A/N: Sooo…I've never written this much in a short amount of time in my life!! I really want to progress as a creative writer though, so I'm going against my parents' judgment. I aim to attend college for a form of literature, but my parents want me to pursue engineering…eh…
Thanks for bearing with me, I adore Harmony fics but for some reason my mind wants to put Dramione on paper…err…computer! I promise that if Draco does go after Hermione, it won't be what her heart truly wants. Harry's too much of a sweetheart to be put on the sidelines :)
I want to thank my new reviewers Serenity Loves Sirius and Harmony101! Thanks for bearing with me on my changing plot and such. I forgot that I was going to add more characters, so I will do that soon :)
CHAPTER THREE
A woman lay unmoving on the ground, the ghostly white of her skin reflecting that which shouldn't come to be so early in life. Her body bore great signs of struggle. Bruising done to the wrists where they were bent in an inhumanely fashion lay next to her broken body. The window overhead was shattered and blood dripped ominously from the broken shards escaping from their wooden prison.
The Minister kneeled next to the girl, laying his gentle hands on her cheeks in respect, muttering a prayer on her behalf. A moment later he stood from the spot, turning a cold withdrawn face towards a chained woman, whose limp red hair hung in her eyes, covering the guilt she felt over a crime which she did not commit.
Harry set Hermione down onto the soft ground wordlessly, both knowing without a doubt who the chained woman was.
Hermione gathered all of her courage, taking a small step towards the woman who was laid on an uneven sheet of broken glass. She stopped her progression when she heard a deep drawl come from the Minister's throat, echoing soundlessly throughout the surrounding trees as he turned to point a blaming finger at her.
"You newcomers, you will all face hanging for the terrible crime you have committed! WITCHERY! Do not fear. If you are truly innocent then you will pass trial without harm, as you are watched by the all-knowing eyes of God!" He strode towards her, grabbing her gently by the arm of her dress and guiding her frozen figure slowly towards the chained woman.
Harry followed silently as he thought of what he had done earlier to that group of women in the forest. He thought of Hermione's sobbing form as it rested against him, running his hands through her head of large soft curls as he comforted her.
He couldn't believe how foolish he had been, pulling his wand out on unsuspecting Muggles. He should have listened to Hermione's wise advice, instead of focusing on protecting her from outside threats.
They began to chain Hermione next to the woman, causing all plausible thought processes to vanish quickly from his mind, replaced by heated anger that coursed through his body in tumultuous waves.
"You will take your hands off her…now…" Harry heard a voice unlike his own rip from his vocal chords; menacing and dangerous.
"I must chain the woman! The court will not have it any other way!" The Minister chided as he motioned for the large man before him to continue.
"You will not chain her!" Harry yelled very unlike his normal self; throwing himself at the Minister. He felt his fist make contact with the man's jaw, feeling it splinter under the force.
The Minister fell to the ground in a heap, pleading to God as he writhed in pain; holding his jaw. What happened next occurred so quickly that Harry was unable to defend himself.
He was thrown roughly to the ground, feeling his bones bend backward in pain as they struggled to keep in their sockets as someone leaned viciously into his back, threatening to break him. He felt his face being rubbed into the dirt as chains were wrapped around his arms in a deathly bind.
His back received whipping, creating long thin slices down his spine that stung so horribly that he believed for some time that one of the many spectators who were watching the scene with silent eyes had set him on fire.
He knew this treatment was nothing compared to the unfaltering Cruciatus curse, which made him relive every aching and painful moment of his life, causing him only to wish for death. Yet this pain felt like death as he watched Hermione cry out for the men to stop, tears streaming down her ashen face.
He felt himself slipping into the all consuming darkness of his mind, letting his head fall limply to the blood stained grass as he felt pain slip from his body.
Hermione woke with a start, her body dripping in sweat, causing her hair to cling uncomfortably to the nape of her neck. She looked at her surroundings, noticing rows of iron bars and cement-like walls, a small pile of hay in the back corner which seemed to emit a horrible stench, and—
"Ginny!" Hermione shrieked, sliding across the floor as it left horrible gashes in her knees, finding that her legs were bound together.
