"This is it," Ron Weasley declared happily, almost bouncing up and down on the spot as he, Harry and Hermione waited for Dumbledore to arrive.
Ron had been ecstatic to be personally handed an important task by Dumbledore. Not only that, but Dumbledore had placed him in charge even though Hermione was going with him. For once he was going to be the one taking the lead. It was his time to shine and he wasn't going to mess up.
"I wish you would tell me where we're going," Hermione grumbled, even though she already knew where they were going as she'd sneaked a necessary peak at the address shortly after Dumbledore had given it to Ron. "If you did, I could apparate us there."
"I can apparate," Ron said with a huff. He was well aware that Hermione could make a better job of it, but since he was in charge, he was reluctant to give up the address of where they were going.
"Just don't splinch us," Hermione warned.
"I won't," Ron promised. "Now where the hell is Dumbledore. I want to get going. I don't know why he insisted we leave at the same time. Hermione and I could have checked out this place days ago."
"He thought it was best if we did both together, then we can compare notes when we return," Harry answered.
Ron nodded, but his attention was soon diverted by his mother, Molly, bustling out of the kitchen with boxes of sandwiches. She handed each of the trio a box and insisted they take them when Ron protested.
"Damn woman," Ron muttered as Hermione shoved the two boxes into the backpack she was taking with them. "She thinks we're still kids."
"She's merely caring," Hermione remarked with a shrug, even though she agreed with Ron and often thought Molly treated her offspring like little children, even though they'd all left Hogwarts apart from Ginny, who was in her last year.
Before Ron could complain further about his mother, Dumbledore put in an appearance. After reassuring Molly that they would all be back before it got too late, he checked Ron knew where he was going and disappeared with Harry in tow. Taking the lead from Dumbledore, Ron grabbed hold of Hermione's arm and apparated them to the address Dumbledore had given him a few days earlier.
"Nicely done, Ron," Hermione remarked as they landed safe and sound outside of a run-down old cottage on a windswept cliff.
"Thanks," Ron replied with a proud smile. "So this is the place," he said, gazing at the old cottage. "It's not up to much, is it?"
"It doesn't look as though it's been occupied for years," Hermione remarked. "Although if Dumbledore had given me the details, I could have checked this place out before we came."
"That's what we're here to do, Hermione," Ron pointed out. "Not everything can be found out in books," he added snappily.
"Fine, let's do things your way," Hermione said. "Do you think we should just go straight in?"
"Do you?" Ron asked, wondering what Hermione would do if she was in charge.
"I would check for booby traps," Hermione said. "Although from the looks of this place, any traps will be years old."
"How do we check for bloody booby traps?" Ron questioned in an annoyed snarl.
"Aren't you supposed to be the one in charge, Ron?" Hermione snapped. "I'm just here to do your bidding."
"Don't be so childish, Hermione," Ron spat. "You can't always be in charge. You're not the only one who can be in control."
"Feel free to take the lead," Hermione said. "Just don't blame me if you set off some sort of alarm by rushing in blindly."
"Fine, I concede to your superiority," Ron sighed. "Please will you check for hidden traps?"
"Yes, Ronald, of course I will," Hermione replied, giving the redhead a smile as she pulled her wand from her pocket.
Hermione spent the next ten minutes checking the cottage for any sign of booby traps, even though she knew she wouldn't find any. Still she had to put on a show for Ron as it wasn't yet time to reveal the truth to him. When she was finished she turned back to him and announced it was safe to proceed.
"Just in case, stay behind me," Ron warned as he led the way to the front door.
"Whatever you say, Ron," Hermione muttered, falling into place behind him as he cautiously pushed open the door to the cottage.
"It looks deserted enough," Ron remarked, peering into the dusty cottage.
Hermione followed Ron into the cottage, shutting the door behind her. As the door clicked closed behind her, three shadows appeared from the door that led into the kitchen. Ron was the first to see them and pointing his wand in their direction he moved to stand in front of Hermione as if to protect her.
"Now what do we have here?" the first of the figures drawled, stepping into a shaft of light that came from the front windows.
"Malfoy," Ron gasped, immediately recognising the platinum blond wizard in front of him.
"Weasel," Draco returned with a smirk as the two figures he was with also stepped into the light, revealing themselves to be Blaise and Theo.
"How?" Ron questioned.
"How what?" Draco asked with a laugh. "How are we here? We knew where you were going to be Weasley. We've been waiting for you."
"That's impossible," Ron spluttered. "No-one knew."
"Dumbledore did," Hermione whispered in Ron's ear.
"Dumbledore?" Ron frowned. "No. He would never betray us."
"I don't suppose he would," Draco agreed. "But then again, only one person has been betrayed Weasley. We're not here for Granger, we're here for you."
"What? You're just going to let her go?" Ron laughed.
"Actually, that's exactly what we're going to do," Draco said. "We need someone to pass on our message."
"And what message is that?" Ron demanded.
"That no-one's safe," Hermione answered, stepping out from behind Ron and joining the Death Eaters in front of him. "You're just the first, Ron. We can get to any member of the Order whenever we want. And we'll keep doing so until Harry comes out of the shadows and faces The Dark Lord."
"The Dark Lord," Ron repeated in shock. "You're with them," he gasped.
"I am," Hermione confirmed.
"You won't get away with this," Ron warned, edging towards the door behind him. "I'll warn Harry."
"You won't get the chance," Hermione laughed as Ron's hand closed around the doorknob. "And there's no point trying the door, I locked it and only my magic will open it again. Your only way out is through us."
