A/N: I have been excited to write this chapter! I really hope you like it and the direction I'm taking this in. Please enjoy this treat of another chapter!
Chapter 7
Hermione McCallister was sitting in her room of her parent's home staring at the ceiling. It was the day before she was due to leave for her room at the Leaky Cauldron. Both her mother and father had avoided her as per usual, her father to work to see his patients and her mother would find any reason to leave. Sometimes it was tea with the neighbours, or to the shops for the messages, today it was another 'tea' with her friends. While her mother said tea, it was obvious when she came home stumbling and giggling with a flushed face that she had been drinking something much stronger. Hermione avoided her parents as much as they avoided her, she made a point of visiting Mr. Hubert, who she had not seen since she left for Hogwarts. He had had to close his shop but still lived above it with his wife. He was getting much older and couldn't remember Hermione when she visited, his wife admitting that he was losing his memories and himself, becoming a different man under his sickness and likely wouldn't be around next summer.
It saddened Hermione that she was losing someone else that she became close with. While not always their fault, everyone she cared about left her. She hated to think so negatively about herself and selfishly about Mr. Hubert's illness, but she couldn't help it.
She was quite literally alone this summer.
She wouldn't be surprised if Auror Moody was too busy to stop in to see her.
Letting out a sigh, she sat up from her bed and checked her trunk for the tenth time. She wanted to be sure she forgot nothing, not that she really unpacked anything when she arrived in her room, but she would hate to forget one of her belongings here. She looked around her room, barely changed from when she was a small child. This would be her second last time here, next summer she would arrive, survive one week, and then she would be free. She would never have to return here again, never have to endure the hate and mutterings from her parents. She could go out and find her own future, a new family that would be entirely her own.
Maybe she could finally have her brothers back.
Barty had spoken to her before they left the Hogwarts Express, he had promised to write her, had promised to keep in touch from a distance. While away from Hogwarts he was free from the watching eyes, they could spend time in Muggle London, no wizards would follow him there. However, he had yet to reach out to her.
She told herself he would reach out when she made it to the Leaky, he knew her parents hated anything "freakish" near their home, so he may not send an owl while she was here. While he had promised her, and had never broken a promise in the past, she couldn't help the bad feeling in her gut. She had her doubts he would reach out, perhaps life was easier without her? Barty had been very popular with the witches before school ended, maybe he realized that without her he could continue to have that?
Shaking her head of her negative thoughts, Hermione continued with cleaning her room and packing her books. Once finished, she went downstairs and started putting together her dinner, thankfully her parents had started stocking a variety more ingredients. She wasn't left to make only eggs or toast; she could actually make a chicken breast with seasonings and potatoes.
She cooked up the chicken breast, boiled some potatoes, and made some toast. When she was finally finished she had put together a chicken sandwich with toasted bread, a side of potatoes, and a glass of water. Sitting in front of the television she turned to the news and watched the events of the muggle world unfold. A lot of disappearances, strange happenings, people in perfect health found dead, the muggles were confused and unsure of what was happening, but Hermione knew. All of the wizarding world knew.
After finishing dinner and tidying up the dishes, she made her way to her bedroom, reading late into the night. She heard her mother return not much later, stumbling into the house before setting about making dinner for herself and her husband. Hermione's father returned not long after the dinner had finished being made. Hermione could hear her parents interacting, they sounded like a happy couple, laughing and talking together into the night. It sounded like a happy moment for a family and Hermione wished she could be part of that happy family, but she never would. Her parents were vocal on how much she didn't belong with them.
A stray tear falling down her cheek, Hermione closed her eyes and fell asleep thinking of a future for herself, a man to love her, children she would give all her love to. Children she would love unconditionally, and she would make sure they knew how much she loved them every single day.
-oOo-
Hermione arrived at the Leaky Cauldron the next day, no different than usual. Tom greeted her, told her to go unpack and come down for lunch, he had made fish and chips for them. She sat with him for most of the day, she told herself it was because she didn't need to do any shopping yet, but truthfully, she was just waiting for an owl. Barty knew what day she arrived at the Leaky, he knew what time she left her parents every year, he promised to send her an owl.
The owl never came.
All day she waited, but no message arrived.
