Chapter 14: Pansy's Betrayal
If one year ago someone said to Hermione Granger that she would be working with Pansy Parkinson to achieve a mutual goal, she would have said they were lying. Yet here she was, outside a muggle factory in Yorkshire working with Pansy Parkinson.
Just like in hogsmeade village it had been snowing heavily, and with it now being night time the snow had turned to ice, and a cold winters wind was blowing past them. The cold chill of the night's air cut into Hermione's skin and she shivered from a mixture of cold and fear.
Both Hermione and Pansy approached the factory fence and took a moment to think about what to do next.
To the Muggle's it was an abandoned factory. A symbol of the hard economic times they were living in. Yet in reality, it had only been bewitched to look that way, it wasn't abandoned at all. Inside were thirty Death Eaters, working hard to meet a deadline. They had suffered delays and setbacks ever since they had started production of the forever lasting love potion. Yet despite all they're setbacks and delays they were about to finish on time. Which was good for them, they didn't want the Dark Lords wrath coming down on them because they hadn't finished on time.
Hermione thought to herself; in all those nights in which Pansy had been waiting for her to arrive at the house, why hadn't she come up with some kind of plan? Surely after weeks of waiting, Pansy must have thought about what she would do if Hermione hadn't shown up. Or maybe Pansy simply hadn't thought about it. Maybe she had been counting on Hermione and nothing more. Hermione sighed at that thought; the fact that they didn't have a plan was a real disadvantage.
Another cold winters wind blew past them; it was as though the winter weather was reminding them they were facing the greatest challenge of their lives.
"We can't do this" said Hermione, "We need help. We can't take on all those Death Eaters by ourselves".
"There is no time" said Pansy, "By the time we explain the situation and get someone here the Death Eaters will have finished".
"Pansy, we have no plan and no way of stopping this. We need to get the Aurors" said Hermione.
"Who said we have no plan?" replied Pansy.
"You did, when you said there is no time to come up with a plan."
"I said Weee! Don't have time to devise a plan. I have been working on one for the better part of a month now."
"Really!" said Hermione with a mixture of annoyance and frustration, "care to fill me in on this plan?"
Pansy looked amused. The fact that she was the one in charge of this mission and that Hermione was her subordinate was a blissful feeling to her.
"The entire factory ground has been enchanted with an apparation alarm charm" said Pansy. "Any unauthorised person who tries to apparate in and the alarm goes off."
"Great" said Hermione annoyed. "So how are we going to get in?"
"You mean how are you, going to get in" said Pansy. "I can apparate straight into the manager's office."
"Ok, how am I going to get in?" asked Hermione grinding her teeth.
"You're going to walk right through the front door" said Pansy grinning.
"WHAT!" said Hermione mortified; she was now convinced that Pansy was trying to kill her. Walking straight into that factory in plain view of thirty Death Eaters would undoubtedly be suicide. "Are you trying to get me killed?"
"Calm down mudblood" snarled Pansy. "Do you want the Death Eater's inside to hear?"
Hermione bit her lip, although the chances of the Death Eater's hearing them where at best small, she didn't want to chance it.
"Now listen" said Pansy "walking into the front door is the only way of entering without setting off the alarm."
Hermione listened as Pansy explained her plan to destroy the forever lasting love potion. When she was finished Hermione knew what she had to do.
Pansy had now apparated inside her office. She had to maintain the illusion that she had not left the factory. Luckily she had done this many times and was pretty good at preforming this ruse. The workers had not noticed anything, they had simply assumed that she would just lock herself in her office and not come out. When in reality, she had sneaked off to wait for Hermione to show up at her house. The only times in which Pansy was there, was when everyone else wasn't. When the Death Eaters were done for the day, Pansy would sneak in and sabotage the equipment. This was the reason they had suffered delays and setbacks.
Pansy took a moment before coming out of her office. Although the Death Eaters were so busy with their work they wouldn't have noticed her, she felt like they would have seen that something was up, if she didn't compose herself.
Pansy's office was on a upper balcony level from the factory floor, so when she came out she could see all over the factory.
