In the beginning, I warned to watch out for Astoria. This chapter is largely the reason why. Warning for violence, torture and insulting language. You can skip to the next chapter if these topics make you uncomfortable.
The first thing Hermione noticed as she regained consciousness was that her arms were painfully stretched over her head. She tried to pull them down but something stopped her.
The shock made her open her eyes. She was in a dark room with stone walls and floors – a dungeon.
She craned her neck up and saw that her wrists were shackled to a steel bar hanging from the ceiling. Her arms were stretched taunt and she had a horrifying impression that she was hanging over a chasm. A look towards her feet told her that this was not the case. She was merely not standing on them properly. She quickly found her balance on the floor, relieving her cramping arms. The movement also made her realize that there were manacles attached to her ankles as well. She could stand but between her bound hands and feet, she could hardly move from the spot.
'Oh, god… this cannot be happening!' she cried in her mind.
The last thing she could remember was Astoria Greengrass barging into their room with her guards. They proceed to stun both her and Ron. Her vision finally came into focus enough to look around properly. She immediately spotted Ron. He was about three meters away, tied in the same position and manner as her, and still slumbering. She scanned the room more. There were no signs of Harry or anyone else but she could not turn to look all the way around. There was no exit except a tiny window with bars which was also the only source of light.
"Ron… wake up!"
The red-headed boy mumbled something incoherent as he opened his eyes. He went through the same series of shocks as Hermione upon finding himself in such position.
"Hr-mione," he stammered. "Whe- where are we?" he asked even as he tried to pull away from his shackles in vain.
"I don't know. Looks like a basement… a dungeon. I think Astoria had us put here after we were stunned."
Ron groaned as he fully woke to their situation. "Yeah… I remember now," he squinted at the room, turning as far as the chains would allow. His gaze lingered on Hermione. "Are you alright?"
"I think so," she answered. The 'for now' remained unspoken but they both thought about it. "You?"
"Yeah, I am good... all things considered," Ron laughed a little. "Have you seen Harry?"
"No," Hermione said. "And I am worried. I think he might be in trouble."
Ron was about to tell her it was going to be ok when a third voice spoke behind them, from part of the room they could not see.
"Oh, right now I'd worry more about yourself Granger." Her heels made clicking noise on the stone floor as Astoria Greengrass walked to the front and revealed herself to her prisoners.
She was wearing a black knee-length dress that left her shoulders bare. It stood in contrast to the simple coarse prison garbs that Ron and Hermione were forced to wear. She stopped in front of Hermione and looked at the older girl with haughty expression. The diamond earrings and a floral necklace of precious stones adoring her neck screamed out her pureblood heritage. Hermione heard rich pureblood witches would dress so expensively every day, even in their homes. It was ridiculous.
"Why are you doing this?" Hermione asked. With her hands and feet in chains, she was totally vulnerable if Astoria decided to do something to her in that moment. She kept watching her warily while mentally assessing the younger Greengrass sister. Astoria's hair was more caramel compared to the gold-ash blonde of her older sister. Her eyes were also grey, not blue and she was couple centimeters taller than Daphne. But otherwise, the family resemblance was easy to discern. Just like her sister, she was also a very beautiful girl. And just as with Daphne, that beauty was marred by the haughty hateful looks she was throwing at them.
"What do you want with us?" Hermione asked with worry.
The younger girl ignored her question and instead looked over Hermione's shackled and helpless form. "Hermione Granger… the brightest witch of our time," she eventually said and then grinned in Hermione's face. "I guess you aren't feeling so smart now, are you?" she asked mockingly. "No… smart people do not find themselves in places like this. They do not end up chained up like animals."
"Hey, she is still ten times smarter than you, snake!" Ron chose that moment to defend Hermione's honor.
Astoria looked sharply at Ron and jabbed a finger in his direction as she spoke. "Shut up, Weasel! I'll be with you soon."
She turned back to Hermione who was now looking at her with fear. "W-what do you want from us? And where is Harry?!" she demanded. Astoria ignored her again. "In my first year, I looked up to you, you know," she told her, taking Hermione by surprise. "You did?" she asked uncertainly. Even Ron looked at them with curiosity.
