I was not unaccustomed to sleep deprivation. In fact, I couldn't recall the last time I had more than 3 – 4 hours of sleep at a time.
The night Potter and his foolish friends went rogue and took it upon themselves to rescue Black from the Department of Mysteries, I had just returned to the castle after leaving to warn Albus about the insufferable Dolores Umbridge and the havoc she was wreaking with a certain Potter upon discovering him using her Floo to contact Black at Headquarters. I had been hoping to get to bed before midnight.
My wish was not to be fulfilled as minutes after my return, Minerva, sent a frantic Patronus message alerting me to 6 students having left the boundary line of Hogwarts, heading she feared, to the MoM.
Having not received the call from the Dark Lord or any instruction from Albus, I could not be seen at the MoM by either of my masters. Feeling an inexplicable urge to make my way there regardless, I disillusioned myself and headed to the apparating point.
When I made it to the Department of Mysteries, the foolish students were fighting a losing battle. Where was the Order? They received the news hours ago and had yet to make an appearance. I had a sinking feeling that this was another of Albus's twisted plans to groom and train these unfortunate teens for war.
Sending sly curses in the direction of my fellow Death Eater brethren, I made my way towards Potter. As much as I detested this sorry excuse of a boy, I had vowed to protect Lily's son. I was within reach of the boy when Miss Granger unleashed a magical barrier unlike anything I had seen before. It was fluid, tenacious, unyielding. Like water, air and electricity impossibly combining in a magical force of will. From her look of surprise, this was not something she planned nor was she in control of it. I looked on as it began to sap her energy and likely her magical reserves.
Without thinking, my feet carried me towards her, and I watched as if in a trance as I joined my hand with hers and began to push my own magic towards her core. Her magic felt familiar, like I knew it intimately in another lifetime. It was all things I am not – warm, forgiving, unrefined and yet there was a darkness to it, a cunning and vindictiveness that lay beneath the surface. It was extraordinary and entirely unique.
As our magic joined and fed into her magical barrier, I felt something shift. It was as if a cork had been dislodged from a bottle of shaken champagne. Magic exploded from her, every pore expelled raw, pure magic. The expulsion of magic severed my connection and knocked me off my feet. I saw her waver as what little control she had disappeared. She flew backwards into a nearby bookcase.
I waited long enough to see that she was still breathing before I rushed after the remaining teens who, bolstered by the incredible display, fought with renewed vigor. They took the fight into one of the adjoining rooms. As I followed after them, I saw the Order finally arrive. I had to stick to the shadows to avoid detection from either party.
I saw from the shadows as child fought with adult, as Black was culled by his own cousin and fell into the Veil, as Dumbledore dueled with the Dark Lord, as the Dark Lord attempted to possess Potter, as Potter fought against him, and finally when the battle was over, I saw as the Order began to attend to the wounded. In all this observing, I did not once hear mention of Miss Granger. When it became clear that no one, aside from a driveling Mr. Longbottom who was entirely ignored, grew worried about her absence, I had no choice but to return to the room in which I had last seen her.
I found her in the same room where I had last seen her but in far worse a state. She was crumpled on the floor in fetal position. She had clearly suffered the effects of the cruciatus curse, her uncontrollable tremors were distinctive. In the darkness, I could not see the extent of her injuries, so I bent down until I was kneeling beside her. She began to stir as I withdrew my wand. The next moment was a blur of tangling, kicking, and scratching limbs. Not wishing to use magic on her until I understood the nature of her injuries, I was forced to subdue her by physical force, flinging a leg over her, I used my bodyweight to still her flailing form and caught her uninjured arm in a firm grip.
She stilled the moment she heard my voice, clearly recognizing the owner of the voice. Uncharacteristically, I felt compelled to attempt to reassure her.
Her injuries were significant. I could not fathom how this slip of a girl was conscious and still had fight in her.
Aside from the multiple exposures to cruciatus, she had several deep lacerations, a dislocated shoulder, 3 broken ribs, a punctured lung, a fractured ankle, and a worrying head wound.
You would think after all my years as a Death Eater that I would be used to this level of violence. I have worked hard to ensure that I never become desensitized to this inhumanity.
As expected, Albus was furious when he saw me come into the atrium of the Department of Mysteries carrying a barely conscious Hermione Granger. I would deal with the old man later, first, I had to get Miss Granger medical attention.