Days went by and still no owl arrived. She had conceded to believe that perhaps her friendship with the boys had just grown apart. They were off with their own lives now, living in the wizarding world that they were always part of. Regulus was surviving the darker side of magic, while Barty was enjoying the carefree side of it. She didn't fit into either of those worlds, she didn't want to be a Death Eater, but they certainly didn't want her, therefore Regulus was lost to her. Barty wanted to spend time with the vapid girls who fluttered their eyelashes and giggled under their hands, flirting and spending time in broom cupboards, and Hermione certainly didn't want to be one of those girls, especially with Barty.
While she still held hope he would reach out to her, maybe come visit her, she decided to get on with her own life. She spent time in Diagon Alley retrieving her school supplies, obviously a good amount of time in Flourish and Botts finding new books, and the ice cream parlour reminiscing on memories with her boys.
After a week at the Leaky she decided to head into the Muggle world and buy some new clothes for herself, after another growth spurt not many fit anymore. She purchased herself basically a new wardrobe of basic clothes for wearing under her robes, some jeans, shirts, jumpers, pants, and bras. As she was walking back to the Leaky, she felt like she was being watched. Looking around she didn't see anyone watching her; however, it was a busy London Street.
Feeling uncomfortable, she increased her pace without making it obvious. When she saw the Leaky ahead, she felt relief, she was almost there. She could sense the person following behind her, they were quite a few feet behind her so she knew she could make it to the pub before they caught up with her.
Her heart was pumping in her chest, her breath coming out raspy as the fear constricted her chest, sweat beads building on her brow. Hermione was terrified, she couldn't defend herself in Muggle London. Magic could easily hide her from muggles views, she needed the protection from other wizards. Hermione decided to make a run for it when she saw the Leaky was a short distance away, however she didn't consider the alleyway in between her and the Leaky. When she ran past the alley a hand reached out and grasped her wrist, pulling her into the dark side street.
Hermione felt the hand wrap around her wrist and pull her into the space, she let out a scream, but a hand covered her mouth before anyone could hear. She could feel a bruise forming around her wrist already, he was holding her so tight. His other hand was covering her mouth and nose, making it impossible to breath. She tried to kick and struggle out of his hold, but it was no use.
"Keep trying, I like the struggle girly," the man behind her rasped into her ear. She let out a shudder as his breath fanned over her ear and neck. She stopped moving when he tightened his hold and pressed her against him even more. She could feel the outline of his entire body, including how true his statement was, he did enjoy the struggle. "Good girl, now you have been a difficult mudblood to find."
"Oi, Selwyn, you got her?" asked a man running into the alley, the man that had been following her.
"No, Rosier, I just found this random bitch enticing," replied Selwyn sarcastically, Hermione could sense him roll his eyes at the wizard before her. Hermione's eyes darted around as she tried to think of her next step, there had to be an escape.
"Then let's go!" said Rosier, glancing behind him, afraid of being found out.
"No one will miss this bitch, no one will be looking for her," Selwyn spoke, his nose pressed against her hair taking a deep inhale, "Maybe I can have my fun with her before we bring her."
"Selwyn, there's no way to know what he wants done with her, he might punish you," whispered Rosier. Hermione's breathing increased at Rosier's words, 'he' wants her, she knew there was only one 'he' they could possibly be speaking about, and she did not want to know what he wanted done with her. She started struggling again, she bit down on his hand, the taste of metallic blood coating her mouth as she succeeded in removing his hand. She kicked behind her and whipped her head back, the back of her head hitting his nose.
She could hear him screaming behind her, cursing and swearing as blood pooled out his nose. Hermione's became disorientated, her vision blurry after hitting her with her head, she could feel the darkness wanted to creep in but she had to escape. Now that she had freed herself from Selwyn she ran towards Rosier, he was so surprised at her attack of Selwyn that he hadn't even grabbed his wand yet. She tackled into his chest and hit him once in the face before crawling over him, crawling across the ground trying to gain her footing again so she could run out of the alley.
Hermione was at the end of the alley when Selwyn finally pulled himself together and pointed his wand at the witch.
"Crucio!" he yelled. The yellow curse hit her right in the back, and she dropped to the ground, writhing, and screaming in pain.
Hermione had never felt so much pain before, it was like her nerves were on fire. Somehow that familiar feeling she felt during use of magic was present, but even that couldn't help or soothe her. The pain lasted for so long that she lost the sense of time, the fire enveloped every nerve in her body, her screams burning her throat even more.
Finally, the pain subsided.
Finally, she felt relief.
However, the relief was temporary. Selwyn let out a cruel laugh and performed the spell again. The second time felt even worse, like a thousand knives were stabbing her whole body. She could see the darkness at the edges of her vision, the cloudiness overtaking her brain as her body gave up fighting the pain.
