"Are you doing alright, pig? Are we going too fast?" Astoria asked, glancing back over her shoulder.

"I am fine, miss Greengrass," Ron replied through gritted teeth. "Thank you for asking," he said sarcastically even as he stumbled across a dirt road leading through the vast estate surrounding the Greengrass manor. Ron's hands were tied with a rope and its other end was attached to a horse. On top of the horse rode Astoria Greengrass, his tormentor and self-proclaimed owner.

His initial worry of getting dragged behind a galloping horse was quickly replaced by a realization that Astoria planned something much worse – feigning concern for his well-being. It went on like that for over an hour, with Astoria leading the horse at a safe and lazy walking speed while constantly asking Ron with mock concern whether he was ok and if he needed to slow down.

After a while, Ron would have almost preferred for her to just speed up and drag him through dust. At least then he would not need to listen to her voice anymore.

The last four days have been the most humiliating in his entire life and it all came down to the younger Greengrass sister. After their initial encounter, she did not use physical torture against him anymore. He was not sure whether it was a mercy on Astoria's part or just a lack of an opportunity since Ron was careful not to give her any excuses. He tried to stay strong in front of Hermione but the truth was that he did not want to experience the pain he did, ever again. Not unless he absolutely had to.

The downside of that strategy was that he had to turn the other cheek and meekly take whatever humiliation the girl dolled out on him. The bitch made him call her 'Miss Greengrass' while she only ever referred to him as a 'pig'. She would constantly make disparaging remarks about Weasley family or himself, bragging about how much better her own family was. Astoria was vilifying his entire existence and all he could do was just stand there and take it. He tried his best to just ignore her words. After all, words could not really hurt him and he did not want to give her the satisfaction of getting to him. But it was really hard, especially considering who his tormentor was.

Astoria was two years younger than him and she was a girl, which made Ron both more experienced in magic and physically stronger. Given a chance, he could take her down in a magical duel or choke the life out of her with his bare hands. Instead, he had to face her unhindered abuse without any means of defense. But one of the worst humiliations for him was the knowledge that Astoria Greengrass was betrothed to Draco Malfoy of all people…

Just like with Harry, Malfoy has been his personal nemesis since day one. With Ron, it stemmed from the fact there was a bad blood between their families that went more than one generation. As a result, the Malfoy heir would constantly belittle him and Ron never wasted an opportunity to put that prick down either. After the sixth year and that bloody song Malfoy composed to humiliate him, their rivalry became something of a legend in the school.

And now he was being tormented by that bastard's future wife!

He had to let future Mrs. Malfoy tie him up and lead him on a rope behind her horse. That thought alone almost made him weep. It was made worse by Astoria's frequent gushing about how great her fiancé was. Worse, Astoria was well aware of the enmity between them and she threatened to exploit it.

"My dear Draco would love to teach you a lesson. Maybe I'll let him and watch as he punishes you," she said with mirth and an evil laugh, "And you'll just have to take it!"

That idea threatened to drive Ron crazy more than anything. As if it wasn't bad enough that Malfoy had all the money that his own family didn't. Now the prick even had a wife lined up for him, and an attractive one at that! As much as he loathed her for her actions, he had to at least acknowledge that Astoria was just as pretty as her older sister.

And now she threatened to give him over to Malfoy as some twisted token of her love. Ron did not mind losing to that bastard fair and square but he could not… he could not stomach the idea of being rendered utterly helpless and forced to submit by Malfoy's attractive wife-to-be. It would be the ultimate humiliation for him and Ron vowed to do anything to prevent it.

After walking the lap around the Greengrass manor and its adjourning properties, they finally saw the stables in the distance and Ron was relieved at the sight as he was both tired and hungry by now.

Still, despite the humiliation of having to walk after Astoria's horse for hours, it has been an illuminating experience as he learned a lot about their captors along the way.

Much of the grounds surrounding the manor were covered with the ancient forest they briefly saw when the snatchers brought them in here. But scattered among the woods were numerous cleared areas with all sorts of buildings, all connected by well-maintained roads and tracks. They all converged at the Greengrass manor and its breathtakingly beautiful gardens. It was a veritable magical village, albeit spread over a vast area.

