(A/N): Hello! Welcome to my latest creation! I just can't seem to stay away from unusual pairings, can I? I don't even really like Arrow but I caught an episode with Slade Wilson in it and became intrigued. One thing led to another and, well, here we are.

If you haven't seen the show, you should still be able to follow along with the story if you feel like giving it a chance. I hope. :D

This story begins before Oliver Queen shows up on the island, though there will be a time-jump in the next chapter that will bring us to events happening in the show. This chapter is pretty short since it's basically just an prologue, but the next one will be twice as long. I hope to have that out by next week, though it may be sooner if I get a good enough response!

The songs that inspired this story are Warrior and Too Late for Me by Beth Crowley. Those are two of my all time favorite songs and I feel they reflect this story really well.

Just so we're all on the same page, this is not going to be a healthy relationship. It really can't be in the beginning because of obvious reasons, and it will only continue to get unhealthier as we get further along- I'm not sure how 'dark' this romance is going to get, but I just don't want anyone to be surprised by the dynamics here. To be clear, this is not going to be an abusive relationship in any way, shape, or form. I'm not sure I could stomach writing that at this point in time. But just because it's not abusive doesn't mean it's good. So, if you're not comfortable reading about unhealthy relationships, then you may want to stop now. I will try to include trigger warnings as I go for certain subjects, but those really won't be relationship-specific.

Whew! Okay! Now that the PSA is out of the way, I want to take the chance to thank the wonderful Catzandbookz8 for pre-reading this for me! I was a little nervous about this story and she's been so wonderful and supportive and I cannot thank her enough.

Russian translation: zaychik means little rabbit

Thanks for reading! Enjoy!


Hermione felt to her knees the moment Dolohov released her arm. Apparating long distances was already disorientating enough without the added complication of being blindfolded. And they had been Apparating multiple times a day since her abduction.

"Careful now, zaychik," Dolohov taunted, and she heard the crunch of leaves beneath his boots as he walked around her. "You'll have to be stronger than that if you intend to survive."

Taking several deep breaths of unexpectedly humid air, she finally managed to get her nausea under control. "I've survived you this long, haven't I?"

Dolohov laughed. "True enough. I honestly expected you to break long ago, but I should have known better. After all, someone weak wouldn't have been able to survive my fire."

If Hermione had known that this was going to be the end result of surviving Dolohov's curse, she might not have fought so hard to do so. All those months of potions and healer visits and what was the end result? Almost ten years of enduring this ridiculous cat-and-mouse chase with Dolohov that had culminated in this: being captured and held by Dolohov for multiple days- if not weeks- before being brought to wherever the hell they were now.

She hadn't even been the one hunting Dolohov in the beginning! After the end of the war, she had returned to Hogwarts to complete her schooling while Harry and Ron went on to become Aurors, assisting with the capture of the few Death Eaters that had managed to escape after the Final Battle. They had been the ones chasing after Dolohov, not her, and yet she was the one the Russian wizard was obsessed with.

Gods, it was strange to think that they had been at this for almost ten years. Ten years of this… Dolohov called it a game, but it was really just a nightmare.

"Was the blindfold necessary?" Hermione questioned, carefully getting to her feet. "My hands are bound, I don't have a wand, and while I can't be sure, I believe we're in a forest; I'm not stupid enough to try running when every single odd is in your favor."

"I enjoy stripping you of your senses, zaychik," he murmured into her ear and Hermione's lips twisted into a grimace. She felt his hands on the back of her hair and knew that he was untying the cloth covering her eyes. "I considered gagging you, but I do so love your mouth."

Words escaped her lips before she could think better of it. "Are you really so desperate that you'd consider sullying yourself with a mudblood, Dolohov? Your compatriots would be so disappointed in you."

The blindfold fell from her face and Hermione slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted to being able to see light again.

As she'd suspected, they were in a forest. An old one too, considering how tall the trees were. They were in a forest, her hands were tied behind her back, she had no wand, and she couldn't seem to keep herself from taunting Dolohov despite knowing just how sadistic he could be. Sometimes, even she was surprised she'd lasted this long. Harry may have had the most trouble holding his tongue out of the three of them, but too much time spent with him seemed to have loosened hers more than she'd expected. The lack of adequate food and sleep she'd been enduring since her capture likely wasn't helping things either.