"Care to try and escape, Weasley?" Draco taunted as he blocked the only exit alongside Blaise and Theo.
"Bitch," Ron spat at Hermione before raising his wand and shooting a stunning spell at Draco.
Draco dodged the spell, but it signalled the beginning of a mini battle as Draco shot a curse of his own at Ron. The only problem for Ron was that he was up against three Death Eaters, and Hermione did nothing but watch as he was subdued and restrained.
"Now what's going to happen to me?" Ron asked, a tremor in his voice as he knew he was well and truly beaten.
"That depends on what mood father is in when the boys take you home," Hermione replied with a smirk.
"Father?" Ron required, even though Hermione could see he'd already joined the dots, but didn't want to believe it.
"I believe you know him as Lord Voldemort," Hermione said, confirming Ron's theory.
"And how are you going to explain leaving here without a mark on you?" Ron spat, not wanting to know any more details of how Hermione happened to be the daughter of the dark wizard who was trying to kill everyone who didn't support him. "In case it slipped your notice, Hermione, you've avoided all the fighting. No-one's going to believe you escaped a Death Eater attack."
"They will by the time we've finished," Hermione remarked as she turned to Draco. "You know what you have to do, Draco."
Draco gave a short nod as he raised his wand and pointed it at his girlfriend. However, when he opened his mouth to cast a spell nothing came out and his hand began to tremble.
"I can't do it," he confessed in a broken voice, dropping his wand to his side.
"Draco, we talked about this," Hermione said.
"I know, but call me crazy but I can't hurt the witch I love," Draco retorted.
"Aw, isn't it sweet. Malfoy has a heart," Ron mocked.
"Shut up," Blaise spat, giving Ron a swift kick in the stomach.
"We need to do this, Draco," Hermione said softly, taking hold of her boyfriend's hands. "It has to look convincing."
"I know, but I can't do it," Draco confessed.
"Then Blaise and Theo will have to do it," Hermione said, turning to face the two boys. "Are you up for it?"
"We can do it," Blaise confirmed, glancing at Draco to get his reaction and finding that he looked furious.
"If we're not put off," Theo added, also taking in how unhappy Draco was looking. "We can't do it with our best friend glaring daggers at us."
"I can't help it," Draco muttered. "I think it's for the best if I leave for a while. Shout me when you're done."
"You won't hold this against us, will you?" Theo checked as Hermione unlocked the front door for her boyfriend.
"No," Draco answered with a shake of his head. "I might if I watched, which is why I'm leaving. Just make sure you don't go too far."
"We'll be careful," Blaise promised as Draco slipped out of the room.
"Sod being careful, I want convincing," Hermione insisted once Draco had gone. "I don't want either of you to hold back. I need to look as though I've been in a fight to the death. You need to make it good."
Bracing herself for what was to come, Hermione gave the two boys a nod and cautiously then began to throw hexes and curses her way. From his position tied up on the floor, Ron watched with wide eyes as Hermione allowed herself to be cursed and tortured just to create the picture she wanted the Order to see. He could clearly see she was in pain after a few minutes, but she urged Blaise and Theo on and accepted everything that they threw her way.
"I think we're done," Blaise said once Hermione was on her knees wheezing in pain.
"Not yet," Hermione replied through clenched teeth as she looked up at the two boys. "Hit me."
"What?" Theo squeaked.
"Hit me," Hermione ordered. "A bit of blood will elicit more sympathy for me."
"I can't," Theo whispered.
"Blaise," Hermione begged. "Do it."
Despite the fact he looked severely uncomfortable, Blaise did as he was ordered and delivered a slinging slap to Hermione's cheek. When it didn't break the skin, she ordered him to repeat it and to do it harder. With great reluctance, Blaise took a deep breath and hit Hermione so hard that both her lip and nose began to bleed.
"Dammit Hermione, I'm sorry," Blaise muttered, knowing that Draco was going to kill him when he saw his girlfriend.
"Don't be," Hermione gasped. "Hit me with one more Cruciatius curse, call Draco back in and leave with Ron. I'll find my own way back to the Order."
With Blaise still shaking slightly from having to hit Hermione, Theo delivered a final blast of the Cruciatius curse to The Dark Lord's daughter. As she'd wanted the pain was so severe after everything she'd suffered, that she slipped into unconsciousness. While Blaise called Draco back into the room, Theo quickly checked Hermione and found that she was still breathing.
"Bloody hell, what did you do?" Draco demanded, kneeling down beside his prone girlfriend.
"We did what we were told, Draco," Blaise said quietly. "This is what Hermione wanted."
"Her plan will work perfectly," Theo added. "When she's awake, she'll get back to the Order and she'll be in such a state that they'll believe everything she says. She'll be above suspicion, Draco. She'll be safe."
"She'll not be safe until this is all over," Draco muttered. Ordering Blaise and Theo to escort Ron back to the manor where Voldemort would deal with him, he gently pressed a kiss to the side of Hermione's head. "I love you, Hermione," he whispered, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "This will be all over soon and we'll be together."
Even though it broke his heart to leave Hermione as she was, he knew it was what she wanted, so Draco managed to take one final look at his girlfriend before raising his wand and heading home, hoping that Voldemort would let him take some of frustration out on Ron. After seeing Hermione in such a state, it would do him a world of good to dish out the same treatment to the wizard he'd always disliked. Maybe hurting Ron would make the pain of seeing Hermione in such a bad way fade slightly. Although Draco knew the pain wouldn't totally go away until Hermione was safely back in his arms and away from the blasted Order.