Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Captive Audience	By : magentasouth Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 44847 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from any part of the Harry Potter universe.

Chapter List
- 1-Ch 1
- 2-Ch 2
- 3-Ch 3
- 4-Ch 4
- 5-Ch 5
- 6-Ch 6
- 7-Ch 7
- 8-Ch 8
- 9-Ch 9
- 10-Ch 10
- 11-Ch 11
- 12-Ch 12
- 13-Ch 13
- 14-Ch 14
- 15-Ch 15 (just edited - no addition)
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 10
- 11
- 12
The
scritch scritch of a quill on parchment accompanied her drift up to
wakefulness.�� Her body felt like it was
made of stone.� Stiff and frozen, curled
into a tight protective ball to conserve heat, the side that was pressed to the
stone floor felt like ice.� She
identified the scratching sound as emanating from Voldemort, who was seated at
his desk working again. ��
Obviously
he had detected her attention upon him as her manacles clicked open
suddenly.�
�Get up�
he instructed coolly.�
She
wanted to curl in even tighter.� He was still annoyed with her.�� Why?!!�
She�d thought about it for hours and she really didn�t see why he was so annoyed. �She had done
what he�d asked in the end.� Of course he
couldn�t understand what it meant to kill someone you loved.� He didn�t love anything.� It was just a word.� Professor Dumbledore had said that love was Harry�s
greatest weapon against Voldemort.� It
was supposed to be the power that the Dark Lord knows not, Harry had theorised.�
Unfolding
her body, her knees cracked and everything felt stiff and unresponsive.� She was still frozen.� She tried to massage some feeling back into
her feet.� Her neck was sore from the
angle it had been lying at all night.�
When she
was finally on her feet she found that he�d laid out a dress on the bed for
her.�

It was pale pink silk. ��

He knew she hated pink.� She thought he hated pink too.�

Definitely not pleased with her this morning then.
�I am
going to send you to the bathroom.� I
wish you to shower.�� You have five
minutes.��
He didn�t
even turn around and she stumbled slightly as the room around her shifted
suddenly and she found herself in the bathroom.

It wasn�t apparition � she hadn�t travelled like this before.� She thought he might have banished her.� As if she were dirty clothing or a random
object.� As if she were a thing!�

She felt mild hurt at it, foolishly enough, before her mind kicked in and
reminded her that he�d said five minutes and she was wasting time.
She
jumped under the shower as soon as the water started.�� It was immediately hot and strong and
wonderful.� It sloughed the stiff ice
from her joints and soothed her in a way that a warming spell never would have.� She turned around in circles under it,
sighing in pleasure.

Taking a shower had never been something she�d really appreciated before.� At least not in this kind of bone deep
way.�� She wished she could live under this shower.

The tiny thought occurred to her, in the back of her mind, that if Voldemort
won, she�d likely remain his ..whatever she was right now.. prisoner.. pet..
forever � or at least until he got tired of her and killed her.�� She�d only be allowed to eat or bathe when he decreed it.. or, probably more
accurately � when he remembered it.�

It was probably a terrible statement about how much being around the Dark Lord
had changed her but the notion of having the freedom to eat and bathe and wear trousers was really speaking in favour of
the world in which Harry won.�� She should be wanting him to win because it
was right.�
She was
contemplating washing her hair when the room around her flick-shifted again and
she found herself dripping on the stone floor in Lord Voldemort�s bedroom
again.� She was dried and the puddle
around her scourgified away before she could think.�� A cold disinterested voice instructed her to
get dressed.

The entire dismissive impatient atmosphere of him was beginning to worry her.� He wasn�t usually this cold even when he was
upset.�
She slipped
on the dress.� It adjusted itself to
better fit her body, snug over her hips, waist and bust.� ��
�You will
sit quietly at my feet until I am finished, after which we will return to the
dungeons, where you shall be tested once again.�
She
frowned.� Ok.. his level of irritation
made no sense.� She�d done what he asked last night!
�Do not
provoke me today, Hermione.� I do not
wish to coddle you as you fuss childishly.�
You did not do as you were
told and you dithered pathetically.� Do
not repeat your errors today � respond immediately and in accordance with
orders and I shall offer you a great deal more freedom after Potter is
destroyed.� Now come.� Kneel here.� he gestured to the floor at the
foot of his chair.
She tried
not to frown and moved to his side, her eyes downcast to avoid irritating him
further by looking at what he was working on.�
He shifted his chair slightly to allow her to move closer and kneel beneath
the desk.� When she did so, he gestured
for her to move closer until she was actually pressed up against his legs.� The hand that he did not write with reached
for her head and guided it down to lay upon the inside of his knee, stroking
her hair as if she were a faithful dog.�
She heard the scritch of the quill moving again.�
She tried
not to think but her mind just wasn�t built that way.� It turned to the warmth of his knee through
the robes and the very unusual position she was presently placed in.� �Her
eyes drifted up of their own accord to the slight shadowed bulge in his
robes.�� He wasn�t hard but she could see
the vague delineation of the focus of her attention even so.��

