Hermione knew that she was in deep trouble. She could see it in Marc's eyes and feel it in the tension surrounding the two of them. As soon as they got in the car, he turned to her.
"Look at me," he told her. When she kept her head bowed, he backhanded her across the face. Hermione could feel the tears begin to well up. What had she ever done to deserve this?
You ran away, whispered a little voice in her head. You were a coward. This is more than fair.
"Look at me!" Marcus snarled. She finally looked up at him.
"What?" she asked quietly. For that, she got another blow to the face.
"Don't be insolent," he growled. "How did you do it?"
"How did I do what?" Hermione was weary of all of this.
"How did you contact Malfoy?" Marcus shouted. "He just happened to be at the bar last night. He just happened to be at the grocery store this morning. Is he going to just happen to be at our home when we get there?"
Hermione was getting angrier and angrier. She was tired of being a coward. It had gotten her nowhere. It was time to stand up for something for once.
"No, Marcus," she snapped. "I did not contact Malfoy. If you had half the brain that a cave troll did, you would remember that you took away my wand. You snapped it right in front of me! It's broken, remember? So how would I contact him? Besides, I'm by your side practically 24/7!"
"That's enough, Mudblood," Marcus warned her.
"Yes, Marcus, that is enough, but not from me, from you. I don't care if the wizarding world knows that I'm alive. I'm leaving you. I'm do-"
"Crucio!"
Hermione felt pain like never before. She writhed in her seat, trying to escape the pain but knowing that it would be in vain.
"Are you quite done, Mudblood?" Marcus asked casually. Hermione gagged as a wave of nausea flooded over her. She shook her head. She was done resisting. Marcus sighed.
"Very well, then. Crucio!"
The pain shot through Hermione's body again, more intense than the first time. She couldn't bear it. She couldn't. She knew what she had to do.
"Are you quite done with your childish games, you Mudblood bitch?" Marcus was acting as if he was quite bored by all of this. Hermione, with tears streaming down her face, nodded, yielding to Marcus, vowing that it would be the last time that he ever hurt her.