Author's note: This is an alternate reality to the Harry Potter original series, with borrowing the characters. Also –Warning-: serious issues like child torture, rape, murder and other such subjects are present in this story.

It had been a few hours since Malfoy had opened up about the pendant. Harry was outside on the terrace calming Ginny down and explaining his absence, while Hermione sat silently next to Malfoy. They had removed his binds by now as it looked he was too weak to do much anyways. Harry had resisted, but given in at Hermione's persistence.

"Are my parents alive?" Hermione finally managed to ask

"I think so," Draco replied nonchalantly. "Last time I was at the institute they were working there."

Hermione bit her lip and a mixture of anxiety and childlike hope bubbled inside her. Last she had known of her parents was the accident. Their house had been burned and both her parents had burned to death inside it. Two bodies had been recovered and they had been confirmed to be her parents.

"I saw the dead bodies myself," Hermione said. "The forensic team confirmed the identities. It was my parents."

Draco scoffed. "Look Granger believe whatever you want. Your parents are alive and well unfortunately, and they are working with Lord..." At this he looked visibly weaker and his voice trailed off. Taking a moment's break he continued. "Lord Voldemort."

Hermione didn't pry further at the moment. This was already too much information to digest. On a surface level she believed none of what Draco had told her. Her parent's dead bodies had been recovered, there was no such thing as magic even the idea was ludicrous, and Draco had tried to kill her. Was he just making up this elaborate lie to get out of the charge of attempted murder or assault? Or was he just running from someone and was lying so they don't pry on that?

But then there was the pendant.

Hermione turned the pendant over in her hand. It sparkled in the light like a normal, albeit expensive looking, gem would. But she had felt what she had felt, and she had seen what she had seen. It was no day dream and it was no illusion. She returned the pendant to Draco.

"Granger," Draco attempted a soft approach. "I admit I was hasty in my attempt to hurt you. I was not in a stable condition, and the only thing on my mind was getting this pendant to some place he can't reach. I don't know why but..." he looked around. "Your house feels as though it has been sealed. I was surprised at first and this had made me suspicious, but now I think your parents have something to do with this protection of yours."

Hermione didn't reply. Her head was spinning and her heart was rushing in all directions of emotions and pain.

"Do you want to see for yourself Granger?"

This caught Hermione off guard. "See what?"

Before Draco could reply Harry came back inside. He looked flushed as though he had just had another one of their famous arguments. Hermione felt bad and guilt for Ginny, she was already such a fragile girl. Harry acting like this was not helping her.

"See what?" Harry repeated Hermione's question. "You're not taking her anywhere."

Draco ignored Harry's existence and continued. "There is a bar where these people go. Not everyone can access it. I know how to and I can take you there. If you want to see for yourself."

Hermione considered the offer. She had to know. "If Harry can come, I'll go with you."

Harry had drove them there. It was an old part of the city with half abandoned shops and houses. Parking the car at a distance, Harry and Hermione followed Draco as he swiftly moved to their destination.

Of course Draco was taking a huge risk with this little expedition of theirs. But he had realized that at the least Granger needed to know the situation, and maybe he himself could use help outside as well. Everything had been dark when he had ran away from the institute, he needed to hold onto whatever thread came his way.

"This is the place," Draco announced standing in front of a solid wall. Harry and Hermione looked at each other and Harry took a deep breath. Draco pulled his black cloak over his face and the other two followed his suite. Mentally thanking the Gods that he had had the good sense to bury a couple of cloaks in different parts of the city for emergencies, Draco motioned the two to stand behind him.

"Hold my hand Granger," Draco stretched his arm to her. "And Potter, hold her hand. Don't let go of the hand as long as we are inside. We can't lose each other."

They did as they were told. Draco took a step towards the wall and to their shock seemed to have passed right through it. Not having time to process what had just happened Hermione and Harry were pulled with him and the trio found themselves in a tavern.

Noisy, busy and smelly; nobody seemed to have had noticed their arrival. On their way here in the car Draco had tried to explain where they were headed. It was a hang out spot for the disciples and servants of this person that Draco had been running from. Someone called Voldemort. Someone who was experimenting with magic and knowledge beyond human realms for malicious purposes.

Harry had listened to Draco's vague explanations and warnings with scepticism. The explanation that Harry had fathomed in his mind was that Draco was involved in some sort of a cult. And some severe kind of abuse of drugs was taking place there. That would explain his physical state and his mental deterioration.