"How can you keep such a huge space hidden from muggles?" Ron asked her at one time, having seen no muggles during any point of their journey. Although given who the Greengrasses were, it should not come as surprise to him. He reckoned if there ever were any muggles living here, the pureblood supremacists probably hunted them all down like a vermin rather than share their living space.

"Muggles," Astoria harrumphed dismissively, confirming Ron's suspicion. "They actually think the forest is twenty times smaller than it is. They can only see a tiny part of it. Rest is hidden to them."

"Where exactly are we?" Ron asked her, genuinely intrigued. He also wanted to gather as much information as he could with the hope that some of it would allow them to escape.

"This is Wistman's Wood," Astoria answered. "Some muggle cretins believe it's magical. They don't know how right they are," she said and chuckled.

Ron gaped at her in disbelief upon hearing that. He had heard of that forest. It was on the other side of Devon than Burrow, but still. He was so close to home! So close and yet so far away...

Astoria wished to demonstrate the superiority and power of her family and so she dragged Ron to see all their holdings which supposedly made them so much better compared to the Weasleys.

Their first stop was the glasshouses which sat in the middle of one of the largest forest clearings and were even bigger than the ones in Hogwarts. Ron could see they were a hive of activity with numerous people tending the plants inside. Astoria was more than happy to brag and explain that this was one of the main sources of the Greengrass family fortune. Apparently, her family grew some of the magical and non-magical plants which they saved from Atlantis (whatever that was) and which were now extinct everywhere else in the world, giving them a total monopoly. Ron at first assumed that they were used for potion ingredients but according to the girl, it was actually food spices which made them rich.

He watched as Astoria picked up one of the packages from the tray, ready to be shipped, and proudly showed it to him. Ron gasped as he recognized the logo on the bag – the green grass with the moon and stars above it. He has seen it before in his mom's kitchen on one of the pouches on the spice rack. He made a mental note to make her stop buying the stuff. That is, if he was ever going to see her again.

One of the younger workers saw them and he brought a beautiful yellow flower to Astoria with a shy smile and a bow. He conveniently ignored Ron and the way he was tied to Astoria's horse. The girl thanked him and promptly placed the flower in her hair.

Afterwards, they went on and towards what Astoria referred to as 'workshops'. They arrived at a series of interconnected buildings, some of them clearly subterranean. Ron could not see what was happening inside but he could hear noises coming out. Astoria explained that this was where her family manufactured various magical devices and items which they developed over the centuries. At least the important ones, with the more mundane inventions licensed to be manufactured elsewhere.

"Even your traitorous murdering family once had places like this," Astoria informed him and tagged on his rope, prompting him to move on as they went from one building to the other.

Ron could not resist but ask her what she meant by her statement. For the past three days, he has been amazed by the riches around him. Amazed and absolutely pissed off by how poor his family was in comparison. He always assumed that they were just unlucky and did not have rich ancestors like many of the other pureblood families. But now Astoria was saying that they were actually rich in the past. Ron wondered if that was true and if it was, what happened to change that.

"You don't even know your family history, pig!" the bitch burst out laughing. "But what else could I expect of filthy blood traitors, right?"

Ron regretted ever asking but then Astoria actually started to talk. According to her, the Weasleys were famous for breeding unique magical animals and were as rich as Greengrasses up until around the fifteenth century. It was at that time when they became obsessed with muggles and their world for some reason and started advocating closer cooperation.

"That's when you became blood traitors, pig," Astoria said. "Rest of us did not like it. We imposed sanctions on your wretched family."

Ron asked her what were sanctions, which prompted new round of complaining from Astoria about what a stupid pig he was before she finally answered.

Apparently, it meant that the other pureblood families refused to do business with the Weasleys as long as they were involved with the muggles. Moreover, they would not do business with anyone who would do business with Weasleys. So in the end, even the halfbloods stayed away from the Weasley family, fearing for their own profits. And since Ron's family maintained their pro-muggle attitude and the sanctions from the other purebloods continued, their wealth gradually bled away until they became as poor as they were right now.

