Meanwhile, at Shell Cottage….

"What do you mean you just left her there?!" Bill bellowed in absolute disbelief. He wasn't very close with Hermione, but he couldn't imagine leaving someone behind, knowing what horrors crawled the halls of Malfoy Manor.

"It's not like we did it on purpose ," Harry screamed manically pacing across the kitchen. "I would never just leave my best friend behind!"

"She was across the drawing room, being held at knifepoint by Bellatrix, when Dobby apparated into the manor; we didn't have the time to run across the room to bloody well grab her!" Ron shouted with tears running down his face.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the thoughts in Ron's head were much different than the show he was putting out for everyone to see. The bloody bint deserved it. Always acting like she was better than me, it was a breath of fresh air to see someone finally put her in her place.

After realizing that she wasn't left on purpose, Bill sighed. "Well, I suppose we should call the rest of the Order to let them know what happened and that we have the two of you safe."

Harry sadly shook his head and turned to walk away, not noticing the small smile that escaped Ron's lips.

As he walked outside, all he could think about was the pain Hermione had endured earlier that day and the pain she was surely going to go through now that she was alone. He desperately hoped that once the Order was here, they could organize a group to storm the manor to save her…

She had sacrificed so much to be with him on this journey. Her parents, her safety, and last but not least, her education, which meant so much to her. Harry couldn't bear to think about the possibility that she could be sacrificing her life at this very moment.

Back in Wiltshire…

Hermione screamed as another round of the Cruciatus Curse tore throughout her body.

You can do this. You can make it through whatever they do to you if it keeps Harry safe, she kept thinking to herself over and over.

Her morning had started by waking up to Bellatrix dancing into the dungeon, screeching, "Rise and shinnnnnnne , Mudblood. Time to play!"

That is how she ended up here, back on the drawing room floor, staring at the blood she lost yesterday, still stained into the floorboards. She huffed a laugh, thinking about how her dirty blood had seeped and stained into the very bones of this manor.

She chanced a moment to look up and saw Draco, staring at her from the corner with his jaw clenched. No emotion showed on his face, and when she looked into his eyes, she could tell he was heavily occluding with how glazed they were. Curious, she thought to herself. Why would he be occluding? He should be ecstatic that the girl he bullied for years is being tortured in his house by his deranged aunt.

Her train of thought was interrupted when Bellatrix cackled loudly. "Ickle little Mudblood, staring at Draco is useless; he would never help the likes of you!" It was like a lightbulb had gone off in Bellatrix's head.

"Dracoooooo," she cooed and smiled evilly. When Draco looked up at her, she motioned for him to come forward. "I've been having all of this fun by myself. I think it's time for you to have some fun."

When Bellatrix put her attention back on Hermione, she had failed to notice the grimace on Draco's face. Hermione looked up at Draco, and instantly in her mind she could hear his voice: "I'm going to try to make this as painless as possible, but in order for that to happen, you need to act your part."

She blinked to let him know she understood.

Waiting with bated breath for the red light she knew was coming didn't prepare her for when it finally hit her. It hurt, but not anywhere near as bad as when Bellatrix did it. Remembering his voice telling her to act the part, she let out a guttural scream and spasmed on the floor—she knew she agreed to a facade, but the spasms weren't fake, and she truly was in pain even if it wasn't as bad as earlier, the tremors still wracked her body.

The curse let up, Hermione heaving for breath as Draco pierced her with a deathly glare and drawled, "I think that's enough for today, Aunt Bella. We can't break her on the second day. You know The Dark Lord has given her a choice. Even if she doesn't join us, he can still break into her mind to get what he wants, and if we turn it into mush like you did those pathetic Longbottoms, he will most surely be disappointed."

"Dare you imply that I would disappoint Our Lord, Draco?" Bellatrix hissed at him, anger visible on her face.

"Not at all, Bella, just giving you a reminder that what he wants from her is valuable to us winning this war." He smirked, hoping he had finally gotten through her thick skull.

"Fine," she pouted like a child. "Take the trash back down to the dungeons where she belongs."

As she was levitated down to the dungeons—of course he didn't trust her to walk on her own accord on the spry chance she tried to do a runner—her mind was racing with thoughts of why did Draco help me? Am I sure that I can do this? I'm not sure how much more of the Cruciatus I can take before I go fucking barmy.

As much as she didn't want to turn her back on Harry, she was also reminded of all the times he had chosen Ron's side or turned his back on her for the smallest infraction. Just thinking of these past incidents had her clenching her fist so hard, that her knuckles turned white.

Unbeknownst to Hermione, while Draco was levitating her, he was also using legilimency. Staying in the back of her mind, hiding in the dark not to be noticed. He smirked, knowing that what he said had clearly caused trust issues towards her so-called "friends".

Once they were down in the dungeon, Draco slowly lowered her to the ground. Internally, she was thanking whatever gods for the little act of kindness—he could've just dropped her and caused the pain to be much more excruciating than it already was.

"Why did you help me?" She croaked, her voice still raspy from all of the screaming she had done.

"Because I don't want to hurt you, Granger," he said softly.

"What do you mean you don't want to hurt me? Draco, that's all you have done for the past seven years, which has hurt me not only emotionally but physically," she said incredulously to drive the point home. Even though he hadn't been crucio- ing her at Hogwarts, the little things still hurt.

"If I could change things, I would, Granger. Have you ever stopped to wonder if I had a choice in how I had to act or how my life turned out?" He looked away, not wanting to show more emotions than he already had.

She huffed, thinking to herself, Why now? Why, all of a sudden, has he decided to have a change of heart? Maybe this is a ploy to get me to change sides.

"Can you just leave me alone? I would like to be by myself," she asked quietly, not trying to give anything away—the last thing she wanted him to know was that she was having doubts.

"I suppose so, Granger," he frowned, a touch of emotion showing in his voice. "If you need me, just call for Dinky, and she will come get me."

Of course, he still has house elves. Didn't anyone take S.P.E.W. seriously? "I won't, but thanks for letting me know how I can get ahold of you." She bit out, still peeved, about his change of heart and the use of house elves.

She was having an internal battle with herself.

Do I turn my back on everyone I love, or do I save myself from the torture—surely I could give Voldemort small, insignificant things that wouldn't put anyone in harm's way— it was these thoughts that kept her from resting. Everything ran through her head. Would they understand, or would they hate me for turning on them?

Finally, after another hour of battling with herself, she fell into a state of unconsciousness from the torture inflicted on her.