The hand stroking her paused in its travel over her hair and although she
couldn�t see him she was sure he had picked up the direction of her thoughts
and was surprised.

She nuzzled at the inside of his knee hopefully.�� The hand on her head stroked her again very slowly.
�Tempting...�� the familiar harmonic voice drifted down to
her.� �
Daringly,
she trailed a finger up his other calf under his robe.� The hand on her head delved slightly and
fisted her hair, holding her in place.�
Carefully he pushed the chair back from the desk, throwing the
torchlight onto her face in the shadow.�
He looked as if he were thinking carefully about something

�Please let me..� she mumbled.� �I�m
sorry.. that I disappointed you.��

That was the best she could do.� She was sorry that he was disappointed and
annoyed with her but she couldn�t help how she had acted yesterday.� She really
hadn�t wanted to do what he asked.�
But she did really want to do
this.
�As
appealing as your request might be, I am inclined
to refuse, Hermione.� To allow you what
you desire would be to reward failure.�
How are you to learn if your master is inconsistent?�
She
lowered her eyes, barely managing to keep the dark scowl from her face.� There were times when she used the word Master intentionally, because she knew he liked
it.. but there were other times when he
used it in a certain way and she felt like some kind of animal.. like a
pet.� As if he truly saw her as
subhuman.�
��Not subhuman.. but perhaps somewhat like a
pet.. at times� he responded quietly.� �It
is inevitable in a relationship so inequal.��
Perhaps.. in time..�� He paused,
looking off to the left with pensively lowered brows.

�No.. not even in time� he amended a short while later.� �Even after Potter is destroyed, I will never
bring you forth as my consort.� Despite
your brilliance, your blood is too impure and you are almost as famous as the
boy wonder himself.� Perhaps I might be
able to disguise or permanently alter you.. however such solutions are
generally more trouble than they are worth.�

No.� Before the world you will remain my
prize.� No one need know that I take you
into my bed from time to time.�� It will
be quite enough to cast off suspicion when I acquire a more permanent pureblooded
partner by my side.�
Hermione
felt her heart clench.�

�No!� she whimpered before she could stop herself.
�No?� he
responded quickly with a mild sneer.� �Hermione..
you are labouring under the delusion that I was seeking your opinion.� I was not.�
I was merely thinking aloud.� You do not have a choice in these
matters.� Or indeed any other
matters.� Your choices are all reducible
to one fundamental choice.� Do as instructed
or face punishment.� You cannot eat,
bathe, dress, walk, climax � you cannot so much as pass water involuntarily
without my permission.� You certainly
do not have a vote in whether or not I choose to fuck other witches.�
She felt
a little fire inside her ignite.� For a
moment it felt familiar.� Like coming
home. �How long had it been since she
dared to resist?!

�I still have choices.� �She whispered
defiantly.
She found
herself hauled at once to her feet by her hair and thrown hard in the direction
of the bed.� Her dress had vanished even
before she landed pell mell on the covers.�

He was upon her at once, turning her to her stomach, pushing her down into the
covers with one hand even as he dragged her hips up with the other, forcing her
to her knees.�
Even though she had wanted him and still wanted him, she struggled for all
she was worth � alone the principle that she did not have a choice in this propelled
her to push upward against his hand on her neck and try to turn her hips away
and kick at him.� That too was to no
avail.� He easily subdued her efforts,
kneeling painfully upon her calves as he positioned himself and thrust roughly
into her.�

