Daphne stood by the door on the far side of the cell. She had hands on her hips as she looked down on her prisoner imperiously, throwing her nasty looks. Hermione grew more and more nervous as they just stared at one another. She did not even dare to stand up from the bed. Despite Harry having removed her shackles, she was still effectively powerless without her wand. And now that the two of them were alone, the muggleborn witch was no longer certain asking Daphne for a conversation was such a good idea.
She could remember the female guard warning her not to attract Daphne's attention. Even Astoria Greengrass, Daphne's own sister, gave her the same advice. And yet, after Harry decided to leave her in a prison cell while he did god knows what with this girl, Hermione felt she had no choice but to gather her courage and speak up. She had to try and make Daphne see reason. No matter what else she was, Hermione knew that Daphne Greengrass was an intelligent girl who should hopefully see the validity of her arguments despite her prejudice. But as the blonde looked at her with poorly concealed disdain, she seriously wondered whether she made a mistake in that assessment.
Normally, something like that would not faze Hermione. She was used to purebloods and Slytherins throwing evil looks and slurs in her direction. But this situation was different. This time she had no means of defending herself and was completely alone in a hostile territory. If Daphne decided to kill her right here right now, she would not be able to stop her and there was nobody who would help her. She could perhaps scream for the guards but in all likelihood, all they would do is hold her down so that their mistress would have an easier task in murdering her. Never before in her life had she felt so powerless and at someone else's mercy.
Even disregarding the fact she had no wand, the difference in power between the two of them was already emphasized by their clothes. Hermione was wearing a simple prison garb consisting of grey shirt and slacks. Daphne, on the other hand, looked like she stepped right of a carriage meant to take her to an evening ball. She was wearing a white sleeveless dress which ended just below her knees. It was showing only a modest amount of cleavage but Daphne added a black belt which emphasized her slim waist and the curve of her hips. Black strappy heels finished the appearance. Hermione loathed admitting that from head to toe, Daphne Greengrass was gorgeous.
'She walks dressed like this in front of Harry?!' she thought with irritation, starting to understand her friend's behavior a little more. Not that it was any excuse as Harry should have controlled himself better, especially since the girl was so obvious in what she was doing. Hermione read that rich pureblood witches often dressed expensively but this seemed ridiculous. There was no doubt in her mind that Daphne looked like this on purpose, perhaps even hoping to entice Harry. And regardless of whether it was intentional, it seemed to be working…
Now, Hermione gave little value to one's appearance. She always thought of people who were overly concerned with it as shallow and believed that what was in a person's heart and mind was much more important than how they looked. After all, wasn't Voldemort said to be very good looking in his youth? And yet he turned out to be the greatest evil of their time.
Parvati Patel and Lavender Brown – her roommates in Hogwarts – were always gossiping about how boys and girls in the school looked and dressed and styled their hair. The two girls would then compare their own beauty with other girls and express jealousy when they felt like they failed to compare. Hermione politely listened when they asked her to join them on rare occasions. She even gave her own opinion when they asked for it but she never relished in such conversations like they did.
It just never made no sense to her to stress over something as fleeting and subjective as one's looks. But right here, right now, she could not help but feel resentment towards Daphne over her appearance. For it was undeniable the girl was very attractive and Hermione hated that it gave her yet one more weapon to use against her opponents. Especially after her own best friend appeared to have fallen victim to it.
'I am not jealous…' she thought and really felt that she wasn't. She knew that she could get herself to look just as beautiful if she really put an effort into it. She proved that to others as well as to herself during the Yule ball in the fourth year. The preparation she went through the afternoon before the ball was a valuable formative experience for her. It made her certain that doing it on a daily basis was way too much work for a little benefit and she strongly believed there were more important things in life.
She briefly wondered how much effort and time Daphne had to put into looking as she did. Even disregarding her generous curves, the blonde-haired blue-eyed look she possessed was considered disproportionally attractive by many men in the muggle world and Hermione suspected it would be the same among wizards. 'Ok, maybe I am jealous a little,' Hermione thought as she considered the girl's hair – Daphne had her wavy blonde hair loose and cascading down her shoulders towards her chest. It looked natural and effortless, and Hermione mentally crinched as she imagined the untamable mess her own bushy hair would quickly turn into if she went for the same look.
In preparation for the Yule ball, Hermione made extensive research of magical hairstyling methods and hair in general. Up until then, she always assumed that Daphne Greengrass was bleaching her hair (and that so did Malfoy for that matter). After all, the gold-ash color Daphne possessed that went almost to platinum from some angles was impossible to have naturally among muggles.
