Chapter 17 - Caught

April ?, 2001

I wake to darkness. My head is pounding, my body aching, my mind, racing with thoughts.

Where am I?

What happened?

My memory floods back: the rain, the chilling fear, the hidden attacker, the disappearing wand. It all seems so disjointed and strange.

I'm sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair and it's dark, very dark. I can't tell where I am.

It's cold, dank, empty feeling, but I could be mistaken about that.

What is now absolutely clear is that I've been kidnapped. But by who? What do they want from me? I thought I was finished with all this when the war ended.

I try to move my limbs, do something to attempt escape, but I find I am bound by magical binding that only tightens with my struggles.

This is not good.

How long has it been? How long have I been in this place? I can feel the dampness of my clothes against my skin, still a bit wet from the rain. It must not have been too long, but then again, I can't be too sure when the air is so chill and damp itself.

I take a deep breath in an attempt to keep the panic at bay. I need to stay calm, keep my head, if I'm going to get out of here. My heart is still racing, my gut clenching with fear and nothing seems to help.

Not being able to see anything, I focus on what I can hear; a quiet dripping noise, the tiny scampering of some small creature.

There is something above me, something shuffling, or maybe someone. Am I in some sort of cellar or basement? Whoever it is above me, because I am now sure it is a person, is pacing back and forth.

I wonder who it is, what they're planning. Why did they bring me here? A shiver passes through me at the thought that they may be building the courage to come down here and kill me. I am defenseless completely vulnerable. If their plan is to end my life, there is no escaping.

The bond.

Draco can feel my fear. Maybe he can find me before this person makes their final decision of my fate. But if I don't know where I am, how is he supposed to find me?

I am helpless but to wait. My mind is constantly running through any possibility of what could happen, each thought more terrifying than the last.

But then I remember the folded piece of parchment in my pocket, the letter Draco wrote, and somehow it calms me. Someone is looking for me, someone who cares enough not to rest until he finds me. As long as I have that letter, that small piece of Draco with me, I have hope.

Suddenly, there is light, an uncomfortable brightness that makes me squint my eyes. Terror floods me. Now is the moment when all my fears become a reality, when every horrifying thought running through my mind comes true.

I subconsciously scramble back in the chair, causing the binds holding me to painfully tighten. This could be the end.

Ron.

He stands in front of me, unrestrained anger seeming to pulse through the air.

"Ron, what are you doing?" I ask in a small voice.

I really don't know him at all anymore. I don't know who I expected to see as my captor, but Ronald Weasley was not it. I never thought he would go this far.

"What I should have done a long time ago, Hermione." He says my name with such malice, such distaste, such rage, it shocks me.

"Why? I don't understand. We we were friends first, best friends."

"We were never really friends though, were we?" he asks, leaving me even more confused.

"Of course we were," I assure him.

"You were working for them all along," he accuses.

"Who, Ron? Who do you think I was working for?"

"You're a Death Eater. That's the only explanation. You've been a Death Eater all along!" he shouts.

My eyes widen. He truly believes his words.

"No, don't you remember? I helped you and Harry. We hunted down and destroyed the Horcruxes together," I remind him.

"It was all a trick. Stop playing your games Hermione. I may have been too closed minded to see it before, but now, you can't hide your loyalties any longer."

"We were captured together; I was tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange –

"All faked," he interrupts. "We weren't there to see it, you faked those screams, were probably laughing between each one at how gullible we were to fall for it."

There isn't much more I can say. He thinks I planned it, lied about it all. And nothing I say will change his mind.

"In fact, the entire war was your fault, your doing. It's because of you Fred died!"

It's as though someone has stolen the air from my lungs. He blames me for everything. He blames me for Fred's death.

"You're not even a muggle-born," he finishes.

"What? You think this - whatever you think it is - goes so far that I lied about even my blood status? Ron, none of this is true!" I insist, begging him to believe me, desperate for him to see how ridiculous his claims are.

"We'll see. Now that I have you restrained, I can reveal the Dark Mark you've been hiding for years."

So, he's looking for proof. I'm slightly relieved. Once he sees that no mark is hidden, he will drop all this madness.

Ron unveils his wand and mutters the incantation of a revealing charm over me before pushing up the sleeve on my left arm. Taking a firm grip on my arm, he releases the binding and turns it over to expose the forearm.

"There. The Dark Mark is revealed."