She squeaked in shock at being so suddenly filled.��
He
immediately settled into a punishing rhythm, slapping into her hard and
fast.� A faint low groan of pleasure
escaped him.
She didn�t
want to but God ...he felt so good.. she truly couldn�t help rocking back
against him as far as she was able.� The
way he moved.. the way it felt when he was inside her..� She could no more resist it than she could resist
taking her next panted breath.� Her
indignant defiance forgotten, she moved and clenched, working toward her own
climax.� It wouldn�t take long.
She was
nearly there, moaning softly and turning her cheek against the bedclothes, when
with a sudden exultant gasp he slammed deep into her and came.�

She tried to speed her own release and join him.. but without warning he pulled
out and stepped away.
�Try to
touch yourself and your punishment will be severe� he said, his breathy voice betraying
the exertions of a minute prior.� �She turned, eyes wide in dismayed
disbelief.� He stood, pale and powerful,
her juices still glistening all over his groin where his half hard cock was now
softening to quiescence once more.�

Surely he didn�t mean it!� He�d never left her wanting before!
She
whined in frustration. �But i�m so close!!�
Please..�
He
snorted softly, amused.� �As you see � this is your choice.� You will do what you are told or you will be
punished.�� When you are well behaved.. and I am pleased with
you... I may on occasion choose to reward you. �There can be no expectation that that will be
the rule however.� You will obey.. and at present I wish you to
be unfulfilled.�
Hermione
let herself fall onto her side on the bed, curling up into an angry ball of
sexual frustration.� She squeezed her
thighs together still looking for relief from that terrible wonderful almost pleasure.
�Do not
imagine that I do not see that.� You will
not come by your own hand.. or any
other body part!�� Hermione, you have
brought this upon yourself with your insolence. ��Defy me and you will not enjoy what I will do to you next.�� He turned away and, waving a hand,
scourgified himself.� A black robe
shimmered into being around his body a moment before he stepped back to the
chair and sat down, returning to his work without another glance in her
direction.�

He seemed irritatingly pleased with himself though.� There was a certain aura of sated smugness
about him.�
The slippery
drool of his inert seed leaking out of her, she squeezed her thighs together
and again had the tingle of pleasure.�

She could come like this.� Maybe.��

But he�d said not to.��

She really needed to though.. and she was so close.
�Ok.. fine.� She growled, annoyed� �I
have no choices.. please let me come
now!�
She
thought she saw his thin satisfied smile, but he didn�t turn and didn�t
respond.��

Huffing in frustration she continued to press and rock subtly.�� He seemed to be ignoring her when she
finally reached the completion she had been pursuing.� It was underwhelming.� A small rush of release and then it was over.
He did
not turn.� His voice sounded distracted.� �Very well, Hermione, as you insist upon
disobedience - I shall punish you when I am finished here.�
Her
slightly hazed eyes flew back to him and widened in alarm.� Defying his order seemed like a bad decision
now in retrospect.� She felt a hollow
foreboding as she lay still on the bed and watched the slender white fingers
dancing the quill across the parchment.
�I�m
sorry!� she tried, knowing that it was pointless.� As expected, Lord Voldemort didn�t even
respond.�
She was almost
asleep when she realised something had changed.�

It wasn�t a sound.� In fact it was an
absence of sound.� The scritch scratching
of quill on parchment had stopped.�
Looking
over with sleepy eyes, she saw the Dark Lord sitting back in his chair gazing
with intense scrutiny at a parchment in his hand.� She could see that it was the arithmantic
chart.��

It seemed even more complex and interwoven now.�
��

He stared at it as if he were trying to burn a hole in it with the force of his
eyes.�� Then.. without warning, the
parchment burst into flame!...
Hermione
sat up quickly.� �What are you doing?!�
she asked, horrified.� Had he given
up?!� Had he abandoned whatever it was he
was working upon for so long � was it actually unsolveable?!
�I am
finished� he said simply, releasing the parchment into the air where it
incinerated itself, the ash wisping away to nothing.� �I have balanced the equations.� I no longer require it�� She could see that the rest of his desk was
clean now.� It had obviously been the last parchment he burned.
She got
up and moved closer, curiously.� �You really balanced that many variables?� Completely?�
Were they independent or interwoven?�
She wasn�t
sure if the small smile he wore held something like pride but he didn�t seem immediately
upset that she�d asked.
�Yes.� I really
balanced that many variables, Hermione.�
Completely.� The chart was composed
of thirty eight independent and forty four interconnected variables.�

I am quite..content.. with the result - ...Finally.��

I have balanced it on two other occasions, however the results were unsatisfactory.� I have rectified the main limiting factors
and those that remain are manageable.�

He seemed to remember himself and the bright, pleased, open expression he wore closed like a vault.� His crimson eyes might have glinted with
something more than usual but he was once again unreachable.
She was
just blown away though.� He hadn�t
balanced eighty two variables once,
he�d done it three times!� Although obviously
the variables had to have changed slightly between instances � the difficulty
level was comparable.� He was
amazing.� She felt awed again to be
around him.� Perhaps... if he continued
to teach her after everything was over.. perhaps...it might almost be worth
having no freedom.. no rights.. no choices.. To be able to learn from someone
so brilliant!� She would never have the
opportunity in Harry�s world.
As if he�d
heard her, his mien darkened sharply and an almost concerned expression flitted
across it briefly as he stood.�

�It is time for your punishment, Hermione.�

�
She could
barely stand when he apparated her.� She
was crying.� She hadn�t been able to
stop.� It wasn�t the pain.. although everything
hurt so much.. it was more the shock.�

He�d hurt her.� A lot. ��Most of it wasn�t even magical. �Nothing he�d ever done before was comparable
with this.�
He�d
given her no warning, telling her it was time for her punishment, before
seconds later lashing out and backhanding her to the floor.�� He had kicked
her in the ribs.. kicked her!!� He�d dragged her up by her hair and
planted a vicious fist in her belly.� And
he hadn�t stopped there.

He had beaten the crap out of her!� �With
his bare hands.� Effortlessly.�
Wearing the most distant, detached expression.� He could just as well have been balancing
figures at his desk, from the concentration on his face.�

He didn�t speak.� Didn�t remind her of
why she was being punished.� He ignored her
pleas and screams utterly. �It was like
he wasn�t even there. �

It was nothing like when he tortured
or punished in the Grand Hall.� She was
used to his sadistic pleasure.� This coldness was truly terrifying.
Everything
kind of blurred together in her mind but sometime after he�d switched to
cursing her, just after he�d used a strangulation hex, he�d paused and summoned
a house elf for a pitcher of ice water.�
He�d stood and drank a glass slowly, all the while inspecting her with
clinical detachment as she sobbed pitifully and coughed blood.� �Then,
laying aside the glass wordlessly, he�d used some kind of binding spell on her
wrists, strung her up by them and taken up a switch. �She was covered in thin red stripes from where
she�d frantically tried to twist and turn and avoid the lashes.� �Afterward he�d cursed her some more. �She had passed out twice and woken to
enervation before he continued.� For some
reason he had not used the cruciatus..but he had taken a good foray through many of the lesser reversible dark
curses
She didn�t
even have enough energy to protest the scale of her punishment relative to her
apparent offense.� She didn�t want to say
anything that might make him do
something to hurt her again.�

Never in her life had she been in so much pain without the cruciatus being involved.�
And the
worst part was that she knew she was stupid to be so incredulous that he had
done it to her.� She�d seen people
brought before him in the grand hall in a far worse state than she was in
now.� She�d seen him hurt people.. kill them..
effortlessly and without remorse.� This
was nothing compared to what he�d done to others.

It was just worse than anything he�d done to her before.� She couldn�t
understand what she�d done to make him that ang..

Well.. no.� it wasn�t even as if he was angry.� He didn�t seem
angry at all.� He seemed like someone who
was performing a necessary task that was neither pleasant nor unpleasant.� He seemed exacting but unenthused.
Upon
arrival in the dungeon, he dropped her and she crumpled to her knees on the
filthy floor of the cell.� Torches were
already lit.� She had her face in her
hands trying to stifle the sobbing.� She
was not wearing a pretty dress now.� He�d
clothed her in a rough black robe.� It
felt like it was made of sack cloth and it was at least two sizes too
large.�
�Hermione?!!��
She recognised
the horrified panicked voice without even uncovering her face and her heart quietly
sank to the bottom of a black ocean of despair.
�Mum..�
she whispered.
�I am
certain that I do not need to explain to you why we are here, Hermione�� The voice of her tormentor floated down to
her.� �Stand.�
She
heaved a sigh and dropped her hands from her bruised and swelling face.� She heard nothing but in her peripheral
vision detected the shocked flinch and angry struggling from the two figures
chained to the wall.� �When she thought she had collected enough
strength she raised her bloodshot eyes to look at them.� Her parents looked furious.� So protective that their own terror was
pushed aside.�

Her eyes skidded across to Lord Voldemort, who was looking at them both with
mild disgust.�
�I�m not
going to do it.� She said with weary finality, expecting that now he was
probably going to do something even worse than what he�d just done to her.