Her mother always thought poorly of women who colored their hair like that, considering them vapid and usually not very intelligent. Hermione tended to agree and it always puzzled her that academically gifted girl like Daphne would go for such a look. Given Daphne's eyebrows were a little darker shade, Hermione concluded she must definitely be using a hair bleach. It lowered her opinion of the pureblood girl even further, in addition to their catastrophic interaction in the third year.
Only after reading several books on the topic did she learn that such hair color was actually a hereditary trait of several pureblood families.
Hermione took a breath and opened her mouth but before she could speak and plead her case with her captor, Daphne broke the silence and said, "I must thank you, Granger."
"W-what?" Hermione stammered. She imagined many different scenarios of how their conversation might start. Most involved Daphne calling her a mudblood and issuing insults and threats. Maybe even throwing in some gloating and torture. But she did not fathom the pureblood girl actually thanking her in seemingly honest voice and with a serene smile.
Daphne smirked at her unspoken question and explained her words. "I meant… for coming here into my home and my possession. You could have been very troublesome but in the end, you made it so very easy."
Hermione realized that her captor was gloating after all. "It's not like I wanted to come here… believe me," she retorted while suppressing her anger. She did not want to give the girl the pleasure of taking a rise out of her. She also did not wish their conversation to devolve into a shouting match so soon.
"A shame," Daphne replied and then added. "If you did choose this, it would have been one good thing you have done for the magical world," she told her almost pensively.
"Well, you must be so happy then," Hermione replied sarcastically. "You finally bested me… all it took were dozens of guards and bounty hunters taking our wands and you defeated me fair and square. Well done, Daphne!"
Daphne listened to her rant with a faint amusement but otherwise not reacting to it, unlike what Hermione expected.
"That's always been your problem," Daphne finally replied after she was done. "You think yourself some sort of rival for me when in reality I barely gave you any thought. And why should I? You are nothing, Granger. Granted, you are annoying as hell but ultimately, you are only a pathetic mudblood. No more significant than a pesky mosquito buzzing around my ear. Your delusions of equality are completely irrelevant."
"I am your equal!" Hermione retorted. She gesticulated angrily with her hands, relishing in the fact she was no longer shackled. "Yes… I can see that," Daphne replied sarcastically and smirked, Hermione's claim of equality seemingly only amusing the pureblood girl. When she did not speak for a while, Hermione decided to just go ahead and ask her the question she has been dreading. She saw no point in reacting to Daphne's cruel insinuations and taunts any longer.
"What do you plan to do with me?" Hermione finally said and then waited for the other girl to tell her. She felt like an accused right before the judge is supposed to deliver a verdict. Her heart even started to beat faster as her fate was to be decided.
Unlike her muggleborn prisoner, the pureblood witch was completely calm and almost bored by the question. Her answer was simple and succinct. "Nothing," she said in a tone suggesting she considered the matter settled but the short arrogant answer infuriated Hermione more than anything.
"Nothing? What do you mean nothing?!" she demanded loudly.
"I mean… for the moment, I don't have any plan about you," Daphne answered, raising her voice to match. "Frankly, I do not care at all about what happens to you."
Hermione stared at her for a moment, analyzing what her captor just said. "Then you will let me go?" she asked. It was a stupid, naive question and she instantly regretted it when she saw the amused smile blossoming on Daphne's face. But what other interpretation was there?
"No chance of that. Don't be silly, mudblood," the girl said and tittered. "While I don't care what happens to you I will certainly not let you run amok around my world either."
'Again with the m-word… how boring and predictable,' Hermione briefly thought before she focused back on the conversation. "So what are you saying?" she snapped. "You're just going to keep me here forever?" she asked in disbelief and with a hint of fear at the possibility that this was exactly what the pureblood girl was planning for her.
Daphne laughed and said. "Of course not," she said, pausing for the involuntary hopeful expression to appear on the brunette's face before wiping it away with the rest of the sentence. "Not forever. Perhaps only until the war is over and a little after that. We shall see."
"You-" Hermione stuttered at the idea. She wasn't sure how long the war would go on but she knew it was not going to end tomorrow. It could very well take years. Was she supposed to spend that entire time in this cell?! "You can't be serious!" she finally exclaimed.
"Believe me when I say this… the thought of sharing my home with you for any amount of time is hard for me as well," Daphne said and looked at her with obvious distaste before adding, "But I can't let you go. Although you might be useful in war against Voldemort, I know you would never go for my long term plans."