On the factory floor there were ten giant melting pots being used as giant cauldrons to brew the potion. A single Death Eater would gently stir the potion, while another Death Eater beside him would bottle it up and place it on to a moving conveyor belt. The other ten Death Eaters where at the end of the Conveyor belt and were packing the filled bottles in to cardboard boxes and placing them on to a truck.
Pansy watched as the Death Eaters worked, they looked truly exhausted.
Pansy had to admit to herself, she liked the feeling of looking down on others as they worked. It was something Pansy enjoyed, and would miss once this job was over.
Pansy then took her wand and pointed it at her throat, she began to speak and her voice boomed and echoed throughout the factory.
"Can I have your attention please?"
The whole factory went silent, and every Death Eater there stopped what they were doing, and looked up to see what Pansy had to say. They were tired from all the work they had to do, and where grateful for the opportunity to stop even for a moment. Yet it was clear they had no love for their boss, Pansy. The fact that a child was in charge of them was insulting. And what was worst, She never did any work. She just sat in her office the entire time.
"Now, I know that it has not been easy working in these conditions. That is why on behalf of the Dark Lord I want to thank you all for your hard work and dedication."
The Death Eaters listened as Pansy gave a long and moving speech on how their work would soon push the balance of power in the hands of purebloods.
While all of this was going on, no one noticed as Hermione Granger walked straight in through the front door. Phase one of Pansy's plan had worked. Her speech of gratitude had been the perfect distraction; the Death Eaters were hanging on her every word. Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. And within one swift movement, threw it onto the ground, and the entire factory went black. No one could see their hand in front of their face. The only person who could was Hermione, who was wearing retro specs specially modified to see through darkness powder.
Hermione had to admit it, Pansy had thought this through, and so far her plan was working. She had provided Hermione with the darkness powder and the retro specs just before she had apparated in.
The Death Eaters. Confused and angry quickly drew their wands and aimed in every direction. But without the ability to see they could not risk firing off any curses.
"Who's there!" shouted one of the Death Eaters.
No one answered and there was a long silence, the darkness remained.
"Reducto!" shouted a young female voice, and the sound of smashing bottles followed. The Death Eaters quickly shot multiple curses at where Hermione's voice had come from, but it was too late, Hermione had already moved out of the way.
Using the darkness and confusion of the Death Eaters, Hermione maneuvered her way through the factory floor, destroying all the potion bottles and equipment used in the mass production. The Death Eater still could not see her, but that didn't stop them from trying to hit her with a curse every time she cast Reductor. Luckily the all missed her, and several of them hit fellow Death Eaters, knocking them unconscious.
By the time Hermione was done destroying everything, the darkness powder was starting to clear, and only seven Death Eaters were left standing. But that was seven Death Eaters too many. Hermione now had to take cover behind a tipped over melting pot to avoid the ongoing killing curses heading her way. The curses hit the giant pot like bullets. Hermione knew she couldn't stay there. She looked around to see if there was anywhere else she could run to, but there wasn't. The area was totally exposed. Any attempt to get away would result in being hit buy a curse. She tried to apparate out of there, but she couldn't. The factory must have had an anti disapparation charm for unauthorized people as well.
The Death Eaters were now closing in on her. Hermione figured if this was to be her end, so be it. At least she had finished what she had came to do, which was to destroy the forever lasting love potion.
Deciding that she would not die without a fight, Hermione came out from behind the giant melting pot and drew her wand ready to take out as many Death Eaters as she could.
"stupefy! stupefy! stupefy! stupefy! stupefy! stupefy! stupefy! " shouted a voice from above, and seven jets of red light came down like lightning, hitting each of the Death Eaters and stunning them.
Hermione looked up. Pansy had stunned those Death Eaters. She looked shocked, like she couldn't believe what she had done. Hermione couldn't believe it ether; there was no reason for Pansy to help her now. Not now that the potion had been destroyed. So why had Pansy done that?
Pansy who still looked like she was in shock simply turned around and went back into her office.
Hermione was deeply puzzled by this behaviour. She decided against her better judgement to ask Pansy why she had helped her. So she quickly ran up the stairs and opened the door to Pansy's office.
What she saw only raised further questions.
Pansy was standing next to an opened safe and holding a bottle of what Hermione assumed was the forever lasting love potion.