�Do what you want to me.� I�m not going
to kill them.�
The red
eyes upon her narrowed and he raised his wand, pointing it in the direction of
her father.� �Hermione.. I cannot explain
your recent relapse into idiotic Gryffindoresque defiance � however I can assure you that you will learn to obey.� You will
kill them.�

At the very least, I have no doubt that you will Avada your dear mother rather
than submit her to Juellers inversion curse.�
Or perhaps Prions hunger?? �

Do not oblige me to waste an unreasonable amount of time torturing and killing
two muggles and then punishing you
even more harshly than I have thusfar.��
There was
a clatter as her wand bounced on the stones at her feet where he tossed
it.� She snatched it up and gripped it
white-knuckled.� She was itching to raise
it upon him.� Her entire body vibrated with the need to
attack him.�
�Try, and
their suffering will exceed that of all of the others combined.� And you will watch them scream and beg and curse you for denying them an easy
death.�� The serpentine face was
hard.� She knew that he was not making an empty threat.� If she didn�t do it, he would probably use
some horrible curse she didn�t know and in all likelihood her parents might end
up wishing she�d consented.
She
turned to them, despairing.�

Her mother was crying and leaning toward her father, who was mouthing silently,
trying to comfort her.� They were chained
too far apart to reach one another.��
Her father glanced over at her and there was something so awful in the
way he looked at her � as if she were a monster; a faithful family pet that had
one day suddenly turned rabid and bitten the baby.�
�At least
release them� she barely breathed, resignation dawning on her face.
Lord Voldemort
smiled in triumph and flicked his wand slightly in the direction of her
parents.� There was a clatter as their
chains fell away and then they flew into one another�s arms.� Her father held her mother tightly while she
cried and neither of them looked over at her.�
�I�m..so
sorry..� she choked out, her eyes fixed on the stones at her feet.� �I never wanted this.� ..if there were any other way..�
They
simply held one another more tightly.
She raised
her wand.
The quickest,
least painful curse was the killing curse.�
But she didn�t know if she could cast it right now.� Not on them.�
She didn�t want them to die.� �Perhaps Xerces eraser again?
�I wish
you to use the Avada� came the soft unnaturally-resonant voice.�
�
She was
in the cage.
Her
parents were dead and she was in the cage.
In the
grand hall
Alone.�
In the
dark.
Everything
hurt. �There was no way to sit or lie
that did not evoke pain.� It wasn�t as
bad as after Draco had cruciated her though. �It was not beyond endurance.
She had
done what he wanted.� The first time she
had cast, the spell had failed. �Her
parents had flinched together, expecting something terrible to happen and had
looked up at one another, surprised when the moment passed.

Lord Voldemort had been angry.� She could
see it on his face.� He had been very
angry that she had failed.� �She was afraid that he would do something
terrible to them if she didn�t manage to cast the killing curse.

She had cast again.� Her father didn�t
even have time to brace himself again before the bright green light had hissed
across the room and felled him.�
The
uncomprehending terrified look on her mother�s face was still in the front of Hermione�s
mind.
She had cast
again and her mother had looked at her one final time as if she didn�t
recognise her, before the spell scattered her, marionette with the strings cut,
over the body of her husband.
Voldemort
had summoned her wand from her hand immediately and, without a word, banished
her to the cage.
And now
all she could think about was what she had done.�

All she could think about was how she hadn�t even tried to fight.� Her parents
would have wanted her to fight.� She
should have done something.�
She didn�t
know how long she had been lying here, her wounds throbbing ...and aching ...and
stinging, thinking about her parents.. and Remus and Hagrid and Professor McGonagall
and all the others..�

and Harry.�

All of their faces kept swimming through her mind looking at her with terrible
disappointment.� She was worse than a failure.� She was like Peter Pettigrew.� She was a traitor to her friends and family.
A crack
startled her from her morose rumination.�
She sat up with some difficulty.
Voldemort.�

Why was he back?!�

He looked alert.. alarmed even.. he stalked over to the cage and his every move
was strange and jerky.� Not graceful like
he usually was at all.� His eyes were
wild.�
�Potter
is within the castle.� It will not be
long before he finds his way to this room.�
I did not think they would attack today..� my sources..��
He tapered off uncertainly but recovered.