Ron was not sure whether he could believe Astoria but he reckoned if she was going to lie, she could have made up a more outrageous and demeaning tail. What she told him was actually sort of flattering as it meant his family became poor because they stayed true to their ideals. He then questioned how she knew so much about his family's history but he should have expected that answer – Greengrasses were among the families who originally imposed the sanctions.

They arrived at the stables.

The chestnut mare Astoria's been riding did not appear winded at all and so the girl led her straight inside with Ron slowly shuffling after them. One of the servants jumps up as soon as he sees them arrive and he takes the horse's bridle. He offers to help the girl down too but Astoria refuses. Instead, she glances back at Ron and smiles evilly.

Ron braces himself as she takes out her wand and points it at him. "Emancipare!" she incants and the rope binding his hands disappears. He rubs his now free hands but Astoria soon calls him over. "Come here, pig!"

Ron sighs and walks over. He stops at the side of the horse and gazes up at Astoria who sits in her side saddle and stares at him imperiously from above. She slowly extends her hand. "You will help me down…" she commands regally.

Ron feels a surge of anger and briefly hesitates before taking her hand and doing as she asked.

If it was up to him, he would rather let his hand slip so that she would crush to the ground and break her neck. But sadly, it's not up to him. Astoria's personal guard was shadowing them the entire time, watching his every move. If the bracelet did not stop him from trying anything, the guard would.

The bracelet.

Ron is once more reminded of that damnable device attached to his wrist. During his time with Astoria, he quickly discovered it was much more than a punishment device that would stop him from attacking her. As far as he could tell, it also made him feel miserable when thinking of resisting the girl and happy when obeying her commands. Or at least Ron assumed it was the bracelet, or there was something seriously wrong with him.

But the strange thing was that Astoria did not seem to be aware of this function as she never mentioned it even once. Ron did not doubt that she would gloat like crazy if she knew what it was doing to him. What was even stranger was that it was getting somewhat hard to talk or even think about the bracelet. As time went on, he tended to forget more and more that he even had it on. Ron tried to explain the situation to Astoria and ask her what was happening but he must have bungled up the explanation because she ended up screaming at him for wasting her time with nonsense. He had gotten smaller lunch that day as punishment.

"Thanks, pig," Astoria says and sneers after he helps her down from her horse. She calls him pig but she also thanked him and he feels a tinkling pleasurable sensation going through him. It was maddening.

Ron waited for Astoria as she returned her horse into the stall. When she was finally done, she ordered him to follow her. But right after leaving the stables, they were intercepted by a group of guards coming from the direction of the manor house. Astoria frowned as she saw them. "Wait here," she told him and Ron waited by the stable's entrance while Astoria went to find out what they wanted.

"What is the meaning of this?" Astoria demanded even as one of the guards stepped forward and spoke, "Our apologies miss but we have orders from lady Greengrass," he said. They started to speak in hushed voices after that but Ron had a strong feeling it had something to do with him because the guard kept glancing between Astoria and him as he spoke. And whatever it was, clearly the girl did not like it one bit. "You have got to be kidding me!" she screamed at one point but the guards were insistent. Finally, Astoria conceded. "Fine, I'll handle it."

She turned on her heel and went back to Ron with furious expression on her face. "Come with me, NOW!" she ordered and then started to walk briskly towards the manor. Ron hurried after her, wondering what was going on. Whether Astoria being angry about something her sister ordered was a good or a bad thing for him. Ron did not know enough about the older sister to tell but he did enjoy watching this cocky bitch be so thrown off.

The two of them entered the house and Ron was surprised to see that Astoria was not leading him back to the dungeons. Instead, they were headed to the luxurious residential part of the Greengrass manor. Just as he was about to ask what was going on and where were they going, Astoria finally stopped and turned to look at him. "Daphne ordered me to leave you alone from now on," she said with barely contained disgust. "You will be given a new room and stay as our honored guest."

Ron could not help but smile at her words. It was finally over!