After the second curse was lifted and the third was applied, her body gave out and Hermione collapsed on the ground.
"Fuck that bitch," growled Selwyn wiping the blood from his face. He leaned over Rosier and held out a hand to help his comrade up. Rosier told him to meet him at the Manor and then Apparated out of the alley, Selwyn looked down at Hermione, fisted his fingers into her hair and Apparated them both.
-oOo-
When Hermione opened her eyes, she was looking at a dark stone wall with water dripping down it. She rolled over and groaned, her body was in agony. She looked herself over and saw no injuries, but then the memories started to come back. She had been tortured with magic, one of the Unforgivables.
Looking around the room, she was likely in a dungeon. There were no windows and there was only one door with a lock on the outside. She stood up and tried to stretch yet when she put the weight on her legs, her knees gave out. When she fell to the floor, she hit the ground hard and let out a cry.
Her cry must have alerted to someone to her being awake as footsteps could be heard coming towards her door. She pulled herself up onto the hard stone 'bed' she had been provided, refusing to be sitting on the floor looking even more vulnerable than she already was. She would not show weakness.
On the door was a small hole with bars that was covered, when the footsteps stopped in front of her door, the window slid open revealing the face of Selwyn.
"Ah, the mudblood is awake," he chuckled humorously.
"Where am I?" she demanded; her gaze cold.
"You are to be the guest of honour, come on mudblood," he sneered, opening the door, "You will either come with me willingly or you will have another taste from my wand, got it?"
Hermione had positioned herself to defend herself from the wizard, but at his warning she backed down. She didn't want to experience that again, especially not before wherever he took her. She had to be at her strongest to be able to escape where he took her, if she was weak there was no way she would get away. Selwyn smiled cruelly as he stalked towards her, his hand going behind her neck and fisting her hair. He led her out the room and up the stairs, leading her with the tight grip in her hair, she could feel her hair separating from her scalp, but kept her mouth shut.
Selwyn led her through a door into a well decorated home. It was obviously the home of a wealthy pureblood family, there were moving portraits, extravagant decor, and marble flooring. He pushed her through the home, passing through an entranceway that boasted a magnificent chandelier and spiral grand staircase. If Hermione had been here for any other reason, she would have admired the beauty and history the home exuded, she could even imagine characters from her classic novels living here, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy or Marianne and Willoughby or Colonel Brandon walking through the halls. Yet, she couldn't enjoy any of it, she was admiring the home for one reason and that was for her escape, but there was nothing she could see.
Selwyn finally led her to a final door; it was a double door that was pulled closed. He pushed her up against it before opening the door and shoving her through. She had not been expecting that, since he kept such a tight hold on her on the way up, that she fell face forward onto the floor.
Hermione heard the laughter around her, she was surrounded by many wizards. Looking up she noted that she was in some form of ballroom, the room was massive. Beautiful artwork and mirrors surrounded the walls, large floor to ceiling windows let in natural light igniting the gold accent pieces. At the front of the room stood one man, an attractive man with brown hair and light skin, his eyes glowing an unnatural red. Around her stood wizards, and some witches, all in black robes and silver masks, all facing towards the singular man, with Hermione in the middle.
"Ah, the young McCallister witch, is it?" spoke the man. He had a voice that sounded like butter, charming and alluring, yet Hermione couldn't help the shiver over her whole body at the sound. She remembered the shiver she felt at Sirius' voice and that had been pleasant, this shiver left her revolted. She wanted to be as far away from this 'man' as she could.
She refused to answer, simply held her chin up and stared defiantly ahead.
"Selwyn, Rosier, you said she was a difficult witch to find?" the man asked, glancing over Hermione's shoulders at the wizards behind her. Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard behind everything terrible happening in the wizarding world. The man that took her best friend from her, made him join a dark cause. Would Regulus be here? She hoped not.
"The mudblood wasn't at her home," responded Rosier. Hermione's breath caught in her throat; they had been to her home? The man must have seen the widening of Hermione's eyes and the tensing of her body.
"Not at her home, how ever did you find her then?" asked Lord Voldemort amusedly, Hermione could tell he already knew. This was for her benefit. He wanted her to know how they found her.
"My Lord, her muggle parents happily informed us of her whereabouts. Didn't even take a bit of torture, said we could have the freak," laughed Selwyn.
"They called our kind freaks?" asked the wizard, his amusement ending, "Magic is a gift that their daughter steals and they dare insinuate that we are the freaks?"