..No matter.�� Waving open the door of
the cage, he moved closer.� Hermione
flinched back.� What was he going to do
now?!��
Her
avoidance was pointless.� He somehow
summoned her across the intervening space and she slid forward to the edge of
the cage unwillingly. ��

The horrible monster, who was her entire world, lowered himself to one
knee.� He was almost eye to eye with her
sitting on the edge of the cage, he was so tall.� ��

She looked down at the oddity that was Lord Voldemort kneeling before her.�� She had thought that the man only had knees
to rest upon while he fucked her.� The
sight of him in a posture of supplication was bizarre.
�Hermione..
do you recall what I told you I wished of you?�

Crimson eyes mustered her seriously.
She
forbore to respond.�
�I
require you to use what I have taught you to attack while he is distracted.� He will not expect it.�� You are the one person who he will ignore
during the duel.�

You must destroy him.� Or incapacitate
him if you will not kill him.�

Hermione.. you know that there is no
place for you in Harry Potter�s world.�
You will be alone and suspected.. perpetually wondering what I might
have shown you.. what you might have learned, had you chosen differently.�
He
withdrew her wand from the inside pocket of his robe and offered it to
her.�

She looked at it sceptically for a moment before taking it.� �Voldemort
inspected her tensely.
�you will
do it?�
She didn�t
respond again.� She simply looked back at
him with dull eyes.
�Hermione..
�� He seemed to hesitate between
lingering and hurrying her back into the cage.�
Distantly she could hear shouts and spells now from somewhere beyond the
grand hall.
Without
warning, the monster she had allowed to corrupt her surged forward and captured
her lips roughly.�

Not expecting it in the slightest she was taken off guard and he drew her into
a deep, devouring kiss.� As always when
he kissed her, she felt her mind unreel slightly.. felt her body react
automatically.�

He kissed her with almost desperate
abandon before he pulled away suddenly, leaving her gasping, and examined her
with a judicious eye.
�It is
your choice, Hermione.� Live a lonely
life watching Ginevra Weasley bear Harry Potter�s children... or..show me your
loyalty and I shall keep you at my side while I rule...forever.�
He rose
to his feet.� It was not as smooth as
usual.� There was something..off.. about
his movements.� She couldn�t place
it.� Perhaps it was just the
adrenalin.� He seemed nervous.�
He had no
sooner closed the cage than the massive doors at the far end of the grand hall
exploded inward in a storm of stone and wood shards.�
A
familiar silhouette stood in the dust.�
It was a very dramatic entrance.�
The sound
of battle was loud now.� Behind Harry,
order members were fighting with death eaters.�
There were flashes of spells and screaming voices.�
The
figure in the door strode forward unhesitatingly, through the dust, until he
was clearly visible.�
He looked
older.. harder.. stronger.� What had he
been doing the last months?!.. He looked like he had grown up all at once.�� If he was attractive before, he was gorgeous
now. �It hurt to look at him!�

The flicker of his green eyes was visible clear across the room by the
torchlight.�
He
noticed her.
It was
clear from the pained shock on his face that he had had no inkling that she was
still alive.� He stared at her in dismay,
pain written all over his face. �She
realised she had crawled to the front wall of the cage.� She knelt up, clinging to the filigree with
shaking fingers.
�Mione..�� she saw his mouth form the word.. but no
sound came out.� Then his eyes darkened
stormily and he threw a curse in her direction.�
She thought he had cursed her
but the movement as the spell raced past the side of the cage and Voldemort
darted out of its path, made it clear that he hadn�t.�

�YOU BASTARD!� YOU FUCKING SNAKE FACED BASTARD!.. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!� MIONE!!�

He sounded so..emotional..

She realised that she wasn�t used to that anymore.� She could pick out the colours of emotion in
his voice.� Pain. Anger. guilt. Fear.