Astoria noticed his and frowned, "Don't look so smug, pig. My sister might have forgiven your murdering family but I will never," she said and resumed her walk, more slowly this time. They entered a wing of the house where Ron hasn't been before. "Maybe I can't touch you anymore but there is someone who suffered because of you just as much as I did," Astoria said when they stopped in front of a large door.

"Who?" Ron asked with worry and Astoria smirked. "You'll see soon. After we enter, you will get down on your knees and stay there no matter what. Do you understand me, pig?" she asked him.

Ron glanced uncertainly between Astoria and her personal guard who has been following them. "Your sister said..." he tried to protest but Astoria interrupted him. "Oh, so you'll hide behind Daphne's skirt now, is that it?" she asked him and scrounged her face. "Merlin, you are so pathetic. Besides, I will not touch you so it's all good," she said, glancing at her guard reassuringly. The man has been watching the situation with increasing concern, thinking that Astoria intended to violate her sister's orders but he marginally relaxed after her words.

"Now," Astoria said and looked at him imperiously. "Do as I say or you will be punished."

Ron swallowed and nodded. He could take anything the bitch would throw at him. Besides, maybe she will get in trouble for it with her older sister and wouldn't that be nice?

At his acquiescence, Astoria knocked on the door twice and then entered, ushering Ron inside. She immediately indicated a spot on the floor where she wanted him to kneel. Ron sighed and went there, sinking to his knees. Once down, he looked around the room which by itself was probably larger than all the rooms of his childhood home combined. On the first sight, it was someone's bedroom, judging by the huge canopy bed that was there. And given the sumptuosity of it all, which was just too much even by the Greengrass' standards, it had to have belonged to someone important. Ron immediately thought of Daphne Greengrass. But why would Astoria bring him to her sister's bedroom? A series of thoughts flashed through his brain for which Hermione would no doubt kick him in the balls.

"Mom?" Astoria spoke cautiously and with a level of tenderness that he had never observed from her before. Ron glanced in the direction where she was looking and saw Astoria's mom sitting in a chair and looking out of the window. She seemed small and with an expression of misery on her face, standing in contrast to her surroundings. It was easy to completely overlook her among the splendor of the room. As she turned in their direction, Ron could see that the dowager lady Greengrass still possessed the cold aristocratic beauty of a pureblood woman despite her age. He thought that with her gray eyes and darker shade of hair, Astoria favored her mother in her looks more than her older sister did.

Astoria approached her even as the woman slowly looked up at her daughter. She seemed tired, like she hadn't had a good night sleep in a long time. "Tori?" she whispered as Astoria sat down on the armrest of her chair and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "How are you doing mom?"

"Oh, it's so nice of you to come and ask," the woman said and smiled weakly. She did not answer Astoria's question which the girl did not fail to pick up on. She hugged her tightly and said, "Don't worry, mom. I have brought something which will make you feel better," she said and looked at Ron's direction. Her mom followed her gaze and finally noticed there was a kneebound boy in the room with them.

"Tori, who's that?" she asked uncertainly and then added. "Isn't that the boy snatchers brought?"

Astoria smiled and nodded. "That's right, Mom. His name is Ron Weasley. He's the brother of the man who murdered dad!" she declared loudly.

Ron expected the woman would look at him with utter hatred after her daughter's proclamation but there was only confusion written on her face. "W-what?" she asked uncertainly. "Why is he here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I brought him here so you could punish him, mom. Trust me, it will make you feel better," Astoria said and looked at Ron with contempt. "I know it made me feel better."

"Punish? How?" the woman asked, still confused by what was happening. She then asked with slight worry in her voice, "What did you do? Does Daphne know about this?"

Astoria jerked at her last question, probably realizing she was skirting around her sister's orders with this. She tried to deflect it by answering the first one. "You know the spell mom. I know grandpa taught it to you," she said. She took her mom's wand out of her robe and placed it into her hand. "Do it… make the bastard pay," the girl said in a voice which was disproportionally sweet and beguiling considering what she was asking for.