"They were taken care of. We already had her location and decided to have some fun with the muggles," admitted Rosier. Hermione's eyes welled up, she knew her parents disliked her, she knew they thought she was a freak, she had hated them, but she didn't want them dead!
She didn't know how to feel, they were dead, they had hated her, they had given her up to dark wizards, nevertheless they were still her parents.
"You, little mudblood, were supposed to be living with muggles," the dark wizard finally spoke to Hermione, "how did you come to live at the Leaky Cauldron?"
Hermione felt something prod into her brain, a presence trying to look through her mind and she quickly pushed them out and closed her mind off. She had read enough Occlumency books over the years to know that the dark wizard was trying to use Legilimency, which she would have found impressive that he was doing it wandlessly if she wasn't the victim.
"Impressive," he muttered, staring down at the witch that pushed him from her mind. "Do you know why I have brought you here, young mudblood?"
Hermione stared down the man in front of her, she wasn't giving anything up to this man. She wouldn't speak a word to him, he wanted a reaction from her, and she wouldn't give him it.
"Did she bite her tongue off when you tortured her, Selwyn?" Voldemort asked the Death Eater.
"No, my Lord, she is just a stubborn and defiant little thing," smiled Selwyn, knowing that torture was ahead of her. He wouldn't admit it but even he was impressed at her boldness, not many could stand before Lord Voldemort and not shiver in fear. She was standing with her shoulders back and chin up and eyes cold and hard.
"We will just have to loosen that tongue then," spoke Voldemort, "However, I will grant you the mercy of explaining your purpose here."
Hermione stared ahead at the space above Voldemort's shoulder, she refused to look in his eyes where he could see her emotions and have easier access to her mind. Even she could not hold him off forever if he tried a full-frontal attack with eye contact.
"You my dear have been whispered about for years. The mudblood that was sorted into Ravenclaw, already a smart so-called witch. Not only do you prove your place in your House, but you also beat every record in grades the school has seen since Rowena Ravenclaw herself. That drew my attention first, I had never believed a witch or wizard could surpass my intelligence while at Hogwarts, but you are also from muggle parents. While this had drawn my attention, another fact became known to me. You had befriended two pureblood wizards, one being the scion Black. While this was of no consequence to me years ago, when the heir Black was disowned and the scion took his place, young Regulus drifted from his friend. I heard whispers of the mudblood still standing up for her dear Slytherin friend against his own brother.
"Once again, my attention was drawn to you. However, from my conversations with the young Black, your magic is just as capable as anyone else. You may be smart, but it was not impressive enough to be considered dangerous. I decided to continue with my path of Marking the young Black, which he did admirably. However, after his Marking I realized that his connections could prove useful to me. While you did not interest me, your other friend did. The pure-blooded son of Head Auror.
"If I could have Barty Crouch's son, I could use him to spy on his father and betray him. I knew that your friend had no love for his father, yet suddenly, your young friend was spending time with witches. He was acting like a young, brainless adolescent boy. I do not only have eyes through the house of snakes, mudblood, I have eyes everywhere. Your young friend had his fun, he attempted to stray from the path I have deemed for him, he will thank me after."
Hermione felt her blood run cold when Voldemort mentioned Barty, she hadn't heard from him in weeks. Was this why? Had Voldemort found him?
Her fears were confirmed when Voldemort motioned for someone to enter the room. Two Death Eaters entered the room, a wizard struggling in between them as they led him through by the arms. Barty Crouch Jr. was being pulled towards Lord Voldemort, he was pushed down beside Hermione, ordered to kneel before Lord Voldemort.
"Ah, young Barty, I am glad you have joined us," greeted Voldemort, his hands raised in what was supposed to be a friendly gesture.
"My Lord," whispered Barty.
"Have you thought about my offer?" Voldemort asked, his wand twirling in his fingers.
"I am honoured, my Lord, but my fath-" Barty tried to say, however he was cut off with a Crucio. Barty thrashed on the ground, screams ripping through his throat as the curse tortured him.
"Barty, Barty, I hate to hurt you so. I do not want to harm my followers, you are all so special to this cause," crooned Voldemort, stepping down and kneeling in front of Barty, soothing down his hair as if he was repentant on causing Barty's pain. "While I do not wish to harm my followers, I cannot say the same of mudblood filth."
Barty tensed as he finally glanced up at the person beside him. His eyes widened and breath caught as his eyes made direct contact with Hermione's.
"My Lord, please-" Barty tried to scramble forward on his hands and knees.