"And what plans are those?" she asked with trepidation.
Daphne smirked before saying, "Isn't it obvious? To put it simply, I am going to bring your kind back to the dirt where you belong," the blonde girl said passionately. "I am going to make sure mudbloods know their place and that you never again threaten our society. And you… you will be rotting here, unable to do anything about it."
As Hermione listened to Daphne's speech, she realized that her absolutely worst fears were confirmed. Daphne Greengrass was willing to help in the fight against Voldemort as Harry said. But afterwards, she hoped to replace his regime with something even worse. Her fellow muggleborns would know true hell if her plans were allowed to succeed!
Daphne was correct in thinking that Hermione would never allow this to happen. Finally she understood why the pureblood girl refused to let her go under any circumstances. It was not because of simple hatred but out of strategy – to make sure she would be unable to fight against the new regime Daphne hoped to create after the war. Not until it was too late.
Hermione had just about enough. Enough of this cell. Enough of being treated like an animal. Enough of listening to the other girl's disgusting bigotry. She exploded and started to scream. "You can't do this! You don't HAVE THE RIGHT!"
It was exactly the thing she was not supposed to do. The guards warned her never to raise voice to lady Greengrass. Astoria warned her never to speak of her rights. And now she did both. Daphne promptly responded by drawing her wand and conjuring a gag in her mouth. Hermione's hands went up in an attempt to remove it but it was magically sealed to her mouth and would not come off. All she could do now was moan into it impotently.
"RIGHTS? You are going to lecture me on my rights?!" Daphne rounded up on her helpless and gagged prisoner. "You are a mudblood and a criminal and you trespassed on my ground… legally, I can do anything to you. Anything I want!"
Hermione wanted to protest her twisted logic and remind her that she was brought here against her will but could only moan into her gag as Daphne continued. "If anything, you should be thanking me for putting you here, mudblood! Had I handed you over to the Ministry, your soul would already be digesting inside a dementor. There is a kiss-on-sight order on you after you refused to get registered."
This surprised Hermione a little. She had no idea the Ministry of Magic sentenced her to death but it mattered little to her. The Ministry was under Voldemort's control and in no way legitimate.
During her tirade, Daphne stepped further into the room and closer to Hermione. The brown-haired girl tuned out her vitriolic speech and instead focused on the wand being waved in her face, wondering whether she could possibly snatch it from Daphne's hand before the girl could react. After Harry removed her shackles, she could move freely around the room.
Unfortunately, before she could act, Daphne noticed where she was looking and correctly guessed her intent. She smirked and said, "Go ahead, Granger! Try it… but if you fail, you will experience what we do with mudbloods who attack my family," she spoke with murderous expression. When Hermione did not react, Daphne removed her gag with a flick of her wrist and said, "So? What's it going to be?"
In that moment, Hermione seriously considered physically tackling the girl to the ground and taking her wand from her by force. She hated having to behave like Millicent Bulstrode but she saw no other option. She was so angry that she almost did it… but at the very last moment, the rational part of her mind prevailed.
There was no guarantee she would be able to overcome the blonde in a physical confrontation. And even if she managed to somehow take Daphne's wand, Harry warned her there were guards outside of her cell and who knows what else.
She folded her arms in front of her chest defensively and said, "I am not going to play your games, Daphne."
The other girl nodded at her approvingly and said. "Very good, mudblood. Finally you are learning your place," she said, completely twisting Hermione's words and reasons around. Before she could protest against it, Daphne moved her wand again and Hermione felt invisible force slam her against the wall behind her bed. "What are you doing?!" the muggleborn girl asked in panic as the force kept pushing her against the wall, keeping her immobile.
Now that she was helpless to even move, Daphne stepped even closer. "Harry really loves you, you know," she told her in a neutral voice, much to Hermione's surprise.
"I know," she simply replied.
Daphne nodded. "Then why treat him like you do?" she said, wondering. "On one hand, you helped him so much on so many occasions. But you also shoot down so many of his ideas. Had you not come here, the dark lord would already have the Elder Wand and Harry would have lost this war because of your pigheadedness!"
"It's a myth!" Hermione immediately said out of habit but even since she spoke with Harry she was starting to wonder. Could it be she was wrong and the Hallows really existed? They were a story from a children's book and so it seemed unlikely. The far more probable conclusion was that Daphne Greengrass was lying and using Harry's belief in the Hallows against him. But then what was the point of Daphne perpetuating this charade now that they were alone?