Ron watched with growing horror as the older woman focused on him and raised the offered wand in her shaky hand. Should he say something? Explain that Daphne wanted him unharmed? Ron was not sure there was any point to it. He was still in Astoria's power and was quite worried what the girl might do in retaliation for such an open act of defiance.

At Astoria's encouragement, her mom pointed the wand at him and said in a broken voice. "C-crucio!"

Ron closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, bracing himself for the most horrible pain in his life… but none came. After few more seconds, he dared to open his eyes just in time to see the older woman lowering her wand. "No… I can't. What would be the point? He doesn't deserve it," she said.

"Yes, he does! He killed dad!" Astoria yelled out petulantly but her mom was having none of it and said, "His brother did. Besides, torturing either of them won't bring your father back, Tori. You know that."

"But- but… we have to do something!" Astoria finally cried out, the situation rapidly slipping out of her control.

Her mom stayed silent for a while before she asked. "Your sister… she doesn't know about this, does she?" she said. "I know Daphne. She would never agree to have a pureblood tortured. You were trying to trick me," she chastised her.

Astoria huffed and stood up. "So what if I was? It's like I am the only one who wants to avenge dad around here! You and Daphne don't even care!"

"That's enough, Astoria Greengrass!" he mother said in raised voice before adding more quietly. "Now… go to your room."

"What?!"

"You heard me!" her mother said decisively despite her grieve and depression, reminding the world why she was a daughter of House Selwyn. "Take the boy with you and do with him as Daphne told you."

Astoria continued to fume and rage at the injustice but she eventually caved in to her mother's stare and her words. She strode out of the room angrily, grabbing Ron's hand along the way and pulling him up. "Come, pig!" she said, literally dragging him out of the door.

As soon as they were out in the hall, she let go of him. She also pulled out the flower from her hair and threw it on the ground in frustration.

Meanwhile Ron was smiling ear to ear. What he has just witnessed was a spectacular smackdown and humiliation for the girl who had been tormenting him for days. How could he not be happy about it? He was so elated he did not manage to wipe the smirk of his face in time when he saw Astoria glancing in his direction.

"Oh, you think this is funny?" she said before rapidly closing the distance between them.

"You fucking bastard! You think it's funny to see my mom like that, is that it?" she continued to scream, while beating Ron's upper body with her fists. Fortunately, despite the power she held over him, she still had the physical strength of a fifteen-year-old girl and was doing no damage. "You should look at your mom!" Astoria continued to scream. "She's a fat pig just like you! And your father… your father..."

At the mention of Ron's dad, Astoria's voice gradually lost volume and she did not get to finish whatever insult she planned for Weasley senior. She also stopped beating Ron, her clenched fists coming to rest on his chest. She seemed completely frozen until she finally let out a quiet sob. And then another one, more loud. And before Ron knew what was happening, Astoria Greengrass was leaning against him and crying into his chest. The hands which were beating him a second ago were now hanging onto him for dear life as she wailed and sobbed.

Ron stiffened in shock. He knew how to respond to her commands and her abuse but this was new. He shared a desperate look with Astoria's personal bodyguard who was watching the scene unfold with helplessness. The man gave him a look and nodded towards Astoria. Ron nodded back and then hugged the crying girl, gently patting her back. He did not particularly care to offer her any sympathy but what else was he supposed to do? Push her away and make her collapse to the ground?

They stayed like that until her tears stopped.

Astoria dried her eyes with the sleeve of her dress and said, "Thanks, I-"

She stopped when realizing who she was hugging and pulled away in fright and confusion. Astoria stared at Ron contemplatively for a moment before saying, "What the hell am I doing?" She looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time. "Mom's right, isn't she? Daph's right too. You did not kill dad. You do not deserve this. I – I am sorry," she said sincerely.

Ron did not say anything to that. He did not know if he would ever be able to forgive her for all that she did to him.

After a moment of silence, Astoria shook her head and said, "I need some time to think but I think I am done with all this… I am just so tired. Let's just get you to your new room. Daphne wants to talk to you later."