"You're not just a common mudblood, Hermione," Dolohov stated, pressing up against her back. "You're my favorite mudblood."

She wondered how long Dolohov's other 'favorites' had lasted if he played this rough with them. "Where are we?" she asked.

"An island in the North China Sea," he answered promptly, and Hermione couldn't help feeling alarmed. Dolohov never answered her questions that quickly- it wasn't any fun for him to do so.

Hermione forced herself to remain calm. "That's why we had to Apparate so many times."

"Yes, I couldn't risk you becoming injured before we'd arrived." Stepping away from her, Dolohov circled around to stand in front of her, meeting her gaze with a devilish grin. By the end of the war, his appearance had been tired, haggard. But apparently life on the run suited him, as his chin-length black hair fell smoothly around his angular, aristocratic face. Dolohov certainly wasn't the ugliest man she'd ever seen, so why couldn't he find someone else to bother? "The Chinese named this island Lian Yu. It's Mandarin for purgatory."

"This must be a special place, for you to go through all the trouble of bringing me here."

Dolohov reached out to grab her chin, dragging her closer to him. "I have so enjoyed playing with you these last few years, zaychik, but I think it's time we bring our game to a close. So, here's one final test for you."

She held his gaze without blinking. "What happens if I pass?"

His eyebrows rose. "You ask that before you ask what the test itself is?"

Depending on his answer, passing the test may be the last thing she wanted to do. "What happens if I pass, Dolohov?" she repeated. Hermione wasn't stupid enough to think he would agree to do something as helpful as turning himself in or swearing to leave her alone for the rest of her life, but she'd be relieved for something as simple as a break from having to deal with him.

"Our game ends," he murmured, leaning in towards her. "And isn't that what you want, Hermione? For this to all be over?"

Hermione stiffened. "Not all endings are good," she answered slowly. "I assume that not passing your test would mean dying, which is one ending. What's the other ending in store for me should I survive?"

He grinned, finally releasing her and stepping away. "I wouldn't waste time dwelling on it unless it becomes relevant," he told her lightly.

Deep down, Hermione knew what would happen if she passed his final 'test'. Each of his other 'games' had involved her showing off her magical prowess, her critical thinking skills, and her problem-solving abilities.

"Living is not for the weak," Dolohov had once told her.

He was testing her strength, because he could not tolerate someone he deemed weak.

"Why did you bring me here?" she finally asked.

Dolohov swung his arm up and gestured to the woods around them. "To see if you could survive purgatory. Only the strong can survive here. Can you, Hermione Granger, stay alive on Lian Yu? Stay sane? With no wand, no friends, no hope, will you have the strength to keep on living?"

Hermione stared at him in shock.

"Of course," he continued, still studying the trees around them, "you're not truly alone here. Besides the animals living here, there is a large group of muggles being led by a rather well-known mercenary camped nearby. However, I wouldn't recommend letting them know you are here. They are all men you see, and you wouldn't want to be found out by such morally-deficient individuals while you're in such a vulnerable state."

Finding her voice again, Hermione spluttered, "That's your test? You're just going to leave me here and see whether I live or die? Why? What's the point of that?"

Looking at her again, he shrugged, blue eyes turning cold. "It was the isolation that broke the weak in Azkaban, not the Dementors. The lack of human contact. While this island is no Azkaban, it will bring its own challenges. I survived Azkaban. We shall see if you can survive Lian Yu."

Dolohov's wand appeared in his hand and with a flick of his wrist, the binding on her arms fell away.

"This island has been warded using my own creations. No one will be able to find you here. You will not be able to Apparate anywhere on the island and, should you find a way to escape, I will know, and I will come for you. The only way you leave is if I allow you to."

As he walked away, Dolohov called, "I'd hurry to find shelter if I were you. The sun will be setting soon and then the wolves will come out to hunt. Dosvedanya, zaychik."

Then, with a crack, he was gone.