"I am not even going to dignify that with a response," Daphne said while rolling her eyes. "All I will say is that you are a fool, Granger, and that Harry deserves better."
'You mean to say someone like you, don't you?' she thought venomously. That thought fled from her mind before she could express it because the next moment, Daphne Greengrass pointed her wand between Hermione's eyes and said, "Let's begin… it's my turn now."
"Y-your turn?" Hermione stammered, still unable to move as Daphne's spell kept pushing her against the wall.
"You asked me what I planned to do with you and I answered," Daphne said before adding. "Now you will answer my questions… all of them," she said gleefully, the tip of her wand almost touching the bridge of Hermione's nose.
"I am not telling you anything!" Hermione cried, believing that the pureblood girl planned to interrogate her.
Daphne merely smiled. "Speech is not necessary… I was getting tired of your voice anyway," she said and Hermione's eyes went wide as she finally realized what was about to happen even before her captor uttered the word.
"Legilimens!"
"Are you fucking serious?" Daphne asked incredulously as she withdrew from her mind after mere seconds of skimming through her thoughts. "You actually think I am the worst that could have happened to you?!"
Hermione was taking deep breaths to recuperate after having her mind forcefully read and did not answer. There was no pain but Hermione still felt grossly violated by the experience. She just stared at Daphne with silent hatred but her teary eyes spoke the answer.
Daphne has only seen her most recent feelings and thoughts but there was a lot of them running through her head ever since they were captured. Including her believe that getting captured by Daphne of all people was the worst possible outcome, especially for Hermione personally. In her opinion, even someone like Malfoy would have been a safer option. At least he would never have been able to enchant Harry the way the Greengrass heiress did. More importantly, Daphne was too clever and careful to allow some random lucky event to allow them to escape; something they often relied on in the past.
The pureblood girl tsked and said "You know nothing, Granger. Well, let's see about our year in Hogwarts, shall we?" she asked and when Hermione still did not react, she continued. "Pansy Parkinson would have you beaten half to death for no reason other than sheer spite before she handed you over to Voldemort. Millie does not like you at all and would give you to the Ministry. Tracy… well, she's a halfblood so she does not really care that you are a mudblood. But her family is allied with mine. If Tracy captured you, she would just ask me to deal with you."
"Why are you telling me this?" Hermione finally asked after settling down the thoughts Daphne scrambled in her head.
"Because I want you to understand that you are wrong! I am actually the best that could have happened to you," Daphne replied and Hermione snorted derisively at that. "Yeah, right. I am so lucky," she said sarcastically.
Daphne narrowed her eyes. "You are. Even if you do not realize it," she said and continued. "Let's go over the boys. Theo Nott and his brothers would have a lot of fun with you before they handed you over to the dark lord."
Hermione listened and shuddered at the idea of being a plaything for the strange Slytherin boy who always stared at her with a mixture of disdain and something else she feared to name. She was about to ask Daphne again where she was going with this but before she could, the girl spoke again.
"Blaise Zabini is an Italian and does not care about this war. But he loves money. He would sell you off to the highest bidder the first chance he got," Daphne said and paused for a while with ponderous expression before saying, "I suppose you could have ended up with a kind owner but I seriously doubt it. Most likely you would have spent the rest of your short and miserable life being experimented on and getting vivisected in some laboratory."
Even if the spell was not holding her, Hermione would be unable to move, utterly frozen as Daphne spelled the various horrible scenarios that could have supposedly befallen her.
"Ignoring Crabbe and Goyle who are unpredictable even for me, that leaves only Malfoy," Daphne concluded. "He would probably just lock you up as I did and leave you alone. Despite his talk, he was always oddly fascinated with you. I do not think he would have hurt you," she said and Hermione looked at her puzzled.
"Of course, while Draco might have been kind to you, the same cannot be said about his dear aunt Bella who currently lives with them the last time I heard," Daphne pointed out as she pinned Hermione down with her icy blue eyes. "Do you have any idea what Bellatrix Lestrange would have done to you if you were brought to Malfoy manor instead of here?!"
Hermione involuntary gulped, remembering what the insane woman had done to Neville's parents. They were both pureblood and she tortured them until they were permanently catatonic. No doubt Bellatrix would not be so kind with a muggleborn like her.
"All this proves is how evil your friends are," she replied after a while. "I fail to see the point."
Daphne sighed and said. "The point is," she stressed, "You should be thanking whatever deities your kind worships that it was me that captured you! Instead, you moan about your imaginary rights and how unfair the world is to you. A little gratitude and humility would serve you well."