"Of course. All my life, I heard from my family how muggleborns are unfit to study magic unless they serve us, purebloods. Deep down, I never believed it. I mean we are all people, aren't we? Flesh and blood. And then I saw you and knew for sure my family was wrong. How could you be unworthy to study magic when you were the best of your year?" she continued her monologue. "You even beat Daphne and my sister is the smartest person I know!"
"I remember our discussions in the library… I enjoyed them," Hermione spoke when Astoria paused in her speech. "Why did you stop talking to me?"
"You really don't know, do you?" Astoria asked and chuckled when Hermione shook her head. "That's part of what is wrong with you. It's why I did not want to have anything to do with you after what you did! I still think treating all muggleborns like dirt is wrong but you, Hermione Granger, are the living example of everything that is wrong with mudbloods!"
"Hey, don't call her that!" Ron yelled, rattling his chains in anger again.
"Gag him! Now!" Astoria suddenly barked the order at someone. A split second later, there was a gag conjured in Ron's mouth. Hermione realized there was a guard, maybe more than one, silently waiting with them in the room where she could not see and guarding the young Greengrass girl. She should have known.
"That's better," Astoria said and laughed as all Ron now produced were muffled choking sounds.
"What did you mean?" Hermione asked in confusion but also in anger over Ron's treatment. "What have I ever done to you?"
With Ron's outbursts neutralized, Astoria continued with her rant. "You keep proving my point, Granger! You may be intelligent but you are a brute with no regards for her actions. You think you are always right and that we all should do what you say. You have no respect for the customs of magical world. If it were up to you, we would all be muggles with wands. And you force your stupid views and ideas on everyone around you. You are a bully Granger, nothing but a bully!"
"I am not. I never bullied anyone in my life!" Hermione protested. Astoria looked at her darkly. Her grey eyes glimmered. "Perhaps this will remind you…"
Astoria moved fast like the snake which was the sigil of her Hogwart's house. She pulled back her right arm and clenched her fingers into a fist before sending it straight into Hermione's face.
Crack!
The sound echoed through the dungeon as Hermione's nose broke and she swung in her chains at the impact. Several things happened at once. The muggleborn witch cried out in pain, Ron rattled in his chain and screamed into his gag like crazy, and Astoria gained an expression of supreme satisfaction.
"That was for Draco, you sick bitch!" Astoria proudly declared even as she massaged her suddenly painful wrist.
"Why?!" Hermione cried through the agony of her broken and bleeding nose.
Astoria responded by grabbing her jaw and moving her head in order to admire her handy work. "Why? You need to ask? You broke Draco's nose without remorse. Oh, I wanted to do this to you for so long. I am so glad I finally had the chance."
Hermione tried to explain she only did what she did in anger at Malfoy's gloating over Buckbeak's unjust execution. But over the pain and the blood flowing down her face, it came away as incoherent babbling.
"It really hurts, doesn't it? So much that it makes you cry?" Astoria asked when she saw the pained tears on Hermione's face. "Well, that happens when somebody breaks your nose. It's too close to the eyes and the tears come involuntary. Draco cried too and you all laughed at him," she said, looking briefly at Ron with hatred.
"So that's what I am going to do, Granger. Laugh at you!" she spoke and then tried to laugh but it sounded entirely forced. Astoria stopped at once and sighed. "I can't… I don't enjoy your suffering," she admitted. "You deserve it and I am glad I got to do this to you but I don't enjoy it."
Her admission was of little comfort to Hermione who suffered through the pain without anyone helping her. She could not believe how much her face hurt. And with her hands shackled above her head, she could not even touch it to assess the damage or alleviate the pain in any way. Hermione looked up at Astoria and their eyes met. "Help me… please," she tried to plead. She knew Astoria. She knew she was not a monster. But the younger girl slowly shook her head.
There was little mercy found in Astoria's grey eyes as she stared into her brown ones and wordless denied her any help. For a while, Hermione even feared she would punch her again instead. But Astoria was done with her. "I'll be leaving you for now, Granger. Let your pain be your lesson. Maybe in the future, you will remember that actions have consequences," Astoria told her smugly before turning serious. "When you hurt people I love, you pay," she said and paused before turning to Ron who has been desperately struggling with his chains even since Hermione's nose was broken.