"Stop!" bellowed Voldemort, "You have taken too long to answer, your punishment will be to witness this. Bellatrix, Malfoy, forward."
From the group of Death Eaters stepped forward Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy.
"Malfoy, hold young Barty here. I will not have his punishment interrupted," ordered Voldemort, "Bellatrix, you may have some fun. I just do not want her dead."
Lucius Malfoy stalked forward and grabbed Barty around the scruff, pulling him to his feet. He held Barty's chin, forcing him to stare forward, and pulled his arms behind him, pulling tightly that his arms may break if he struggled.
Bellatrix casually strolled around Hermione cackling and twirling her wand as she inspected the witch in front of her. Bellatrix would have said she was impressed by the bravery the witch showed, would have believed she was a Gryffindor, but she didn't want to waste her thoughts on a mudblood.
"Crucio!" Bellatrix finally screeched. The curse hit Hermione in the stomach, she dropped to the ground in a dead weight. She refused to scream this time though, she fisted her hands, her fingernails digging into her skin. She scrunched up her face and bit her lip trying to hold in the cries. She wanted to sob and cry and let it all out, but she didn't want to show weakness. Not when this was Barty's punishment, he didn't need to suffer more than he already was from watching her.
The curses kept coming, she felt moments of relief between each one. It felt like hours, she could feel her fingers constantly twitching when the curse was removed, her nerves were still activated between each round giving her no true moments of relief. She honestly thought she would go insane from the torture.
She had long given up on being silent, the screams broke through after the fourth round. The laughter could be heard around her, the cackling from the crazy bitch above her, the low chuckle of the monster that ordered this. She could hear the sobs of Barty as he watched, she wished she could tell him it was okay, he had to not let them see him break for her. It was during the longest reprieve that she made eye contact with another pair of familiar eyes. Stormy grey eyes.
Regulus.
Regulus was here too; he was watching and from the look in his eyes it was killing him. This was why he had broken ties with her, to protect her from this very treatment. She wasn't just a punishment; she was entertainment for these disgusting wizards and witches.
Hermione lay on the ground taking in deep breaths as she waited for the next round of Crucio's to hit her. She felt her fingers and legs twitching, it felt like her chest would constrict and she couldn't breathe when the twitching hit her ribs, and even her heart skipping a beat as it trembled from the after shocks. Her throat was raw from the screams, she knew if she tried to speak her voice would be raspy if she even had one. Her thoughts also felt jumbled, like she couldn't think straight, and she was looking at her memories through a fog. She hoped she wasn't losing her mind.
As she had been expecting to be hit by another curse, Hermione jumped and thrashed when the sadistic witch sat on her chest and straddled her instead.
"Come now, little mudblood, we're just going to try something a little different," cackled Bellatrix, wrapping her hands around her wrists and pushing them down to her sides. Once she had a firm grasp of Hermione, she lifted her left knee and pinned her right arm down with it, then using both hands pulled Hermione's left arm out, so her forearm was facing up. Hermione looked up at the witch and the crazed look in her eyes, the madness gleaming in the dark grey swirls. A Black family trait to have grey eyes, but they were so different from Regulus and Sirius. Both Black brothers had a kindness and warmth in their eyes, even when they were angry there was a protectiveness in the greying storm, but Bellatrix only had insanity.
Hermione's eyes widened and a scream escaped her mouth again as she felt a sharp point break through the skin of her forearm. She looked over and started struggling even harder when she saw the knife in Bellatrix's hand gliding down her arm. Blood was pouring out of the lines, pooling on the ground under her. The blood smeared on her skin, on her clothes, the exhaustion beginning to creep in as the blood flowed out of her. It burned worse than the curse, she could feel it through her entire body, as if there was a curse on the blade spreading through her blood. She needed to get this witch off of her.
It was not a fight she could win, however. She had used up so much energy enduring the curses, she didn't even know how long she had been tortured and now she was losing blood. The darkness finally started to win, and her vision clouded over and finally overtook her.
Hermione went limp under the witch, allowing Bellatrix to finish her mission without struggle. She sat up and looked down at the young witch with a satisfied gleam. Now, if she survived, she would never forget what she was.
Across Hermione's forearm, from the bend in her elbow down to her wrist, was the word 'MUDBLOOD'. She had used one of her special blades, it was a cursed blade and made sure that the pain of the inflicted wound could be felt over the whole body and would never heal. It would stop bleeding however it would never scar as a white line; it would always be a dark, tender wound.
