The day had finally come to return to Diagon Alley with the Weasley family along with Harry Potter to do their annual school shopping. Things had changed since Hermione's last trip to Diagon Alley. She could tell from the beginning. Ever since she had arrived Mrs. Weasley had been on edge, especially with all the hands of the family clock pointing at "mortal peril" no matter where they may be. Hermione had felt fairly safe during her stay at the Weasley household due to the random visits from Aurors which seemed to occur every day. It had been some time since her encounter with Bellatrix Lestrange, and the pain and fear had seemed to fade. She spent less time thinking about it and more time thinking about the year that was ahead of her. She was deemed a prefect, along with Ron, and Harry was the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. A great, adventurous year was ahead of her and although they were in the beginning of extremely dark times, the young witch seemed extremely optimistic and dreamy. She was going to be at Hogwarts soon. She would be under the protection of Dumbledore, a man she respected and trusted entirely along with extremely talented Aurors. What happened that past summer was what it was and Hermione believed that she was finally ready to move on. She was sure that her work was going to keep her busy, and she could always expect the unexpected with two best friends like Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

"Hermione, dear!" The sudden break of silence startled her. It was Mrs. Weasley. "Come on now, the Ministry car has arrived!" Hermione darted downstairs and out the door with Mrs. Weasley hot on her tail to the car the Ministry had provided specifically for the protection of her best friend. Their car stopped outside of the Leaky Cauldron where they learned that they were to be escorted during their shopping by their good friend, Hagrid. Throughout all the hubbub and the Ministry Officials and the cold shoulders, all three friends found it fantastic that they were able to spend a few hours with the big teddy bear, ensuring their safety.

They entered Diagon Alley and immediately a chill ran down Hermione's spine. The once cheerful place had turned into a dark, dismal reminder of what was going on around them. Diagon Alley was bare. The store-fronts were covered with Ministry posters and photographs of well-known Death Eaters were scattered on the windows throughout. A black blur caught Hermione's eye and she jerked her head to the left to stare a wildly laughing, black-and-white photograph of Bellatrix Lestrange just five feet from her. Instinctively she grabbed the hand of the person next to her and squeezed it tightly. She soon felt a nudge in her arm and turned her head to see Harry with a confused look on his face.

"You alright, Hermione?" he asked with a concerned tone.

Hermione laughed and released his hand which she had just noticed she'd been holding. "Oh, yeah. It's a bit strange being here and it looking like this, isn't it? It's so quiet... it's so... eerie."

"Yeah, I guess," he replied with a shrug, not thinking too deeply into it. "C'mon, we're going to Madam Malkin's for some new dress robes."

Hermione emerged from Madam Malkin's rather disturbed. She had encountered yet another reminder of the nightmare encounter: Draco and Narcissa Malfoy. She had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach and was shaken to the core. She seemed to be following her everywhere now that she left the safety of the Burrow. The young witch began second guessing all the good feelings she had about the year ahead of her just a few hours before. She was hoping that it was all just a coincidence and that this bad feeling was going to soon be proved foolish. However, Hermione's feelings usually never proved to be foolish and she was almost positive that this situation wasn't any different.

They were soon reunited with the Weasley family and continued with their shopping activities. Hermione was silent in the shops and stayed mostly to herself, eager to finish and return to the Burrow where she was sheltered and safe. But once they were finished they still had one more stop to make – Fred and George's new joke shop. Hermione was hoping that they had what she needed to cheer up a bit and get her mind off of all the heavy things that kept weighing her down. Not even her new book, Advanced Rune Translation, could make a smile creep across those lips.

It was bright. It was a bit offensive, especially to Mrs. Weasley, but it was extremely attractive and happy-looking and Hermione liked it. Inside of the shop there was what the entirety of Diagon Alley used to be filled with: laughter, much talking, and so much color it would light up the dark. Immediately the clan dispersed and Harry was rushed by Fred and George, leaving Hermione and Ginny to mosey around and look at the contraptions that Fred and George had managed to whip up. It was all very impressive, especially for two boys who hadn't finished their education.

Hermione and Ginny had been wandering around for quite a bit before Harry came up with Ron and grabbed her arm.

"I just saw Malfoy, without his mother, disappearing into Knockturn Alley. He's definitely up to something." She looked down to see him pulling his invisibility cloak out. "We have to go follow him."

She stood there for a moment looking at him before breaking out into a hearty laugh that she needed. "Are you serious, Harry? I'm not going with you! You're always looking for trouble. Haven't you realize that trouble needs no help finding you?! We're going to be leaving soon, anyway. Just let Malfoy go. Isn't he always up to something?"

