Chapter 3

Hermione's head was throbbing and she tried to open her eyes. She tried again, but all she could see was darkness. She felt panic and wondered whether she had gone blind, blinking rapidly but seeing nothing. The rational part of her mind then kicked in and noticed the sensation of her own hot breath on her face. Realising she had something over her head she tried to reach to remove it, only to discover that her hands were also tied behind her back and to the chair upon which she sat.

Crap.

She pulled against the restraints and tried to jerk the covering from her head, but neither would budge.

'There's no use fighting,' came a man's voice from behind her. It had a smooth, rich tone and instinctively she tried to turn her head towards the sound, but saw nothing but the inside of the covering.

This was very, very bad.

Not only had she been seen, she had also been captured. The time ripples from this alone could be catastrophic. She needed to get away, fast. It would be tricky without her wand, but not impossible. Wandless and wordless magic were both difficult, in their own ways. In simple terms incantations helped to focus the magic on the intent, and the wand amplified the power. Wandless and wordless together was nigh on impossible, save for the likes of extinguishing a candle. Fortunately her foolish assailants had not gagged her, and so she was confident that she would be able to free herself from her restraints wandlessly. However, fighting off her captors would be challenging.

It made sense then, she reasoned, to try to get on their side, and wait for an opportunity to slip away. Unfortunately she did not know which side that was.

'Who are you?' she demanded, betraying no sense of fear. The memory had been checked and she had been assured that no one else had been present at the meeting point. And yet, the voice was not one she had heard in the woods.

'I don't think you're in any position to be the one demanding answers. So, let me instead ask, who are you?'

Hermione remained silent, considering her tricky position. She didn't know who had captured her, or how much they knew. But she also wasn't supposed to be here, and every interaction could be changing things.

'Not going to cooperate? Oh dear.' the voice queried. She could almost hear it smirking. 'I assure you, silence will be a worse outcome for you. If you speak, we might consider sparing your life. What were you doing in the woods last night?'

Last night? She thought, feeling the panic return. How long had she been knocked out? How long did she have to get back to the extraction point? She stayed silent once more. She could hear the man's footsteps as he paced the room. They came to a stop in front of her.

'Tell me, witch. Which side do you fight for?'

The voice was controlled, soft, and yet menacing in its quiet. She knew that if she answered wrong she could be in grave danger. But, perhaps she could play it safe. She knew Death Eaters would have no qualms in killing her there and then. At least the Order or the Ministry would spare her for trial.

'Fulgurtio,' muttered the voice, almost lazily.

She was pulled from her deliberation by a sharp, electrical pain to the abdomen, which radiated out and set her nerves tingling painfully. She cried out in pain and doubled over forwards.

'I fight for the Dark Lord!' she cried and felt the pain recede. Her heart was racing and her breathing heavy. Then came a dark chuckle followed by,

'Bad choice… Crucio.'

The pain was all consuming, overwhelming, and all too familiar. The curse hit her with the force of a thousand hot knives stabbing her flesh and she convulsed uncontrollably, feeling as though her body was being ripped apart from the inside.

'THE MINISTRY, I WORK FOR THE MINISTRY!' she screamed, but it sounded distant and detatched, as if coming from someone else.

'I don't believe you,' the voice was cold and emotionless, and the pain surged impossibly higher as it crashed over her.

'Expelliarmus!' yelled a new voice, alarmed, angry.

And just like that, the pain stopped as abruptly as it began, and she slumped forward gasping for air.

'What are you playing at?! She's one of them!' The first voice shouted, enraged. 'Give me my wand!'

'You know the rules,' the new voice said calmly, but with an authoritative firmness. 'We take her to HQ for questioning.'

'Have you gone soft?!' raged the first voice. 'You SAW what they did to Benjy! To Marlene's family! Do you think she would think TWICE about sparing us if the roles were reversed?!'

'But they're not,' asserted the second, with a tone of finality. 'Don't be like them Pads. Be better than them.'

Pads.

'Padfoot?!' Hermione gasped incredulously.

The voices stopped abruptly.

'Sirius Black? Is that you?' Her words rang out, met by a stunned silence.

'Who is this Sirius you speak of?' came the first voice, but it wobbled just enough to betray the uncertainty beneath.

'Sirius, please, you have to trust me. I'm on your side,' she pleaded. This was it. 'You're Sirius Black, codename Padfoot, ex-Gryffindor and member of the Orderof the Phoenix. You're an unregistered animagus who takes the form of a large black d-'

Suddenly the bag was ripped from her head and she caught her breath as she found herself nose to nose with familiar grey eyes. Eyes she had not seen for seven years. Only these eyes were set within a much younger face, and the mirth replaced by a glare of equal parts anger and fear.

'How do you know all that?!' he demanded.

'She must be a spy!' came the other voice from behind her, alarmed. She tried to turn her head but couldn't turn it far enough. 'We need to get her to HQ, NOW. Who knows how much information she's been passing...'

'I'm not a spy. I'm on your side. So if you would kindly untie me…'

Sirius scoffed.

'I think not.'

'Mr. Black,' she said, holding his gaze, unwavering. 'I am an Auror of the Ministry of Magic. I was on a mission to spy on Lestrange, but it seems that you interrupted, and by extension are guilty of obstruction of Ministry business and abduction of a Ministry official. And, Mr. Black, since you are an unregistered animagus I may just have to have you arrested if you'd like to do some time in Azkaban.'

He glared back at her and clenched his jaw. Stalemate.

'Now, let's add in the use of an unforgiveable curse and make it a life sentence whilst we're at it, shall we?' she added coldly, feeling victorious as his composure faltered.

'I-'

'Where is your badge?' cut the voice from behind her. 'Ministry officials must carry their badge in order to make arrests, and it seems you didn't have one on your person when we searched you.'

Sirius expression melted into one of relief, and then triumph, as the second man came into view. Hermione blinked as she recognised a young Remus Lupin regarding her with a suspicious expression. Satisfied that she had no further leverage he concluded,

'Now let us kindly stop all of this nonsense and take her to Mad-Eye. See if she really is one of his.'