"I don't want her dying, Bellatrix," Voldemort spoke, his voice low in warning as Hermione bled out on the floor. Letting out a dramatic sigh, Bellatrix sent a spell at the wounds and stopped the heavy bleeding. She hadn't healed the wounds, but she had ensured the girl wouldn't die from blood loss. Maybe infection if not treated, though.
"Ennervate," she giggled, forcing the girl to wake up again, "Mudblood, wakey wakey!"
Hermione groaned and opened her eyes to look at the witch that enjoyed inflicting pain on her. Why couldn't they just let her die yet?
"That's enough Bellatrix," Voldemort said, walking towards the young witch on the floor. He gave her a kick in the stomach with his foot, causing her to roll over and hold her ribs. "Such filth, young Regulus and Barty, how you wasted your time with such scum. Now, Fenrir."
From the crowd stepped forward a tall, bulky man, with a ferocious grin gracing his face. Hermione shivered looking at him, he looked more monster than man.
"My Lord," growled the man, his voice sounding as animalistic as his features.
"I believe you wished to taste the mudblood? When is the full moon?" asked Voldemort causally, as if discussing the weather.
"No! My Lord! Please, anything!" screamed Barty. His voice was hoarse from sobbing, his face wet from tears, his palms sporting bloody crescent moons from his nails. He couldn't let anything else happen to Hermione, she had suffered too much at his expense, he had tried to protect her and failed, failed because he wanted to avoid being a Death Eater. He would be one if it saved her. He had to save her, even at the cost of his soul. "Please, I will join, I will take the Mark. Please just let her go."
Voldemort raised an eyebrow as he contemplated the boy. Should he Mark him and let her go, gaining loyalty from giving his Death Eater something he asked for so desperately? Or should he Mark him, kill her, and gain his loyalty from fear?
"You will take the Mark if I let the mudblood go?" he asked, "Without argument you will follow my orders and be loyal to only me?"
"Yes, my Lord. Please, just let her go," begged Barty.
"Why should I save a mudblood? Why would you want to?" sneered Voldemort.
"She is not a threat to you; she was kind to me when my father was not. I owe her that at least," whispered Barty.
"I will show you this mercy, Barty Crouch. In return you will follow me loyally, you will share your fathers' secrets, and you will ensure the future we are fighting for comes to be. Do you promise this?" asked Voldemort. Barty nodded and dropped his eyes to the floor. He would do whatever it took to protect Hermione, his father had never been there for him, Hermione had been there whenever he needed her.
Hermione was picked up roughly by Greyback and returned to the dungeons to await Barty's Marking ceremony. It was scheduled for the following week, a revel planned to follow the ritual in celebration of a new ranking Death Eater. Hermione was kept in the dungeon, only given minimal food that appeared to be the leftovers of a dog's meal.
While Hermione had been promised safety in exchange for Barty's Mark, that didn't stop Death Eaters from taunting her through the door. Selwyn on what he would enjoy doing to her if he could have his way, Bellatrix telling her what other words she would carve into her skin, and Greyback talking about how sweet her skin smelled, and how badly he wanted to lick her blood up and sink his teeth into her. The mental torture only found reprieve when they dragged her back up to the ballroom, Voldemort continued to have her tortured with a few rounds of Crucio in front of Barty to remind him of his promise.
The day of the ritual she was dragged up by her hair, unable to stand from lack of nutrients, sunlight, and a full day's reprieve from torture. Selwyn had no issues dragging her across the floor by her hair, he just told her how easy she would be to take when she couldn't even stand. While she had endured a lot under the care of Voldemort, she was relieved that none of them followed through on touching her or raping her. It was the smallest silver lining, but it was there.
She was thrown before the feet of Voldemort once more, the Death Eaters surrounding them again. Barty was also in the middle with her, but he was standing tall in front of Voldemort. She had been brought up to witness the ritual, however she was so disorientated and the light hurting her eyes that she couldn't concentrate on the events unfolding in front oh her. She heard chanting, she smelled smoke, heard hissing, and then she heard Barty's scream. Hearing his scream broke her from her trance and she looked up to see her best friend kneeling in front of Voldemort, his left forearm facing up as Voldemort's wand pressed on it. From the wand spread a dark ink, spreading over his skin into the shape of a skull and a snake.
The Dark Mark.
Barty had been Marked.
"Stand, my son," announced Voldemort, stepping back from the young wizard.
Barty took a deep breath and stood up tall, his chin up as he stared in front of him at the dark wizard in front of him.