"Believe it or not, you get it easy today," she said and then walked over to Ron. "Gag her," Astoria casually ordered along the way. Hermione's moans of pain became silenced as the guard conjured a gag in her mouth as well. She watched helplessly as the girl who just caused her such pain and misery walked over to one of her best friends.
"Ron Weasley…" Astoria droned just as she did with Hermione before. "… the best friend of Harry Potter. That's probably the greatest achievement you are known for. But perhaps it's not even true," she wondered as she glanced briefly at Hermione. "Maybe you are the second best-friend," she said and smiled at her own ingenuity.
Meanwhile Ron looked at her with utter hatred. Hermione was certain he would try to throttle the pureblood girl if he was not shackled. Her words struck right into his deeply held insecurities and stoked his anger.
"Yes, that sounds nice. Ron Weasley – the second-best friend of Harry Potter," she proclaimed and theatrically extended an open palmed hand towards him like she was introducing him to a room full of people. The next second, she used that same hand to slap his face. The chains rattled as Ron jerked in them angrily but he was helpless to stop her.
"Did you know that you were my first bad experience at Hogwarts?" she suddenly asked. At his confused expression, she continued. "Yes, I was walking to a class with my Slytherin classmates when you ran right into us in the corridor. You almost knocked a first year boy to the ground but you did not apologize. Do you remember what you told us instead?"
Hermione had a gnawing suspicion which was confirmed with Astoria's next words.
"You called us slimy snakes. It would not be the first time either."
To his credit, Ron felt a little ashamed at that but he still looked at her with utter loathing.
"I was hurt and confused by that before my housemates explained what your family was like. Then I understood," Astoria spat the next words in a decent imitation of her fiancé, "Blood traitors!"
She proceeded to slap Ron on the other side of his face.
"It took me a long time to understand what it truly meant… Daphne would disagree but I think your kind is so much worse than mudbloods. At least they can't help being what they are. But you… you had a choice. And you chose to be traitor!"
Hermione watched with horror as Astoria pulled a wand out of a hidden holster in her dress and pointed it at Ron. She thought she was going to torture him or even kill him but fortunately, she merely vanished his gag. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, traitor?" Astoria asked him.
"I'll say it's really courageous of you to slap a man while he's chained up," Ron spat, his face still red and raw from Astoria's attention. "Filthy evil bitch!" he then added.
"And how courageous was killing my dad?!" Astoria suddenly cried out, stopping any more insults he was going to hurl at her. Hermione was similarly shocked silent.
"Yes, I suppose you don't even know. My father… he and his friends fought battle against Order of Phoenix. Your brother – William," she spat the name like poison. "He was there. He murdered my dad in cold blood!"
When she was finished with her accusation, Astoria's shoulders were slumped and her head hang low as her eyes filled with tears. At that point, Hermione could not help but feel sympathy for her. Given what she has done to them so far, it was a very brief feeling but it was there. She never considered that death eater's had families too – people who will miss them when they die. But it was not like the Order members were the bad guys here. They did not start this war. Astoria's father was a death eater and she knew that Bill Weasley had only done what he had to.
Hermione would never tell it to the distraught girl in front of them, of course. For one, there would be no point as Astoria would never accept it. But mostly, it would be too cruel to basically tell her that her father was an evil man and that the world is a better place without him.
Unfortunately, Ron was still feeling outraged at what Astoria has done to the two of them and so instead of merely thinking what Hermione was thinking, he chose to say it out loud. Or rather yell it, right into her face.
"Your father was a bloody death eater. He got what he deserved!"
Hermione watched as Astoria's naturally pale face went deathly white and cold. Even her tears seemed to freeze at his words. She expected her to start slapping Ron again in retaliation for his words. Instead, she looked him right in the eyes and made a chilling promise. "I am going to destroy you, Weasley… I am going to destroy everything you are. Your family will pay for what it did to mine. That's a promise."