Lord Voldemort, by contrast, was the picture of composure.�� He glided with almost as much grace as
usual, forward, down the low stairs to the floor of the great hall.
�I have
done..many things to her Harry.� However if you refer to her current rather soiled
and battered appearance � she is undergoing punishment for insolence.�
Harry
almost vibrated with fury and let fly half a dozen curses, the first four of
which Voldemort deflected harmlessly.� The
final two missed as he floated out of their path effortlessly.
�I had
begun to wonder if you would ever
arrive to face your fate.� The mudblood
gave up on pining your absence several months ago.��

The Dark Lord flicked off a couple of curses almost tentatively.� Hermione clenched the silvery filigree
tighter, holding her breath.�� Harry
however, reacted quickly, avoiding the first curse and shielding against the
second before returning another salvo of his own.�
As they
were both casting silently it was difficult to detect what spells were being
used, but she was almost sure that the last one Harry had used had been a dark
spell.� Casis canis.� The colour was right and the wandwork quite
distinctive.� Except..Harry would never
use dark spells!
None of Harry�s
spells struck their intended target but when the Dark Lord responded, almost
exploratorily, Harry didn�t move fast enough and a cutting hex sliced across
his shoulder.��

Hermione winced.� Harry was stronger than
he had been.. yes.. and he was fighting better than before too... but she knew Voldemort
wasn�t even really trying to attack yet.�
He was playing.� And he was
countering everything Harry sent effortlessly.��

Harry was going to lose.�

As if to emphasise the imbalance between the two wizards, Harry again launched
into an attack, firing off spell after spell, none of which made the slightest
impression upon Voldemort.�
The dark
wizard laughed softly.�

�Is that all?!� You have had months to prepare yourself and this is the best that you can do?!�� He half turned and glanced at Hermione, a
small dark smile upon his lips.

Turning back to Harry he stalked even closer.�
There were barely six metres between them now

�I confess, Harry.. I expected a lot more from the..saviour of the light.. Dumbledore�s vaunted weapon.� I was actually concerned that you might present a serious challenge.� I see though, that removing the old man and
the mudblood was quite sufficient to render you ineffectual.�� Smiling nastily, he circled around to the
side, absently dismissing the curses that the infuriated Harry threw.

�I have always known you were a foolish boy, Potter... To have thrown away your
greatest asset in order to protect Ginevra...
poor, weak, greedy, conceited little Ginevra Weasley... who
wishes only to be wealthy and famous..�
who has never been of the
slightest use to you...�
Harry
railed at him. �Not everyone is a Slytherin, Voldemort � I�d never fall in love
with someone based on what they could do
for me.� And you�re wrong about Ginny.� Ginny is the sweetest girl i�ve ever known.�
Hermione
privately had her reservations about whether Voldemort was wrong or not.� Ginny was always quite calculating and she�d
been most in love with Harry when he was in the papers.�

The Dark Lord laughed again.

�Actually Potter.. the sweetest girl
you have ever known was that mudblood in the cage.� Although.. she is far less sweet than she was when she first
arrived in my domain.� I have taken it
upon myself to assist her to broaden her mind.�
Her naive innocence has faded most agreeably since I made her my whore..�
In the
moment that Harry�s face flew, stunned, to her, blinking in shock and hurt, Voldemort�s
arm lashed out, green fire spitting from the tip of his sharp cruel yew wand.� Harry barely even saw it coming before it
struck him in the chest.� He looked, in
the end, painfully confused, as the light faded from his eyes and he collapsed
to the floor.
�NO!!!!�
she heard herself screaming.�
He couldn�t
be.� He wasn�t dead!!� Voldemort hadn�t killed him!!�
That wasn�t
it!� It was a mistake!�
Harry had
survived the killing curse before!�
Voldemort
approached Harry�s body slowly, replacing his wand in his pocket.� His back was to Hermione.
She didn�t
even know what she was doing when her hand reached for the wand Voldemort had
given her and inserted the tip between the mesh of the cage.� She hesitated, as the man.. the monster.. who she thought she might
actually love crouched down
inspecting the corpse of her best friend.
�That was
easier than I expected� he informed her thoughtfully.� �And now there exists no one capable of
threatening my rule.� Britain will be
mine.. and in time Europe.. From there..who knows?!�
Hermione�s
mother�s confused face flashed before her eyes... followed by Harry�s lost
expression the moment before he was killed.��
How many more would Voldemort kill?!�
Britain was not enough.. he would spread his sickness to Europe..and
then who knows?!
She didn�t
even need to say the words.. the green light hissed softly from the tip of her
wand through the sheer vehemence of her will.�
It wasn�t even intentional..
Lord Voldemort
never even looked around.� ��

The green flash struck him in the back..just below his right shoulder.� He stiffened for only a moment before he fell
gently, to the side, his head made a terrible dull thud as it struck the ground.
And then
everything was still again.
Hermione
stared.