Ron scoffed. "Leave it up to Little Miss Rules to go and ruin everything."

She gaped at the red headed boy. "Oh yes, that's right. There I go again ruining everything! Well you two can go off on your adventure to Knockturn Alley to look for trouble and spy on Malfoy but I'm going to be staying right here. Have fun finding your own way back to the Burrow!" A defensive and somewhat vicious laugh erupted. "I'm sure there are a few flying cars laying around for your very own disposal!" With that, she turned her back and continued furiously looking at the colorful contraptions.

The truth was... Knockturn Alley was nothing but trouble. So many signs were telling Hermione that her personal torturer was just around the corner. She couldn't bring herself to go just to spy on Malfoy because of a hunch that Harry had. She had to take into consideration that Harry and Ron both had personal vendettas out against Malfoy. Nothing concerning him could be logical, could it!? His father is a death eater and he is a Slytherin trying his hardest to fulfill his fathers expectations... isn't it normal for somebody like him to be wandering on into Knockturn Alley?

But then again, if anything ever happened to them Hermione would never forgive herself. She had always considered those foolish boys to be under her logical protection. She had to go. She had to put her fears behind her and go, just to make sure they were safe. She would watch them from a distance and make sure everything was alright before turning around and immediately heading back to the shop. That's exactly what she would do.

Hermione anxiously peered out of the store-front windows. Looking around for a moment, she spotted Hagrid off to the side in a rather animated conversation with someone she had never seen before. After watching for a moment, she felt safe sneaking past him without the normal protection of Harry's invisibility cloak. Hermione left the shop, closing the door slowly behind her and watching to make sure that nobody saw her. Tip toeing past Hagrid proved to be very easy, but Hermione could have sworn that she saw Hagrid catch her out of the corner of his eye... but that was no matter to deal with now. Far enough away to feel safe, she quickened her pace and turned the corner to enter into Knockturn Alley.

Looking around, it seemed just as bare as everywhere else. She had no idea where Malfoy had led Harry and Ron, but she began looking around anyway in hopes that they would see her and she would find that they were alright. She took a deep breath and began walking further, feeling a bit nervous due to her location. As another wave of frightened emotions washed over her, she quickened her pace but stopped after a moment. She had an eerie feeling. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She didn't want to be here anymore. Harry and Ron would be fine by themselves, they were big boys and knew how to take care of themselves if they needed to.

Hermione turned around to return to Fred and George's shop, but her pathway was now blocked by a cloaked figure. She gasped and took a step back, covering her mouth in surprise. Every inch of her body wanted to run away immediately. She had never felt this much panic in her life. There was only one person who could be standing in front of her like that. She remembered having these feelings one other time and had foolishly convinced herself that she would never have to go through it again. It wasn't all over, and she knew that now, and she was bloody sorry that she had put herself, alone, in a dangerous situation at the silly sake of Harry and Ron's hunches.

"No, no," she said, shaking her head, not believing that this was happening again. Why couldn't she had stayed in the joke shop, why didn't she just go and tell Hagrid that they had went to Knockturn Alley if she was so worried instead of going herself?! She began slowly backing away, taking short, panicked steps. Hermione could tell that, even though her face was covered in darkness, she was grinning.

"What are you doing here? What do you want from me, Bellatrix?" Her voice was shaky and had no control. As she spoke, it got incrementally louder.

"Shh!" Bellatrix hissed and rushed toward Hermione. She covered Hermione's mouth with one hand and pushed her into a dark doorway. Hermione's head hit the door behind her with a loud thud. She bit down hard on the fingers that Bellatrix had shoved on top of her lips and she removed her hand with a gasp. Bellatrix quickly grabbed the wand that was securely tucked into her cloak and pushed the tip into Hermione's neck.

"I know you have some sort of role in this, Bellatrix," Hermione whispered despite Bellatrix's silent death threat. "Tell me where Draco is going." This sudden burst of courage amused Bellatrix to the point of audible laughter.

"And to think such a smart witch like you would have caught on by now. Don't you know how this game works, darling?" she hissed. "If I'm not mistaken, I ask the questions, you give the answers..." She took a few more steps closer to Hermione. She could press her body against Hermione's hard enough to cause some discomfort. "...along with anything else I may want," she added with an ice cold tone. Her lips were now dangerously close to Hermione's but the Dark Lord's servant quickly moved them to make contact with her neck.

"Mmm, it's been much too long," she whispered hotly into Hermione's ear, causing her to wince and wiggle under Bellatrix's weight. "Ah, ah, ah." Bellatrix released the pressure she was forcing her wand to put upon the side of Hermione's neck and tucked it back into her cloak now that she had complete control over Hermione's body. The empty hand now took post caressing Hemione, touching her skin, exploring the curves of her body...