Ron either did not pick up her tone of voice or was even braver than Hermione thought because he then said "I am not scared of you, bitch!" Hermione was not sure how that was possible. She was utterly terrified at Astoria's proclamation and she was not even its target.
Meanwhile, the young girl looked to the part of the room she could not see where her so far unseen guard was watching. "The item… give it to me," she said and a moment later a man walked forward into Hermione's field of view. He was dressed in the nondescript black robes of Greengrass household guards. Hermione tried to see what he was handing to Astoria.
"Mistress, I still think what you plan is too dangerous. Perhaps you should discuss with lady Greengrass first."
Astoria shook her head resolutely. "I know what I am doing. Please trust me…"
The guard sighed but obeyed. "As you wish, mistress," he said and stepped back into the shadows. Hermione could finally see what he gave to Astoria. He saw Ron looking at it too. It was a metal bracelet with some strange markings on it.
"What is that?!" Ron asked her.
Astoria smirked in return. "Dad made this for me… I think it will be poetic that I will now use it to destroy you, Weasel."
With a perfectly executed Wingardium Leviosa, she levitated the bracelet towards Ron's right arm. He tried to shift in his chains as much as he could but was unable to prevent Astoria placing it against his forearm. The metal bracelet snapped on right below the shackle. The markings on it briefly glowed with eldritch light.
"There, it's done," Astoria declared with a huge smirk.
"I don't feel a thing," Ron told her with smugness, thinking that whatever the bracelet was supposed to do, it obviously didn't work. He realized he was wrong when Astoria spoke next.
"Punishment."
With that single word from the girl, the markings on the bracelet glowed and Ron started screaming and spasming in pain. Chains rattled and his tortured agony echoed around the dungeon, creating the most horrible scene that Hermione ever witnessed.
'He looks like he is under Cruciatus!' she thought desperately but there was nothing she could do for her friend. She could not even scream for her to stop with the damned gag still in her mouth. She was not sure how long Astoria kept him under whatever curse it was. By the time she finally stopped it, it felt like ages.
"There, did you like the demonstration?" she asked him with evil mirth after Ron stopped screaming.
"What the hell do you want from me?!" he screamed as he scrambled to stand up. He lost his footing sometime in the middle of his torture and was hanging by his arms by the time it stopped. "I won't tell you anything, you might as well kill me!" he challenged her.
"And what makes you think I want to learn anything from you? I told Daphne I would question you but honestly… I doubt you know anything useful. You are a nobody… a blood traitorous loser. Your only real accomplishment is being Potter's friend," she said and sneered evilly.
"Shut up!" Ron growled at her angrily but she continued unaffected.
"I am surprised that he bothered with you for so long… a side kick as pathetic as you. If it was me, I would have dropped you years ago. Just seeing you in Hogwarts every day made me sick… stuffing all that food down like a pig."
Suddenly, Astoria's expression turned joyful as she arrived to an epiphany. "Yes, that's it! You are not even a person. You are a pig! A blood traitor pig from disgusting family of murdering blood traitors!"
"Merlin, you are really insane, you know that, right?" Ron could not take it anymore and snapped at her. "Either tell me what you want or leave me the fuck alone!"
"I want you to ask for my forgiveness," Astoria Greengrass declared after his outburst.
"WHAT?!"
"You heard me! I want you to ask for forgiveness for what your family did."
"I'll never beg you for anything, you twisted little whore!" Ron replied, pulling on the chains as far as he could to get right into the young girl's face as he screamed.
Astoria tsked at his words. "I said ask not beg, but I like the way you think," she said, completely twisting Ron's words against him. "I mean you are a pureblood like me but you chose to be a blood traitor. That makes you inferior, right? So why don't you crawl in front of me like the filthy pig you really are?" she said and raised her wand.
Hermione could hardly believe but she watched as Astoria unlocked Ron's shackles.
"Go ahead, pig! Crawl and beg me. It should feel natural for you."
Ron lowered his arms down and stepped out of the restraints. He took one look at the girl in front of him before he surged forward to strangle her with his bare hands.
'Ron, no!' Hermione tried to warn him that the guard was still in the room.