Hermione instantly began running. Based on where the sunlight was shining through the trees, Hermione knew that she had an hour at most to find somewhere to settle in for the night. She didn't doubt Dolohov was being truthful about there being wolves on this island and she knew her best bet would be to get to higher ground as quickly as she could. Once she found a safe place to hide for the night, she could begin creating a plan.

It took a handful of minutes of searching for her to find a tree that was both climbable and also had branches sturdy enough to hold her weight. She scurried up it as quickly as she could, climbing as high as possible before finding a comfortable enough spot to settle in.

Dolohov may have taken her wand from her, but Hermione was far from helpless. She'd spent almost a year on the run in the woods with two teenage boys and it had been a complete disaster due to her not being properly prepared. After the war, she'd started learning every survival skill she could in order to understand what she'd done wrong. The boys had claimed that her actions were an 'unhealthy coping device' that would not help her at all in the future. Clearly, whatever book they'd picked that up from had been a waste of a time because, once again, they'd been proven wrong.

Stradling her branch, Hermione reached up and carefully removed a large, silver, antique locket from around her neck, one that had been spelled so thoroughly that even Antonin Dolohov's eyes had slid past it as he'd searched her person when he'd first captured her. Pressing down on the clasp on the side of the locket, the top popped open and Hermione reached inside it to gingerly remove a bag almost five times as big as the oversized ornament.

Putting an object with an Undetectable Expansion Charm on it inside an object that also had an Undetectable Expansion Charm on it wasn't supposed to be possible. In fact, Hermione was almost positive that she had nearly created a blackhole when she'd first begun testing it out years ago. But she'd refused to give up because she knew that having her bag could literally be the difference between living and dying at the hands of Dolohov. But the bag's fabric wasn't durable enough to hold under the weight of the numerous spells she'd needed in order to hide it, hence the inclusion of the locket made out of pure silver.

Opening the bag, Hermione wandlessly summoned a length of rope and a warm, waterproof jacket. After she'd slipped the jacket on, she carefully secured her thighs to the branch beneath her and then her torso to the trunk, making sure the rope was tight enough to hold her in place without cutting off blood. As dangerous as it was going to be, Hermione needed to sleep. She'd gone too many days without it, and she was close to being compromised both physically and mentally. But the last thing she needed was to fall out of the tree because she'd slumped over while out of it.

She didn't even know for sure how long she'd been missing. A few days? A week? Longer? It had been hard to process time passing with Dolohov. Not only had they moved around a lot- apparently because he was dragging her over half-way across the world- but he'd also kept her away from any natural sources of light and had heavily drugged her part of the time. Hermione hadn't been able to tell night from day after a while, let alone how much time had passed.

Had the others known she was gone? Was Harry leading the search for her?

It didn't matter if he was. Dolohov was right- no one would be able to find her. Not even Harry. Dolohov was renowned across Europe for his ability to twist and manipulate seemingly common wards and spells into something insidious, along with the ability to create his own spells. If he had warded the island, then no one was going to find her and Hermione certainly wasn't going to be able to get off it undetected, especially without a wand.

Leaning her head back against the tree trunk, Hermione closed her eyes. This was not the end of the world. She could survive this. She survived Death Eaters and Snatchers and Umbridge and a tent with two smelly, emotionally incompetent teenage boys. She was not helpless.

Opening her eyes again, Hermione summoned a protein bar and a bottle of water from her bag. The first thing she would have to do the following day was find some fresh water and perhaps try and figure out what kind of wildlife the island had. A rough map of the area would also be useful.

In the distance, she could see faint flashes of light. She wondered if that was the mercenary camp Dolohov spoke of.

What were mercenaries even doing on this island? If it was as uninhabited as Dolohov made it sound, then why bother with it?

The way Hermione saw it, she could either figure out what the mercenary was up to and, depending on her findings, ruin his plan- which would be a way to keep her mind sharp and engaged if nothing else. Or she could avoid them entirely. The choice was hers.

Sighing, Hermione wondered why she was always left with shitty options to choose from. She would have told herself to make the best of the situation but honestly, what 'best' was there to be found in purgatory?


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