"You serious?" Hermione asked and exploded. "You and your people treat me like an animal and I am supposed to be grateful to you?!"
Daphne pointed her wand at her upon her outburst but did not utter any spell. "You really are naive, Granger. I keep you in a dry and warm room with decent clothes and regular food. That is much more than a mudblood like you deserves," she said, looking down on her with absolute disgust. "You think others would treat you any better than I? Half of this country would hand you over to the Ministry or Voldemort. And the other half would do the same… except they'd rape you first!"
"And so I should be thanking you for that? For not doing any of those things to me?" she asked and when Daphne slowly nodded, Hermione smirked and said, "Please… we both know that Harry and whatever plan you are spinning around him is the only reason I am still alive and untouched. Don't insult my intelligence by pretending you spared me as some act of kindness. If it wasn't for Harry, you'd gladly treat me just like your friends would."
Daphne's eyes flashed dangerously but Hermione was happy. She knew she had her.
"You are correct," the pureblood girl admitted rather casually, much to Hermione's astonishment. She expected some sort of denial from the girl. Instead, Daphne stepped closer and leaned over to whisper into her ear. "If it was up to me, I would have taken you to the Ministry already. Let Dolores Umbridge give you what you deserve," Daphne said before pausing and just staring at Hermione while in deep thought. After a moment she straightened up and said the next words with frustrated displeasure.
"Unfortunately, I can't do that anymore. Harry would be devastated if anything happened to you. He sees something in you that quite frankly I doubt is there," she said and paused for a while before she pointed her wand between Hermione's eyes again. "But I could be wrong," she admitted. "Perhaps there really is something in you that I haven't discovered so far. Just have to dig a little… deeper."
Before Hermione could cry out at what was about to happen once more, Daphne said the spell.
"Legilimens!
"Minister Granger… it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? All these neat little plans you already have in your head," the blonde girl said, her voice tittering with irony as she stared down at her hatefully.
This time, Daphne focused on the post-war plans that Hermione had. All the ideas she wanted to implement so that muggleborns would finally have equal rights and opportunities in the magical world. Hermione has been thinking about that a lot since their capture, wondering if she would be able to make any of them a reality. They were at the forefront of her mind and therefore easy pickings for Daphne's probing. She was unable to stop the pureblood girl from seeing them. From seeing everything!
Daphne jabbed her wand forward and Hermione felt pushed into the wall even more. "Listen carefully, you filthy little mudblood," she spat angrily. "I would rather die than let you do this to my world. I would most certainly kill you before letting you do this!" she screamed.
Hermione was unfazed by her vitriol. "Even if… you kill me… someone else will," she moaned weakly but Daphne jabbed her wand again and forced her silent.
"The worst is that your plan might have worked," she admitted with obvious displeasure. "Had the three of you defeated the dark lord, I expect you could have used Harry's fame and resulting popular support to become the Minister. You would then be in a position to implement all that mudblood equality nonsense you spout," Daphne said before pausing and smiling evilly at her helpless opponent. "Well, that's obviously not going to happen now. I am never… never letting you become Minister of Magic!"
Hermione wanted to yell that she won't be able to stop her but the silencing spell Daphne cast on her earlier was still in effect. Perhaps it was for the best because right now, the pureblood girl looked angry enough to use more severe curses on her should she say another word.
Daphne realized she was loosing control and briefly closed her eyes to center herself. She took a deep calming breath. When she opened her eyes again, she was much calmer. "I was not serious at the beginning but I suppose I must really thank you, Granger," she finally spoke and Hermione looked at her tiredly, her head still spinning. "I mean if those were really your plans… by becoming my prisoner, you may have just saved the magical world from your madness."
At hearing that, Hermione instantly regained her fire and became livid. She understood that Daphne was considering her permanently beaten by her current situation. The idea horrified her and made her lash out at the briefest mention of it. As soon as the spell keeping her silent ran out, she screamed desperately. "Don't count me out, yet! Muggleborn equality is not just some fancy of mine, it's the right thing. It's inevitable… like evolution!"
Daphne snorted. "More like devolution. Oh, and it is very much over. You obviously won't be leading any mudblood revolt from within a prison cell. And I am going to make sure that nobody else substitutes for you either," she promised.
Hermione was not sure what to say to that. Once again, the pureblood girl suggested that she could be spending the rest of her live in this cell. The idea terrified her like nothing else. But even if that was to be her fate, she didn't believe that Daphne would be able to stop muggleborns from getting equal rights eventually. She was serious when she said it was inevitable.