Ron nods, wondering what the older Greengrass sister wanted from him. Was he about to trade one tormentor for another? From what he knew about Daphne, she was even worse than Astoria in some ways. The younger girl might be a bitch but at least she did not care about blood status. Daphne Greengrass, on the other hand, sounded like a classical and hardcore pureblood supremacist.

His worried expression did not escape Astoria. "Please… you are a pureblood. You have nothing to fear from my sister," Astoria assured him. "Unless you do something stupid like attacking her or trying to escape, Daphne will treat you like royalty.

"I am not worried just about myself," Ron admitted and lowered his eyes.

"Then what – oh," Astoria said as she understood what was on Ron's mind.

"Well from what I heard from the guards, Daphne made some sort of deal with Potter. I think this is the reason she wants to see you. I bet you will get to see your friend soon," Astoria informed him.

Ron looked at her in surprise. 'Harry was alive! And he made a deal with Daphne Greengrass? Way to go, Harry!' he thought happily, wondering whether there was a chance they would be coming out of this mess alive after all.

"What about Hermione? Do you know- did your sister say anything about her?" he asked. Surely any deal Harry made would have to include her as well.

Astoria shook her head. "Not that I know of. She's to remain in the dungeons," she said and paused when she saw his crestfallen expression, adding "Sorry."

"Is – is she safe?" he asked, looking up at her as he spoke. It was the first time he has seen Astoria look at him with sympathy as she answered.

"I won't lie to you," the girl said, her gray eyes meeting his. "Your friend could be in trouble. Her blood status condemns her around here just as much as yours protects you. Worse, she made an enemy of my sister. That's a bad mistake for a muggleborn to make. I am actually surprised Daphne had not dealt with her already. In the past, my family did some truly horrible things to muggleborns who we believed were raising above their station. We made an example out of them."

Ron was mortified by what he was hearing. The grave tone of Astoria's voice left no room for interpretation as to what 'made an example out of' meant. "She just wants to be treated like an equal… she doesn't deserve to die because of that!"

Astoria raised her hands in defense. "You'll get no argument from me, but the decision is not mine. Perhaps she will be fine. So far, my sister was content in ignoring her. If that changes? Well-" Astoria shrugged and sighed. "If your friend is as smart as she seems, she will grovel and beg for forgiveness," she said. "Daphne is not without mercy. There is a good chance she could grant it to her."

Ron wouldn't count on it. He did not know much about Daphne but from what he has seen so far of her family, mercy was not something they had in great supply. He still held out hope that whatever accord Harry and Daphne struck included Hermione as well but why then was she not released too?!

He really needed to talk to Harry about this but for now what else could he do? Ron could think of only one person who could possibly stand up to Daphne and make her change her mind if it came down to it.

He looked up at Astoria pleadingly. "Can you help her?" he asked, swallowing his pride. Pleading with Astoria for help after everything she did to him was threatening Ron's sanity but he did not know what else to do. The younger Greengrass sister was possibly the only person in this place besides Harry and him who did not think poorly of muggleborns. Who did not see Hermione as a dirt just because of her parents.

"Me?" Astoria gasped in surprise. She nearly laughed at his question out of habit before she stopped herself and looked thoughtful instead. "I suppose I owe you one after everything I did to you, right?" she said after a while.

'More than one,' Ron thought bitterly but he simply nodded.

"Alright… I'll try to help her. But I can't make any promises," she said at last.

Ron nodded again. At least there was some hope. "Thank you."

Astoria then ordered her guard to take him to his new room. Right before he was escorted away, Astoria grabbed his sleeve and said, "Listen, Ron…" she started and his interest was instantly piqued. It was first time in days since she called him by name instead of 'pig'.

"… I would appreciate if you did not mention to others what I did to you," she said and looked at him with embarrassment and shame.

Ron stared at her for a moment before he said simple, "Okay." Frankly speaking, he had no intention to ever talk about the last three days anyway. It was too embarrassing and he just wanted to forget it ever happened.

In their mutual eagerness to forget the last four days, neither Ron nor Astoria remembered the bracelet which was still attached to Ron's forearm…