My eyes widen in shock. He is staring at the word Bellatrix carved into me that night, but is seeing something completely different. He's delusional, seeing only what he wants to, and now he has proof of deception.

The fear returns full force, as though a hole has been dug in my chest.

My arm is bound to the chair once more and Ron steps back, running a hand through his hair.

"Lucius was right," he whispers to himself.

Lucius Malfoy? I knew Ron would never do this on his own. He's being manipulated! His fears about me that I know he had long ago, are being preyed upon.

"You need to be destroyed before anyone else gets hurt," Ron announces.

"Ron, listen to yourself!" I beg. "You're believing the words of Lucius Malfoy. You know he worked for Voldemort. Why would you let him tell you anything?"

"He owled me. As a concerned father, assured me he's changed. He said you've been in a romantic relationship with Draco Malfoy for years and he is worried for his son's safety. You're unhinged, unstable. Who knows what you might do?" he explains. "You were seeing him before the war even started, when we were together! You became a Death Eater with him. You're evil Hermione, and I will be the one to stop you."

How could Lucius possibly know what to say that would set Ron off like this? He can't kill me himself because of Draco, so he manipulated Ron to do it for him!

"But, I'm not going to kill you right away," he says, getting close to my face. "I want you to suffer first. You caused so much pain, I think it's only fair that you feel some before you die."

"Ron, listen to me. You cannot believe what that man tells you. I know how hard Fred's death was on you. I saw how much pain that caused you and I'm so sorry it happened. But I'm not responsible for it. I'm not a Death Eater no matter what you're seeing. You're sick, Ron. You need help. I'm sorry I didn't see it earlier," I tell him.

"Stop it!" he screams. "Stop trying to trick me!"

I hate seeing him like this, with madness in his eyes, hating the world, hating me. I miss the old Ron so much.

He has begun pacing once again, back and forth in front of me.

"I wonder how far you got in his ranks. Maybe even higher than Bellatrix herself. You're so very talented at making everyone believe what you want them to. He got you inside good, didn't he? Such an elaborate scheme. Got all the information he wanted from you, didn't he? But guess what. We were better than you and that evil master of yours. Now that man you looked up to so much is dead!"

He's breathing hard from his rant, but not yet finished.

"I just feel so betrayed. I thought we were friends. You were in my home, with my family! I loved you Hermione! And what do you do? You killed Fred! You were trying to kill Harry! And don't think I missed the fact that you tried to get him alone in that forest on our Horcrux hunt. You got me all riled up and I left, not realising your intentions. But I came back didn't I? I foiled your plan when I dragged him out of that lake!"

His mind is changing the memories. I should have known it was getting worse when he first started to accuse me of lying about the war. Now, his delusions are full blown and I'm not sure he can be brought back.

"We were friends. And I never wanted to hurt Harry. It was Voldemort's soul inside the necklace that tried to drown him, it wasn't me. These things you accuse me of just aren't true. I think, deep down, you still know that. I loved you Ron. I did. You were my best friend and first love. Don't do this. You know me. I'm telling the truth."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" he yells.

I see the light catch on the blade of a knife he just pulled out of his pocket. I can't breathe. It's as though the fear has snaked up inside me and is squeezing my chest so tightly that no air can travel through. Ron isn't in his right mind. He's going to do something that will haunt him if he ever gets better. If he ever returns to himself, he won't be able to look in the mirror.

"Ron, don't do this," I plead, tears coming to my eyes.

"I said, shut up!"

I scream in agony as he plunges the knife into my leg.


Author's Note:

Hello to all my amazing readers! Oh no, it's another cliffy! I know, it's mean ;P But I also felt it was a good place to end this chapter. I don't think you'll really know that until the next chapter though. Anyways, let me know what you thought! Were you surprised? What about how Lucius is involved in all this? Again, if you have any suggestions for how to improve scenes like this, I would love to hear it! (I would also like to hear if you're enjoying it ;P)

I am on vacation now so, I may not reply to reviews as quick or at all this week, depending on how much time I have and the wifi I have access to. But I will be reading them at least at the end of each night and I will still be appreciating them just as much as always! I will try my best to have the next chapter up for you next week!

So, again, review and it will make me smile and my vacation even brighter ;) I will try my best to reply to each, but no promises (Doesn't mean I'm not extremely grateful) and I wish you all an awesome week!

Thanks everyone for reading!

(PS. I'm just about to go to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios! AHHHHH! So excited XD)