"Why don't you just give it up?" Daphne suddenly asked, pulling Hermione out of her reverie. "W-what?" she asked, puzzled by the question.
"If it makes you feel any better, I acknowledge that had you not been captured, you stood a good chance to succeed with your ideas and plans," the blonde admitted. "But that's no longer possible so why don't you admit that to yourself and… move on?" she asked.
"What exactly are you saying?" Hermione asked the pureblood witch with growing apprehension.
Daphne crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin high. She looked down on Hermione with an expression so superior it had to have been practiced. "Kneel before me, Granger," she finally said and continued despite Hermione gaping at her for the audacity of her words. "Throw yourself at the mercy of House Greengrass and I promise to find a place for you in the magical world appropriate for both your blood status and intelligence."
"Go to hell!" Hermione retorted angrily after a moment of shocked silence at the blonde's outrageous suggestion. "I'd rather rot in here than submit to you!"
Daphne merely cocked an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were intelligent. Do you really mean to sacrifice your future over your own pride?" she told her with a tone of disappointment like she was scolding an unruly child.
"Better than selling out everything I believe in," Hermione insisted. A small part of her wondered whether she was rejecting her last chance for freedom but she immediately silenced it, knowing that 'freedom' Daphne Greengrass would provide her with would be nothing but slavery.
"Well maybe you will change your mind after a week… or a year," the girl mentioned casually but with a serious look in her eyes. Still, Hermione would not let that prospect rattle her. If that was to be her fate, then so be it. "Don't count on it," she said in determined voice while staring right back into Daphne's blue eyes.
After a while, Daphne relaxed her posture and sighed, seemingly conceiving their battle of wills. "I really don't understand you, mudblood. You are clearly intelligent so why is it so hard for you to accept that your birthright makes you inferior to purebloods?"
"Maybe because I am not and pureblood superiority is a complete and utter hogwash?" Hermione suggested sarcastically, growing tired of the conversation. At this point, she deeply regretted even trying to talk with Daphne. She should have listened to the guards and Astoria. They all warned her that this would happen. Daphne looked at her with sudden curiosity. "Exactly how much have you studied this?" she asked but Hermione was not sure what she meant. "What's there to study?!" she asked angrily.
The pureblood girl stared at her with an expression a mixture of disbelieve, suspicion, and disdain. "I sincerely hope you are kidding," she finally said before adding quietly. "But we shall see," Then she raised her wand again and pointed it between Hermione's eyes who only had time to cry, "No, not again!"
"Legilimens!"
This time, Hermione did not feel her focusing on a single subject. Instead, the evil witch pushed through her memories like a steamroller. Flashes of her early years in Hogwarts were the most prevalent but there was so much of it she could not keep track of everything that Greengrass forced her to relive. Neither could she tell how long this lasted but when Daphne finally released the spell, Hermione could have sworn the daylight coming through the small window was a lot brighter. Even the spell keeping her immobile and pressed against the wall ran out in the meantime.
"For heaven's sake, just leave me alone!" Hermione cried out in utter misery as she hugged her knees and pushed herself on the bed as far away as she could from her tormentor. She was not physically hurt but felt spiritually dirty after Daphne's mindreading. She tried to be strong but didn't know how much more of this she could take before she would be defeated. She wanted out! Wanted this to end!
Meanwhile, Daphne appeared to be reeling from what she has seen in her mind. "You really don't know anything, do you mudblood?!" she asked in disbelief.
That was just about enough for Hermione and she finally snapped. "Stop it! Stop calling me that!" she cried before clenching her fist so hard so that her nails duck into the flesh of her palm until she drew blood. She then raised her hand specked with red and showed it to Daphne. "See? It's red! Just as yours! There is no mud!" she shouted.
Upon her outburst, Daphne stared at her with open mouth in pure shock and even a little fear. Then it was gone and the pureblood witch looked confident again even as she surged forward with her wand drawn and grabbed Hermione's bleeding hand. "Are you completely insane?" Daphne yelled even as she pointed her wand at the wound and uttered the healing charm. "Episkey!" Hermione watched the wound close itself.
Afterwards, the two girls met eyes. "You don't hurt yourself, ever!" the blonde warned.
"Like you even care," Hermione shot back and yanked her now healed hand away from Daphne's grasp. "Of course I care! You are my prisoner… my responsibility," Daphne said but if anything it made Hermione even angrier to be reminded of her captivity. Daphne shook her head sadly and then, much to Hermione's shock, sat down on the far end of her bed.