The frail woman on the bench picked herself up from her hunched position, giving Hermione a small smile as she motioned for her to come closer. Hermione obeyed, sure that she was gaining all matter of dirt and such in her knees. She didn't care though; she had a duty to Ginny, as an elder sister.
When she reached the bench she grasped it, pulling herself up onto its unstable legs. She was thoroughly surprised however when Ginny put her arms around her, holding her in an iron-like grip. She was supposed to be the one comforting Ginny, not the opposite. She obeyed though, grasping Ginny with all her might. They then separated, Hermione standing on wobbly legs and hopping towards the bars in front of her.
"He's over there." Ginny said with an all-knowing smile of pure innocence as she elongated a single finger in the direction of Hermione's left. Hermione blushed profusely, trying to hide it with her large mane of hair as she looked pointedly towards her left.
"Oh Harry…" She sighed, watching his sleeping form, chained every possible way to the walls in his cell, his head lying upon his chest as it rose and fell in a steady rhythm with his gentle breathing.
"He's been like that all night. They refuse to remove any chains, even though he pleads insanity." She smiled sheepishly.
"Ginny this is the 1690's…no one will know the meaning of insanity in—" She stopped herself short as she noticed Ginny's smile form into a large grin.
She couldn't help but laugh at her stupidity. Pleading insanity? The people probably thought he was admitting to being mentally unstable.
"Ginny, we have to find a way out of here. If we don't we'll face trial, and if we face trial we may be—" She gulped as her hand went unconsciously to her neck.
"Hanged? Hermione they think I've bewitched the lot of 'em. The woman who died was the tailor." Hermione stared at Ginny in shock, absorbing the information.
"She really did call the Minister…" She whispered to herself. But none of it made any sense. Why would the woman suddenly come back and fall out a window?
"We've been framed Hermione. I don't have the slightest clue who by, but all of this was strangely planned. The woman fell out of our room's window just as I came back from seeing Ron; I was trying to find you. I heard some babbling coming from the other side of the door so I got my wand out and opened it slowly. The window shattered and I ran for it just as I saw a black form jump out of it. People were out having a drink and saw me. They called the Minister and held me prisoner. And then you and Harry showed up."
Hermione then remembered something crucial to their survival during Ginny's monologue.
"What about Ron--?"
"He's here too. I haven't the slightest clue where, but the inn manager made them aware of the fact that we all knew each other. The git…"
"How are we going to get out of here?" Hermione sighed, checking the strength of the bars and realizing with dismay that they were infallible.
"We could just use our wands you know. I was waiting for you to wake before trying. They never took them; I don't even think they saw them." She started to slow down her speech as she watched Hermione shake her head, causing her curls to bounce lightly on her shoulders.
"They would know for sure that we were witches if we suddenly disappeared; from a bar-clad cell no less…We have to stay here. We won't be able to go back to our time if we don't."
Ginny sighed in defeat, rubbing gently at the raw underside of her wrists where the chains lay as she furrowed her brow in thought. Hermione was about to speak when a door down the way opened, lighting up the gloomy space. She watched with wide eyes as the Minister walked dutifully towards their cell; his head held high and a haughty look on his contempt face. He stopped just before Hermione, giving her a look of pure disgust as he checked over her sliced knees that were bleeding onto the cell floor and her hair in a large knot upon her head.
"Well, we will be aware if you are witches or not when you are brought to court." He started, which caused Ginny to stand forlornly, taking small graceful steps towards him.
"If I am a witch as you say, wouldn't I already be out of these shackles and on my way?" Ginny said, like the perfect symbol of Lucifer, the fallen angel, in the Minister's eyes.
"It is a confession…" He whispered in fear as he backed away from the cell.
"No you must understand—" Hermione gave Ginny a cross look, but was cut off by the Minister's yowling.