But it turned out that Astoria did not need the guard. Long before Ron could touch her, his bracelet glowed and he fell to the ground, kicking and screaming in pain.
"Get it off… get it off!" he cried out between the painful spasms. He tried to remove the magical bracelet from his hand but it would not budge.
Suddenly the pain stopped. Astoria stood proudly over her fallen prisoner. "As you just experienced, the bracelet will also punish you whenever you try to attack me."
Ron was breathing heavily from the pain. He propped himself on his elbows, struggling to stand up. He looked up and saw Astoria towering over him.
"There is no need to get up, pig. You are where you belong now. Now, beg!" she said with so much mocking in her voice.
Ron saw red again at her words. "BITCH!" This time he tried to knock Astoria over where she was standing. He let the inertia carry him and it almost looked like the attack was going to connect. The guard even called out to his mistress. But right as he was about to hit her feet, the bracelet flared and he was pushed back away from her and send into another round of agonized screams.
While this was happening, Hermione was going out of her mind. Even the pain of her broken nose was temporarily forgotten. She desperately wanted to help Ron but all she was able to do was shake impotently in her chains. She had to do something. She moaned loudly into her gag and rattled the chains as much as she could. It finally caught Astoria's attention who looked at her and took note of her horrified expression. "Something to say, Granger?" she sneered and used her wand to finally remove the gag.
"Stop it! PLEASE! Don't hurt him!" Hermione blurted out rapidly once the gag vanished.
"I am not doing anything to him," Astoria retorted as she lightly kicked Ron's spasming body with the tip of her shoes. "He keeps trying to attack me and he is paying price each time. If you want it to stop, just tell him to behave."
Hermione shared a look with her. Astoria smiled proudly and Hermione knew she just won. She hated helping this girl humiliate her best friend but she could not watch him suffer needlessly. She knew she needed to stop it.
"Ron, please stop," she begged his friend when he stopped thrashing about. "Just do what she wants. Please! I can't see you suffer like this anymore!"
Ron pushed himself up to sit on the ground. He looked desperately between the two girls, one of which he loved and the other who he loathed. They were both telling him the same thing – to debase himself in front of the Greengrass girl like an animal. He felt like a reindeer caught in headlights. In desperation, he tried to smash the accursed bracelet against the stone floor.
"That won't work, pig. Daddy built it to last," Astoria giggled at his efforts. "Oh, and unless you do as I told you in the next ten seconds and ask for forgiveness, you will get another punishment."
"RON, PLEASE!" Hermione begged him desperately.
"Alright!" Ron cried out in defeat when he failed to destroy the bracelet. He got onto his hands and knees and moved in front of Astoria. He looked up at her and there was such hate in his gaze that Hermione feared he would try to attack her again.
But instead, he spoke the words. "I am sorry. Please forgive me for what my family did."
In that moment, Hermione was wondering whether she made a mistake. She could not stand to watch Ron suffer in pain but to watch him forced into obeying the whims of Astoria Greengrass was perhaps even worse on her psyche.
"Well done, pig," she told him mockingly. "Also – no. I will never forgive you!"
"But you said-"
"You think simple apology is enough to forgive for killing my father? Stupid pig!"
Ron shook his head in rage. "Alright. You had you fun bitch, now leave us alone!"
Astoria wiggled a finger in front of the kneeling boy's face in disapproval. "I am not nearly done with you, pig," she chastised him. "I promised I would destroy everything you are, remember? For starters, you will learn to obey me."
"Fat chance of that!" Ron immediately said. It looked like he was going to attack her again but it seemed that he no longer dared. He just stared at her hatefully.
"I could just punish you until you do everything I say but I am beginning to think that you like the pain," Astoria snorted at his refusal and then leaned over closer to her kneeling prisoner. "So how about I punish your friend for a while… would you like that?" she asked, looking over at Hermione.
For once, the brightest witch of their age was lost for words. One part wanted to tell Ron to not mind her and resist this evil bitch. Another knew that it was pointless and that as long as they were at her mercy, Astoria will do with them whatever she wants, no matter what they do. Deep down, Hermione also did not wish to face the pain she saw Ron in. She was not sure she could take. So in the end, she said nothing, feeling that anything she could say would make the situation even worse.