Pansy had been keeping one bottle safe. It seem that even after everything that had happened, Pansy still planned on using this potion to get her parents back together. Hermione couldn't say she was surprised by this, but she had hoped that Pansy would have decided against it.
"Walk away Granger" said Pansy, as she held on tight to the bottle.
"Pansy, I can't let you use that." said Hermione, as she took a step closer. Her tone was that of someone talking to a friend, which was very unusual for someone in Hermione's situation. Perhaps she was just grateful that Pansy had just saved her life, or maybe she had finally found some goodness in Pansy. She didn't know.
"I said, walk away Granger." said Pansy.
"Look, how do you think you're going to get away with this?" said Hermione. "Your mother has no interest in getting your dad back. So there's no point".
"That's why I'm going to use it on both my mum and dad" said Pansy. "and there will still be enough for your parents as well, if you want?".
Pansy held the bottle out, as though to tempt Hermione with the idea of getting her parents back together as well.
Hermione had to admit it, she was tempted by the idea. But no. It was wrong to take away a person's free will. Not only that, if the Death Eaters even learned that her Mum and dad had taken the forever lasting love potion, they would be captured and experimented on in an effort to recreate the potion.
"Pansy, we have to destroy that potion."
"And we have. All that is left is in this bottle, and once it's gone its gone."
"Pansy, this isn't right. Taking away someone's free will isn't right. You yourself know this to be true. Otherwise you wouldn't have done all of this."
"I'm not taking anyone's free will away. I'm simply getting my parents back."
"Pansy if you use that potion you're taking away your parents free will. They chose not to be together. And so did mine."
There was a long silence between the two of them.
Pansy stared at the potion for a moment, and Hermione wondered if she was getting through to her.
Pansy then took a breath and said "How can you lecture me, about taking away someone's free will, when you were perfectly willing to create a potion just like this."
Hermione felt ashamed.
Pansy was right, Hermione had agreed to invent a potion just like the one they had come to destroy.
It wouldn't have worked, but still, Hermione had tried, and if successful she would have been responsible for taking away someone's free will.
"Yes, but I changed my mind and did the right thing." said Hermione.
"And don't forget what happened then." said Pansy.
Hermione hadn't forgotten the savage beating that Pansy had given her after she had destroyed her own potion. But she was not going to let the threat of violence stop her.
"Pansy, if Voldemort learns that you gave both your parents the potion, he will likely use them and torture them to create more. And I know you don't want that."
Pansy continued to stare at the potion. Hermione's words had cut deep into her, because she knew she spoke the truth.
Hermione knew she was getting through to Pansy now. She decided to push the matter.
"Also, what about yourself? When the ministry learns that you used this potion, they'll send you to Azkaban, and you'll lose your parents anyway."
There was a long pause before Pansy said anything.
"The Ministry will send me to Azkaban anyway."
"What?" said Hermione.
"I'm a Death Eater. Remember!?" said Pansy unable to contain her anger. "No matter what I do, the ministry will send me to Azkaban.
"That's not true. Once we explain what happened here, you'll be cleared of any wrong doing."
Even if the Ministry lets me go, the Dark Lord will know of my betrayal. I can't go back. My only place is with the Death Eaters now."
"If you stay with the Death Eaters they will know of your betrayal anyway. I mean what do you think will happen when Voldermort hears of this?"
"They don't know I was in on it. I'm safe."
"But you stunned seven Death Eaters. What happens when they talk?"
"They don't know it was me who stunned them. For all they know, there was someone else with you."
Hermione knew she wasn't going to talk Pansy out of this. Pansy was not going to come back to Hogwarts, her life there was over. Pansy would now become a fugitive.
"Alright Pansy you win. I'll leave." said Hermione.
"Very good." said Pansy.
Hermione made her way out of the door, as she was about to leave, she turned around to face Pansy one last time.
"Oh, before I go. Just one more thing."
Hermione quickly held up her wand and shouted. "Stupefy!"
Pansy flu across the room and the bottle of forever lasting love potion smashed to the ground.
Hermione then ran as fast as she could, down the stairs, across the factory floor and out of the factory. All before Pansy could get back on her feet.
Once outside the factory grounds Hermione Disappareted out of there.