"It is a confession!! Alert the court!!" He yelled as he ran towards the exit.
Later after Ginny had gotten a thorough lecture on the fact that people were manipulative bastards—which she already knew well—the two sat in the cell in silence. Hermione was sitting on the floor, leaning her back against the granite wall as she flipped a small coin into the air; Ginny meanwhile was lying spread-eagle on the bench, counting the number of small insects and spiders on the ceiling.
"One hundred twenty-two…" Ginny sighed, sitting up to stretch, but yelped in pain as the chains surrounding her wrists pulled at her flesh.
"One hundred and twenty-two what?" Hermione asked in a bored fashion, attempting to spin the coin on the uneven floor.
"Insects on the ceiling." Ginny answered nonchalantly as she ran a hand through her hair, causing the other to come slamming into her face because of the chains connecting them when Hermione started screaming.
Harry sat up so suddenly that the chains around his neck pulled on his trachea, almost suffocating him. He looked around hurriedly as the screaming continued. He heard a frantic muffled voice from nearby.
"Hermione! Calm down! It's just a few bugs!" He recognized the voice as Ginny's as he struggled at his many restraints, realizing in horror that the woman screaming was Hermione.
"But Ginny! ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO!" She squealed.
"Well actually about 20 were only half of a bug so…"
"HALF! Aughhh…I think I'm going to be—"
Harry heard a gagging and then a splash from his right. He crooked his head and saw Hermione doubled over, holding her stomach as she heaved.
"Oh Hermione…" Ginny sighed as she grabbed her by the shoulders, guiding her towards the bars of Harry's cell next door.
"HEY! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!?" Ginny bellowed; Harry's ear drums almost breaking because of their proximity.
The large man who had pummeled Harry to the ground the night before approached them, unlocking the girls' cell and guiding them out of the damp dungeons without another word.
Harry was about to yell out when three men of about the same large size as the previous unlocked his cell and unchained the restraints from the walls. They seemed afraid to touch him, until one grabbed a chain and pulled him out into the sunlight.
Hermione held her uneasy stomach as they were lead to a small house nearby. They were unchained and thrown in, not slamming the door until Harry was inside with them.
Hermione jumped at Harry, throwing her arms around his neck as all her worries disappeared for a moment.
He held her close to him, never wanting to let go. He heard someone clear their throat and he broke away, turning to the noise.
Draco stood before them, in sparkling emerald and silver wares, causing Ginny to giggle.
"Apparently I have family here." Draco sniffed, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
"You lot smell worse than Snape during one of his shampoo protesting months." Ron waved his hand in front of his face in mock horror as he strode into the room.
Hermione laughed, giving him a quick hug which he returned. She turned around and saw Draco, who was giving her a pouty face.
"You're all over Potter and then you hug Weasley, and this is the thanks I get for getting you out of that dump?"
"Why don't you hug Ginny? I'm sure she would love to thank you." Hermione snickered as they both turned a bright red.
"Well I do need a bath. This stench is killing me." Hermione gave a look of disgust as she went to look for the bathroom.
"Yeah, it's killing me too. Damn Granger, you smell like puke, blood, and mold." Draco looked Ginny over, becoming sober when he saw her damaged wrists.
"Potter, you take care of Granger. Bathroom's down the hall to the right. I'll take her to the guest one, and Weasley you get to prepare dinner." He said as he held her wrists gently.
"It's alright, I can take care of myself Mal—" He put a finger to her lips, silencing her before he lead her down a separate hallway.
Hermione and Harry left a blanching Ron as they headed towards the bathroom in silence.
A/N: Oooo should I put some fluff? Idk if I'm any good at it .
Hermione and Harry in a bathroom? Taking a bath? TOGETHER?! SCANDALOUSSS!
Should I put Draco and Ginny together? I love their clashing personalities :P
LOVE YOU ALL!!! Reviewww :)
OH NOESS! New characters come with next chappie :)