With no support seemingly coming from his best friend, something broke in Ron. "No, please don't… I'll… I'll obey."
The Greengrass girl straightened up and stood proudly in her victory. Both Ron and Hermione had their eyes cast down.
"Excellent. Come with me now, pig!" she then ordered and turned to leave. Ron hesitated when he saw her unguarded back but then he suppressed his urge to attack her. He was already punished three times for it. With supreme unwillingness, he stood up to follow her out.
"No! Where are you taking him?" Hermione shook in her chains as she saw her last friend being taken away. Astoria and Ron stopped in their tracks. Or rather Astoria stopped and Ron reacted. The pureblood witch pointed her wand at her and Hermione cowered, expecting an attack.
Instead, the shackles around her wrists and one of her ankles came undone. She still remained restrained by one of her ankles but she could now fully turn around to the other side of the room. There, she saw a guard silently waiting next to the door out of this dungeon room. With her hands free, she at once touched her face and her broken nose, trying to assess the damage and hissing in pain as she did.
"That does not concern you Granger," Astoria finally answered. "Let's just say your friend is about to learn what it means to be my pig…" she glanced at Ron and asked. "You wish to be my pig, don't you?" she asked him with mocking childish voice. "Or would you rather I make a pig out of your friend over there?"
Ron looked rapidly between Hermione, Astoria, and the guard at the door. He spotted the wand casually held in Astoria's hand and he made a grab for it.
He did not even get close before he fell down in pain. "AAAAHHH!" Ron screamed.
Astoria sighed as she looked between her wand and Ron. "You never learn, do you? Taking my wand by force is attacking me. What a stupid pig I have! Perhaps I should make pigs out of both of you."
"You can't do this to us! Does your sister know what you are doing?" Hermione tried a desperate gambit, hoping that perhaps Astoria was acting without permission.
The entire time she spoke with the two prisoners, Astoria felt like she would break apart and start jittering. She felt so confident as she planned the encounter in her mind last night. After all, she was the daughter of most ancient and noble house of Greengrass, right? Dealing with an annoying muggleborn and a blood traitor should be an easy task for someone like her.
But in the end, she could not ignore the fact they were both two years older than her and more capable in magic! With sheer willpower, she managed to maintain the cold pureblood façade that her parents taught her to display in such situations. But on the inside, she felt like running away from the cell at any moment and asking the guards to deal with them instead.
It got better when she forced herself to break Granger's nose. She did not like seeing the witch in pain but it felt like justice long overdue. In a rare instance of weakness, Draco once confessed to her that the mudblood breaking his nose and the ridicule that followed him for years was his worst memory. Now she made Granger pay for causing him so much indignity. Now Granger knew exactly what it was like… and Astoria felt deep satisfaction about that. She only hoped that one day she would be able to tell Draco what she has done. Perhaps even share the memory. What a gift that would be!
Her feelings on the Weasley boy were much more complicated. On one hand, she hated him. She hated all Weasleys! But she could not forget Daphne's words. 'Just remember his name is Ronald, not William.' At first, it made her huff in annoyance but later it got her thinking. What was the point in punishing Ron Weasley for something that his oldest brother did? Does he deserve to suffer? And even if he does, nothing she could potentially do to him would bring daddy back. She was almost about to call the whole thing off and tell Daphne she changed her mind … it just felt so utterly pointless and she was tired of it all.
But then the bastard went ahead and let her know that he did not feel sorry for her loss at all. He was actually happy that her father was dead! Daphne was wrong. Ron Weasley was just as guilty as his wretched brother! And so she vowed to herself and to him that she would make him pay.
It steeled her nerves and determination enough for her to proceed with her original plan. She had one advantage that even Daphne did not know about – the magical bracelet daddy made for her when she was betrothed to Draco. For some reason, he was deeply worried that Draco might abuse her after they were married. He told her if that ever happened that she should put the bracelet on Draco. That it would prevent him from hurting her and make him very much receptive to her wishes in the future. He explained how it worked.