"Thank you, my Lord. It is a true honour, I apologize for taking so long to accept such high praise," spoke Barty, his voice low and lacking in emotion. Hermione wanted to cry, she had lost both of her best friends, however, she had no tears left in her. She had no energy left. Finally, she let the exhaustion envelop her.
-oOo-
Sirius Black stepped onto Platform 9 and ¾ for his last journey to Hogwarts. He was starting his last year, his NEWT year, and he would be graduating before deciding what he would do after school. He could afford to never work again, he had been raised to never think about having a proper career, but he wanted to do something with his life. Hearing about the war outside made him think about being an Auror, he and James had talked about it and even sat day with James' dad to learn about the real experiences. Auror Moody had even stopped in a few times, however he seemed to have his own concerns.
Sirius had never seen the Auror that tense, so he knew it was getting bad. He wanted to do something, especially when people he cared about were targets. James was in love with a Muggleborn, Lily Evans was what these dark wizards wanted to eradicate. Remus was their best friend and as a werewolf he wouldn't have the protections of the ministry, Sirius had to be able to protect his best friend, even Peter who would never want to harm a soul. They needed someone that could do it, and if he became an Auror he would have the skills and training to do so.
Another person he could help would be McCallister, she was a Muggleborn too. He had admitted to himself that he fancied her, had even tried sending her an owl, or two though she never replied. She had been friends with his brother, who he knew was a future Death Eater if he wasn't already one. He hoped he would see her on the train, ask her why she didn't reply to him. However, as he looked around the station, he never saw her. He checked the compartments on the train and couldn't find her there either.
Deciding she must be one of the witches that arrives at the last minute, he sat with his friends. Peter was snacking away as usual, as Remus was also reading a book. James was pretending to read as he constantly glanced at the door waiting for Lily Evans to walk by or open their door. Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend, how he was still convinced Evans would fall in love with him after the number of rejections he had, astounded him.
After the train left for Hogwarts, he made an excuse and went off to search for McCallister again. Frowning when he still couldn't find her, he walked past a compartment that held Barty Crouch Jr. alone.
"Crouch," Sirius greeted the wizard when he opened the compartment door. Barty was startled by the door and jumped, looking up at Sirius frantically, fear in his eyes, "Sorry, mate, didn't mean to scare you. You seen McCallister anywhere?" Sirius saw a flash of pain across the wizard's eyes, but it was gone so fast Sirius wasn't sure if he actually saw it.
"Not sure where the bint is," sneered Barty. Sirius was shocked at the disgust that Barty displayed, he thought they were friends, voicing as much, "McCallister is nothing but a useless mudblood. Get out of my face Black!" Barty pushed past Sirius and stormed away, leaving the older wizard gaping after him. How could the son of an auror voice such disgusting rhetoric, a person he used to be best friends with? Sirius frowned and made his way back to his compartment; something was going on with that witch and her friends.
When they arrived at the castle and situated themselves at the Gryffindor table, the Marauders caught up with the housemates and Sirius kept glancing at the Ravenclaw table. He never saw McCallister join her housemates, he noticed that Crouch sat alone, away from his fangirls from last year. He noticed Regulus watching Crouch closely, Sirius could tell him brother looked pained at whatever he was thinking. For the entire feast Sirius kept his eyes on the table of blue and bronze but she never appeared.
For the entire first week at school, he watched the Ravenclaw table, hoping she would appear. He noticed that McGonagall also glanced at the table sadly and then would turn and frown at the headmaster. Sirius wanted to know where she was, but he didn't know who to ask, he was considering cornering Flitwick one day after Charms. The head of Ravenclaw should know where one of his charges were, however, he wasn't sure if Flitwick would share that information with him.
His friends were worried about him, they weren't used to seeing him worried and there wasn't anything they could do to help him. They tried distracting him, tried planning more pranks, but their pranks just reminded him that McCallister was not going to come up and yell at him anymore.
James was also not much help as he was too caught up in Evans, she was finally speaking to him without yelling. While she hadn't accepted his dates to Hogsmeade, she wasn't brushing him off and calling him a toerag anymore. Sirius had asked her about McCallister, if she had heard anything but the red-headed Muggleborn didn't know anything about the other witch's muggle life.
It was the morning following the full moon when Remus Lupin woke up in the Hospital Wing and inhaled the morning air. When he inhaled, however, he picked up on a scent he hadn't smelled since their last year at Hogwarts.
Hermione McCallister.
