned closer. "I said: Go. To. Hell," she enunciated coolly.

Bella let out a shriek and flicked her wand. Bella hurled her into the air and dropped her viciously. Lucius and Bella walked over to her. Not to be discouraged she put on an act of giving up. They totally bought it.

Maybe I should be an actress. Hermione thought

Hermione flicked her wand so fast no one saw it coming. Bella and Lucius flew back a good thirty feet and Hermione stunned them both.

"I have to get out of here!" she said looking at Severus. "Will you take me back?" she asked him.

He looked at the Dark Lord and nodded. They vanished with a pop.

Severus conjured a stretcher to move faster and ran to the castle. He took her to Dumbledore and left.

After a few minutes Hermione felt a surge of power and she whimpered.

'Hello! Nice to talk to you again! Just so you know ever since you left your darling Severus has been in pain! And to think you are the cause to his pain! Come back NOW and I will stop. AND COME ALONE!' he yelled.

'That means without your wand!' he laughed cruelly.

As soon as Dumbledore left his office Hermione ran out of the castle as fast as she could. His words had given her new strength. She apparated back to the cave and heard screams. One thought was in her mind. Snape. She ran through the tunnel and opened the door. The screaming stopped instantly. "Well, well it seems she couldn't resist it." Bella said cruelly

"Leave him alone," Hermione spat.

"What if I tell you no?"

"Abicio!" Hermione said furiously thrusting her arms forward.

Bella toppled over and hit the ground.

"It isn't very nice to push you know." She said raising her wand at her. Hermione was so glad she had decided to steal some Felix Felicis potion to make her lucky.

She knew exactly what to say, what to do and which way to dodge.

Lucius was amazed at this girl's talent. Even without a wand she was good. She didn't have a mark on her in a half hour!

Maybe I should give this girl a second chance.

Finally Lucius made Bella stop.

"Come with me," Lucius said with a hint of amazement in his voice.

She followed him back to the room with the green ring.

Halfway there the potion told her to duck and she did.

Lucius looked at her amazed and she just gave him a venomous glare. "What was that for?" she spat.

"To test you." He said simply and kept walking.

When they got there he shut the door and sealed it. He gave her the locket and told her to put it on.

She did knowing right then that he was letting her join again. "Answer me this. How did you know I was going to send a spell at you?"

She hesitated. His eyes flashed dangerously and she laughed. "You can't touch me if you wanted to!" she said.

"I can through your thoughts." He said menacingly.

"Oh! Fine!" she pouted.

"I took a potion." She said.

"What potion?" he asked.

"Not telling!" she sang.

'What potion?' he asked again

Hermione knew he was close to hurting her so she blurted it out.

'Felix Felicis' she said.

"So you cheated?" he asked.

"I was afraid," she said quietly. "I can't do very much magic without a wand and my reflexes suck." She admitted.

"Well that's fine with me." He said. Suddenly Felix gave her a nudge and she realized Snape was in trouble.

"I think your Death Eaters are fighting again My Lord," she said even though it was only Snape.

They ran through the tunnel and opened the door to see Snape on the floor and Bella above him.

He shot Hermione a violent look realizing what she had done.

She dropped her gaze to the floor.

He broke up the fight anyway.

"Severus you may go with Hermione now."

They left with a pop.