As if Draco would ever hurt her! Astoria knew that Lucius Malfoy was a strange man sometimes but Draco's mother was a Black. She made sure that Draco knew to treat witches with respect. No, she would not be needing the bracelet for dealing with Draco… but it would be a perfect way to teach the Weasel a lesson.
Everything seemed to be working out. The bracelet functioned perfectly. The Weasel suffered punishment when he tried to attack her and the threat of more pain quickly made him stop trying. But in the end, it was threatening to do the same to Granger that actually turned out extremely effective in forcing him to comply. Perhaps even more than the pain itself.
It made Astoria wonder if there was something romantic going on between them. She heard many rumors over the years of Granger sleeping with Weasley, Granger sleeping with Potter, or Potter sleeping with Weasley… or even all three of them at the same time. She did not believe any of it even though most of the rumors came for Draco. She loved her fiancé but she knew he could not think rationally when it came to the golden trio.
In any case, if Granger and the Weasel really fancied each other, then Astoria would exploit it to her benefit. Maybe using the bracelet was not necessary and threatening Granger will be enough to break him. It was adorable.
As he dishonorably followed her out of the cell, she was already thinking about all the ways she was going to humiliate him. But then Granger once more applied her all-mighty brain and opened her big mouth.
"You can't do this to us! Does your sister know what you are doing?" she asked and it sent a slight shiver of fear and guilt down Astoria's spine that she barely managed to conceal from the two prisoners.
Granger was right.
Her sister told her to keep the muggleborn witch intact for now and yet she already broke her nose. Astoria was certain that Daphne would not be too crossed with her over that. At worst, it would earn her a disapproving glare for disobeying her instructions, but Daphne would not get too angry over it. She still hated Granger for rejecting the offer to serve house Greengrass in their third year. Maybe Daphne would be even secretly pleased, thinking that Astoria was finally embracing the pureblood ideas.
She would be wrong. Astoria only wanted to avenge the pain and humiliation Draco had to suffer at Granger's hands. Eye for an eye, nose for a nose. Her being muggleborn had nothing to do with it although she supposed it made the humiliation worse for Draco. Regardless, she did not have to worry about Daphne calling her out on Granger's treatment.
The real problem was the blood traitor pig. As far as she knew, Daphne had no idea daddy made the bracelet for her or what it could do. She was positive Daphne would not approve using it on Ron Weasley. She would insist that despite his family's crimes he was still a pureblood and it was wrong to do this to him. She would not wish any permanent harm on him…
Astoria could not let Granger figure out the truth or she might blab to Daphne about what she was doing to the Weasel. It was unlikely her sister would ever personally come to see her but just in case, Astoria decided to deter Granger from that line of thoughts.
Faking a hearty laughter, she said. "Hah, that's brilliant plan, Granger! Right now, Daphne does not care about you at all. But you go ahead! Complain to her that I broke your nose!" Astoria said and paused as she considered her next words. "This piece of shit," she gestured at Ron. "…is the brother of a man who killed our father. He will pay for that for a long time."
She moved closer to Hermione. "I have nothing else against you, Granger, so I am going to give you a friendly advice," she said and then spoke quietly in serious voice. "If you value your life, I suggest you do not draw my sister's attention. You will not like it one bit. You are nothing to her. Lower than a bug crawling in our gardens."
"But-"
"You think breaking your nose was bad? You are lucky that Draco is my fiancé. Had Daphne been contracted to him, she would have already handed you to a dementor for what you did. Is that what you want me to do?"
"No!" Ron suddenly spoke from where he was kneeling. "I'll do whatever you want. I will be your pig, Astoria. Please! Just don't hurt her…" he proclaimed.
Astoria could have kissed him at that moment… that is, if he wasn't an enemy, a traitor and a filthy pig. His pleading had a great effect on Granger who turned utterly defeated at his words. "Ron…" she said, no doubt longing to pull her friend into a hug but her last shackle prevented that. Astoria could almost hear her heart breaking.
Astoria grinned at Ron and then turned to Hermione. "Seems your friend made his choice… come with me, pig," she said and turned to leave with Ron Weasley reluctantly following.
The two friends shared one last look before the doors closed, leaving Hermione Granger utterly alone in her cell.