Remus sat up quickly and looked towards the bed the smell was coming from, but it was covered with a privacy barrier. He took another deep breath and picked up more scents around her, there was medical ointments, sweat, but strongest of all was blood. Remus wanted to run out and find Sirius, but he had to get himself fixed up first.
Madame Pomphrey appeared from his office moments later, letting out a startled gasp when she saw Remus sitting up.
"Mr. Lupin, how are you feeling this morning?" she asked, pointing her wand at him and running some diagnostics.
"Same as usual," he muttered, eyes darting back over to the private bed. The mediwitch must have noticed where his eyes were looking because she let out a sad sigh.
"I cannot share anything with you Mr. Lupin, just be aware that student will likely be there when you return next month," she admitted sadly. She handed him his pain potions, his pepper-up potion, and his wand, "You are free to leave once you have taken your potions and dressed. You have no injuries to heal today."
Remus quickly downed his potions, threw his clothes on, and ran from the hospital wing. He ran to Gryffindor tower and up to his dorm. It was a Sunday; his friends would not be awake early if they didn't need to be.
"Sirius!" he cried out, slamming the door open. The wizard in question fell out of bed as Remus stormed in.
"What the fuck, Moony!" groaned Sirius from the floor. James threw a pillow over at them before rolling over and going back to sleep, whereas Peter never even stirred.
"Padfoot!" panted Remus, he wasn't used to running as a human, especially not the morning after the moon, "McCallister!"
Sirius had been climbing back into bed when Remus spoke her name, his head whipped around to stare at his friend, his eyes demanding the answers his mouth could not.
"She's in the hospital wing," Remus finally gasped out, bending over holding his sides. James had barely glanced over his shoulder at the news by the time Sirius was pulling on trousers and hopping out the room desperate to get to the hospital wing to see her. Why was she there?
Sirius ran the whole way to the hospital wing, he barged into the room not even caring about the mediwitch. He looked around the room and spotted the privacy shield, ignored it and pushed his way into Hermione's space.
He stumbled back when he finally saw her.
She no longer looked like the strong defiant witch that stood up to him every day with her hair and eyes sparking. No, she looked small, pale, thin, vulnerable.
Sirius hated it, she shouldn't look like that. She should be staring up at him, angry that he had barged his way in. But she wasn't she was laying down, eyes closed, she looked like she was sleeping but not a peaceful sleep. Her face was pinched, her eyes flickering under her eyelids.
The more he stared the more he took in. Her cheeks were thin, like she hadn't eaten in months. Her body twitched as if she was being shocked every few minutes. Her left arm was bandaged but blood was seeping through and staining her blanket.
As he stared, her trembling grew, increasing to full convulsions as her body thrashed around in the bed. She opened her mouth and screams started to fall from her mouth. Sirius stared horrified as she showed him proof that she had endured the torture curse. He was so transfixed that he didn't spot Madame Pomphrey running past him and hold her down.
"Black!" she screeched at him pulling him from his trance, "Help me!"
Sirius ran forward and asked the witch what he needed from her. She asked him to hold her arms while she placed the paralysis charm over her, Hermione's thrashing would only inhibit her healing. Sirius watched unseeing as the witch cast her spells over the young witch, he could only stare at the blood on his hand from holding her wrist down. The mediwitch took pity on him and vanished the blood from his hand, but that didn't stop his stare.
"Black, why are you here?" she asked softly.
"Why is she here?" Sirius asked hoarsely when he finally found his voice.
"I can't disclose anything about my patient, Black. If you wish you can stay with her," the older witch offered, Sirius nodded mutely and sat beside the young witch.
The mediwitch worked around the wizard, she started cleaning up the bloody bandage. When she unravelled the soaked dressing, she heard Sirius gasp at the sight. The older witch sucked in a breath every time she laid eyes on the word, she could understand the young wizard's reaction, and she felt guilty allowing him to see the young witch in such a way. However, Madame Pomphrey knew that Hermione didn't have many people in her life, she needed someone, and she had a feeling Sirius Black would be that person.
When she had finished redressing Hermione's wound with a new covering, Sirius pulled his chair up beside her as close as he could. He pulled her hand into his and held it tightly, it was colder than he expected, but just as small and soft as he had believed it would be. He had been thinking of the moment he would hold her hand for the first time, and this was not how he imagined it any way.
He would stay by her side though; she would wake up and he would be here.
A/N: What did you think of the rollercoaster ride? Hope you enjoyed that! Please read and review, don't forget to favourite and follow too!