But now. Now Harry had to rethink his theory. Draco had led them to a dark and isolated corner of the room where they could observe their surroundings. Harry stared at the scene in front of them in amazement. Everyone was wearing the same clocks as them though few had bothered to cover their face. Things were floating in the air, the pictures on the walls moved and then there seemed to be some commotion up ahead. The cloaked people were laughing and jeering at a performance in the centre.

Hermione gasped sharply next to him. It was two young boys not more than 12 years old. Completely nude with leashes around their necks, the boys appeared to have been the evening's amusement. With two groups, each in charge of one of the boys. Someone in the group said a few words or doused the child in some liquid. This caused the child to show bizarre behaviour like changing appearance, change of voice, levitation and extreme aggression among many horrible others.

Not a sentimental person by nature Hermione felt her cheeks get wet as tears rushed down her horrified face. Draco tightened his grip on her hand. He had expected her shock but could not have possibly prepared her for this. He didn't particularly care for her emotional state but he could not have her making a scene and getting attention. Looking at the young boys Draco remembered his days in the centre of the room. But these boys would not survive like he had. They had no father to beg for their sake to the lord. These boys will live as their entertainment and experiments until they died.

Harry pushed down the bile rising in his throat, and whispered. "Enough. We have seen enough, take us out of here."

The ride back to her apartment had been silent. Harry had stopped twice to throw up on the way. Hermione was in a deep state of shock and said nothing. The magic and witchcraft was one thing, but the torture. The inhuman, horrifying, disgusting and sickening display of human torture had left her completely and utterly drained.

Back in her apartment the trio sat silently in her living room. Hermione felt a strange sense of self disgust for having left that place without those boys, even though it was obvious there was nothing she could have done for them. But still she felt herself losing to the revulsion inside her.

Hermione clutched her arms and sobbed. Harry put an arm around her and pulled her to his chest, himself also pale and shocked from the experience.

"I took a huge risk there," Draco said. "In fact I am afraid someone may have noticed me. We were acting suspiciously."

"Does that mean they know you're in this city?" Harry asked finally ready to accept Draco's story.

"Not necessarily," Draco shrugged. "The portals are spread all over the world. And we can use them to get to the tavern. From the tavern you get to the institute. They can't really trace where I came from. They don't know I have visited this city often before." Then added. "At least I hope not."

Harry nodded and hugged Hermione tighter who was still sobbing softly. He wished himself to cry but found no energy to do so. He was too confused, too disturbed and too scared to think clearly.

"What do want to do Draco?" Hermione asked softly. "What do you want from us by showing us that?"

Draco moved to sit beside her. Taking the pendant out of his shirt he explained. "This is a part of the experiments they are doing there. They are working on developing things that will make people using witchcraft much much stronger than they already are. Even using magic they are just human beings. And select few are suited for magic use. The magic drains them, makes them weak and makes them susceptible to human attack. This is why even with their current level they have not attacked the human world. If they attack now there is a good chance they will be annihilated by the human forces. They are not impervious to guns, missiles and bombs. Not yet anyways."

Draco turned the gem over. "This has been feeding for decades now and as you guessed Granger it was your parents who have been working on this. It was not easy to take this out of the institute. It will not completely prevent them mind you," Draco warned. "Just derail them for some time in which our group was planning to accomplish something too ambitious."

"What was that?" Hermione asked. "What can you possibly do?"

"I have people inside," Draco answered. "People who are working to find the pieces of the lord."

"Pieces?" Harry asked

"Yes," Draco explained. "To prevent himself from dying, Lord Voldemort has made pieces of his soul and stored them in different parts of the world. That doesn't mean he can't be caught and kept in a jail. But he won't die until all pieces are found and destroyed. This however," Draco raised the gem to eye level. "Is not one of his pieces. But something that was to be used to increase the stamina of the wizards and witches. This has taken years to develop, and stealing this pushes them back at least."

Hermione stared at the gem. The memories of her childhood home came to her in chunks. She had seen this gem before. A vague memory of her parents hushing her when she had enquired on it came to her.

"And my parents are involved in this?" Hermione buried her head in her hands.

Draco took a moment to reply and decided to approach this gently. "Yes, I am afraid so Granger. They are there, and this is what they are working on. What do you want to do now then?"

Hermione turned to look at him. Draco felt a tug inside at her penetratingly furious expression.

"I will go in," she claimed. "I can't walk away from this now."