Hermione watched her cautiously while shifting a little away from her and towards the pillow side. The thought of attacking the girl now that she seemingly let her guard down did not even occur to her. After having her mind invaded multiple times, she understood Daphne would not hold back in retaliation over any escape attempts. And Hermione felt she would not be able to take it anymore.
"You don't even know what it means, do you?" Daphne Greengrass finally said as she turned her head to look at her prisoner.
"What what means?" Hermione asked in confusion and Daphne clarified, "The word… mudblood."
Hermione snorted and said. "What's there to know? It's an insult, it has no meaning!"
"Yes, I suppose from your perspective it's an insult," Daphne admitted after a while. "But do you not know how it came to be used?"
Hermione indeed did not know. Back in the second year, after Malfoy called her a mudblood and Ron explained what it meant, she tried researching it in the library but she did not find anything. And it was too embarrassing topic to ask a teacher or an older student. She concluded it was simply a meaningless insult and moved on.
"It's a very old word," Daphne began to speak without waiting for an answer. "Many thousands of years ago, wizards and witches already possessed an advanced civilization whereas muggles of the same time period were still little primitive by comparison."
Despite her plan to ignore Daphne's words, Hermione could not help but become engrossed in what the girl was saying. History always interested her and she regretted the fact that it was taught in a somewhat mediocre way in Hogwarts. She was not sure whether to believe all Daphne was saying but she read before that the wizards of old were indeed very advanced compared to the muggles. And also abusive and treacherous – many of the gods and goddesses revered throughout the ancient times were actually wizards and witches using the religion to trick muggles into obeying them.
"Now, can you imagine how my kind saw the muggleborns of that time period?" Daphne then asked her and Hermione was beginning to understand where she was going with this.
"It was a baffling concept to my ancestors," Daphne went on and said. "They knew muggleborns had potential to use magic but at the same time, they were little different from muggles who birthed them – constantly covered in dirt and their own waste," Daphne said and scrunched her nose. "They were filthy and they stank," she spat the last part in disgust.
"Mudbloods…" Hermione mumbled as she made the connection. Daphne nodded. "Yes, exactly," she confirmed.
"But I am sure when they joined magical society, they would-" Hermione was going to say they changed but stopped when Daphne chuckled sadly.
"You're thinking of Hogwarts book of acceptance!" she said. "Rowena's amazing invention changed a lot. But before that, there was no method to detect muggleborns! Most of them would never get any kind of magical education because they would never be located."
"But how is that possible? Wouldn't accidental magic eventually give them away?" Hermione wondered.
Daphne shook her head. "Population density was very small back then and magical folk lived separately from muggles. Chances of a pureblood randomly witnessing an accidental magic from a muggleborn child was almost zero."
"So if wizards and witches lived separately, there were no marriages with muggles either," Hermione deduced.
Daphne screwed up her face in disgust. "Of course not! Muggles are no better than animals! Who would marry an animal?!"
Hermione frowned at her words but held back from reacting to that racial slur.
Daphne then said. "It took my ancestors a long time to even grasp the concept that a magical child could possibly be born to two muggles. For thousands of years, most muggleborns spent their entire lives never realizing their potential. Or worse, they were murdered by their relatives and neighbors in fear after their powers first manifested," she told her and Hermione listened with bated breath as the girl continued.
"Some of the more clever muggleborns taught themselves to utilize a fraction of their powers and became rulers or priests of their muggle tribes. But even they had far more in common with their muggle subjects than with pureblooded magic users. And since they only had muggle partners to choose from and zero magical exposition, their children did not inherit magic. Only very few lucky ones would happen to be located by purebloods. They would be taken in as apprentices or servants and truly join the magical society. Start their own dynasties," she finished.
Hermione found the story fascinating but at the same time, she was puzzled by where Daphne was going with this. "So that's it?" she asked after the other girl was silent for a while. "That's the reason why people like me are treated with disdain?!"
Daphne's blue eyes flashed dangerously. "I am not finished," she snapped angrily before continuing. "After the existence of muggleborns became an accepted fact, purebloods of that time period eventually decided to actively search for them. My family included."
"W-what?" Hermione asked in shock. "Why would you do that? Why would you look for them?" she asked before she had a dreadful idea that filled her with cold terror. "You wanted to kill them, didn't you?!"