The young witch shuddered, she was breathless. Her chest rose and fell viciously, but it was as if the air was choking her instead of relieving her panic. Her head was fuzzy, everything was blurry as if it was being viewed from under water. Her face was hot: red and sweaty. Her trembling hands gained minds of their own and began wandering, grasping the person that stood before her. She wasn't thinking... she couldn't think... all she knew was that this feeling was amazing. It was as if everything around her was fine while she was preparing to explode into a million tiny pieces. As Bellatrix thrust her hand into Hermione's pants and plunged her fingers into her warm, wet center, small moans and groans involuntarily slipped from the young girl's mouth.

"Oh, right there." Her unconscious and mouth formed the words without her coherent consent. Even Bellatrix was surprised by her unnatural compliance. With a chuckle and an appreciative moan in Hermione's ear, Bellatrix continued darting her fingers into Hermione without any signs of stopping.

Hermione's stomach tensed. Her eyes snapped shut and her breathing became heavily labored. She reached down with a gasp and grabbed the exposed flesh on Bellatrix's moving arm and dug her fingernails into it. A cry, stifled by the material on Bellatrix's shoulder that Hermione was deeply biting into, rang throughout Knockturn Alley and Hermione collapsed: half in Bellatrix's arms and half onto the dirty floor. Uncontrollable sobs accompanied the immense amount of tears that were now running freely down Hermione's cheeks.

There were so many emotions rushing over her, more than she had never experienced. Her entire world, everything she once knew, was crashing down right before her and she couldn't do anything about it. She felt like a wreck – she looked like a wreck. So many things were hitting her at once, demanding her brain's attention, attention that she couldn't give. She didn't know what else to do, so she sat there and cried.

Bellatrix stood over the sobbing figure, grinning at the shattered child. She was so broken, just like her. So lost in the big bad world. Bellatrix herself remembered these feelings – these horrible feelings that she once believed could never exist. These feelings had now permanently made a home in the chest of Bellatrix Lestrange, giving her power over anyone who would dare defy her. She had no conscience, she had no feelings or emotion; some people would even argue whether or not the witch had a heart. Standing over the emotionally crushed Hermione Granger she felt nothing, no sympathy for the girl and all that she had already done to her. Nothing at all.

"You'll come to find very quickly that everyone has a weakness... a poison," the Death Eater hissed. She bent her knees so she was now face-to-face with the mass that was Hermione. Bellatrix could feel the heat radiating from Hermione's face, hot from crying.

"And if you haven't noticed yet," she whispered, leaning in so her lips were barely touching Hermione's ear, "I'm yours." Her lips brushed up against Hermione's cheek as she finished speaking. They were now carried the taste of salt from the young girl's tears, which had started up again. Bellatrix lingered for a moment before standing upright. She mindlessly moved the tips of her fingertips over her lips, back and forth, before touching them to her tongue.

"Get up, collect yourself," she ordered. "Your friends are coming." Bellatrix's blood began boiling at the simple thought of being in the same vicinity as Harry Potter and not being able to take the life from him herself. But he was to be left for the Dark Lord, the one person she would ever show compassion for.

The witch fussed with her cloak, reaching into it and extracting her wand from where she had tucked it away. "I'll be seeing you soon," she said as she peered out of the doorway to see if they had gained any company. Hermione had just talked herself into regaining enough of her dignity to lift her body from the dirty floor and stand upright. Bellatrix looked back once more. She had a look of contempt in her eye that scared Hermione to no end. "Filthy mudblood." And with that, she shot off like a bullet, her now familiar icy cold cackle of amusement ringing entirely throughout Diagon Alley.

"I'll be seeing you soon." Her words echoed in Hermione's head a thousand times over as she wiped her face with her sleeves. She made haste to button her pants and smooth her clothing. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She had managed to stop her crying but her breathing was beyond her control. She was hysterical. Her head felt light and feathery and her body felt as if it were floating on a cloud. This couldn't be real. They had Ministry protection here, Hagrid was here, they wouldn't let this happen to her, right? This had to be a dream... just one horrible dream that wouldn't end. She'd wake up soon, safe in her temporary bed at the Weasley house, right?

She had just taken a step out of the doorway, she had to go somewhere – anywhere but where she was, when her world came crashing down... quite literally. She fell to her knees, her chest felt heavy like a ton of bricks. She saw the abandoned shops, the length of the dark alleyway, red hair and freckles... a pair of glasses... darkness.