Daphne raised an eyebrow while shaking her head in exasperation. "Haven't you been listening to me at all, mudblood?!" she cried out heatedly. "Yes, most of them were being murdered but not by us but rather by those muggle animals! Stinky or not, they were still wizards and witches and yet they were being murdered. My ancestors could not allow that to continue. They decided to take action."
"But your kind hates muggleborns!" Hermione passionately protested Daphne's suggestion that her ancestor's intention was to help people like her.
"We hate little ingrates like you," Daphne clarified and raised her eyebrow haughtily. "Mudbloods who were rescued from a life of mediocrity and given opportunity to study and use their amazing gifts," she said and looked at Hermione with contempt. "And yet what have you done with? From almost day one, all you do is complain how unfair the world is to you and how you should be the one in charge!"
"So we should be your slaves out of gratitude for supposedly rescuing us?" Hermione posed a challenging question.
"You are not slaves, don't be ridiculous," Daphne dismissed her statement. "But we do expect you to accept the limitations that come from your inferior origin… and yes, show some deference," she said and sniffed. "My ancestors and other purebloods spent over a millennia roaming all of Europe, searching and rescuing your kind. Ever heard for the Wild Hunt? It was started by my ancestor, Woden Greengrass! Several times each year, they rode out to look for muggleborns and to terrorize the muggles who would dare to harm them. In the centuries before Rowena's invention, they successfully rescued tens of thousands of your kind."
At the end of Daphne's narration, Hermione was left speechless. She wanted to dismiss everything the girl told her as lies and pureblood propaganda but the truth was that Hermione found some odd references to what Daphne spoke of during her own research. For example, she once read a book on the lives of ancient wizards and some of them were said to have been 'wild riders of the Hunt'. At the time, Hermione did not understand the meaning and paid it no attention. Was it possible the Wild Hunt from the muggle myths really existed and was formed by wizards and witches to look for Hermione's kind as Daphne claimed? Or was the pureblood girl just putting a spin on an existing story to make her lies more convincing?
Hermione was not sure but knew that ultimately, the answer was unimportant. "Even if all what you say is the truth, it was all a long time ago. It is of no consequence today. The world has changed, Daphne. Muggleborns don't need to be rescued anymore and muggles are actually very advanced now. You'd be amazed what they achieved!" Hermione insisted and then added. "And they no longer stink!"
During her passionate speech, Hermione shifted a little on the bed and noticed a matching movement of Daphne's hand. She looked down and finally noticed that the girl has been pointing a wand in her general direction during their conversation, not really having let her guard down at all.
"They became more advanced, it is true," Daphne admitted. "But even then much of their success is due to influence from magical folk rather than anything else. Left alone, muggle societies always revert to their chaotic, beastly state. It is in their nature. They are aimless and weak."
"That's not true," Hermione immediately replied. She suspected the pureblood girl would make a claim like this. Sad thing was that in many regards, muggles were already way more advanced than wizards without anyone realizing. And how could they? It was not like purebloods ever bothered to study muggle society in any detail unless they worked as obliviators. For example, Hermione had not seen a single pureblood attending the muggle studies in Hogwarts. "Muggles are hardly week. If they wanted, they could destroy Hogwarts, the whole of London… all within seconds!"
Daphne cocked an eyebrow. "Not exactly disproving my comment on their beastly nature, do you?" she asked with a smirk and Hermione cursed herself for falling right into Daphne's trap.
"Besides, if you mean atomic bombs..." Daphne began and Hermione watched her in shock as the girl used a term she had no right of knowing. "... we possess wards that stop the explosive reaction. Against magical places, they would be nothing but hunks of iron."
"W-what?"
Daphne sighed. "That's also your problem, Granger. You see purebloods as some bigoted, ignorant monsters who know nothing about muggles at all. You think we hate mudbloods like you with no reason and refuse to accept the possibility that we might have some genuine grievances with your kind."
Hermione was not giving up. "So you know one, rather old, invention muggles made," she acknowledged. "That does not mean…"
She was interrupted when Daphne suddenly stood up and hissed, "Get up, filth!"
"What? Why?" Hermione asked with worry, mindful of Daphne's wand which was once again pointing at her threateningly. "Do not ask questions! Just do as I say or you will regret it," the blonde threatened.
With no other choice, Hermione reluctantly stood up from her bed after which Daphne twirled her wand and manacles connected her wrists once more. The freedom of movement that Harry provided her with was short-lived. Daphne ignored her accusatory glare and said, "Follow me, Granger. I want to show you something."