Her mind was in shutdown.�

They were both dead.� Both of the people
she loved.. the one she couldn�t have and the one she shouldn�t choose � they were
both dead.
Beyond
the door, the sounds of battle were quieter.. more isolated.� Only a few witches and wizards remained
fighting.� For whatever reason, no one
moved any closer to the grand hall.� No
one else entered.�
She
stared at the two bodies on the floor and felt..nothing..
Eventually,
after a time, even the few sounds of battle outside died down and ended.� Everything became very quiet.
She was
staring at the black silk of Voldemort�s robe, which had ridden up as he fell
to expose his calves.�

It was undignified.� He wouldn�t want
that.� She used the wand to lower it and
cover him.

It felt as if there was a mountainous tidal wave of pain and despair pressing
in at a flimsy window that was keeping her in this placid state of empty calm. �If she let it in, it would drown her.

Her eyes slid down of their own accord to the wand in her hand.
They were
both dead.

her fault.

why had she done it?!� She�d reacted
without thinking.� In the silence, she
knew now without a doubt that she should have chosen him.� He would have come and
let her out of the cage now.� He would
have been so pleased.� He�d won.� It was over.

Now everything was over.� There was nothing left.� She�d ruined everything.�

The tears wouldn�t come.� Her eyes felt
gritty.� It was as if there was nothing
left inside her.

She watched as her hand, somehow knowing better than her mind, turned the wand,
placing the tip at her chest.�

Wavering, she wondered whether she needed to say the words or whether it would
be enough to let the bottomless despair in.�
The faint
sound was ignored at first.� Everything
was still.� And then things slipped back
into focus and the faint sound became quiet footsteps.�

They came from behind her cage.. the back of the room.�

Whoever it was had been here the entire time.��
She
looked up; her eyes meeting silvery grey ones.�
Draco Malfoy sneered at her from half a metre away on the other side of
the cage, and in the dulled-mind state she was in as she was preoccupied with
surprise and confusion, he summoned her wand out of her hand and through the filigree.

She heard a very understated little snap sound before sharp blinding pain
winded her..�

By the time she could open her eyes and look up, he was standing over Harry.

He had something in his hand.� It looked
like something long, wrapped.. swaddled
in fact in fabric.� It had a rather
distinctive shape.
�enervate� �the snide voice said quietly.
She
blinked, confused..
Harry
moved.�

His head twitched and turned to the side.�
She saw his fingers stretching and then clenching.�

And then he opened his eyes.
�Get up, Harry.� You have to finish it.� The curse bounced off you and hit him.� The Dark Lord went down but I don�t know if
he�s really dead.� Take the sword!� Then we�ll get Granger out of that cage and
get out of this mausoleum.�
Harry
looked up and his face twisted with disorientation for a moment.�

�Draco.. Feel a bit..funny...� What�s...�� He trailed off, confused.
Malfoy
dropped to his knees and peered into Harry�s eyes.� Hermione watched numbly.� Her mind, somewhere distant that was
untroubled by the thunderstorm of shock and despair, was observing and adding
up the signs that indicated that Draco Malfoy had turned on the Dark Lord and
joined the order. Traitortraitortraitor!�
He�d told Voldemort he couldn�t get the sword.. Harry seemed to treat
him as someone familiar and trustworthy.�
�We can
get you checked out later, Harry.� For
now � you have to make sure that he�s dead.�
Cut off his head.� Hurry.� There could be other death eaters left around
here somewhere.�
Harry
nodded slowly and reached out for the object that Malfoy was holding.� It was passed to him wordlessly and he
unwrapped it, revealing a shining silver sword inset with rubies.� Shakily, Harry climbed to his feet, using the
sword as a crutch for a second.�� He
stumbled forward and gave Voldemort�s body a small kick, rolling it over onto
it�s back.�

Hermione flinched and her hand grasped air, wanting her wand back in order to
curse him and protect her master.�� Voldemort
was dead.� No one should be kicking him
or disfiguring him � especially not Harry.�
He�d hate that!� What was
happening was wrong.� He should show respect..
Lord Voldemort
was so still and somehow..not himself anymore.�
His eyes, that were once vibrant blood-red, were white.� He looked exactly
like a statue now.. no colour at all.�

Hermione�s vision blurred as the first hot bitter tears raced down her bruised
cheeks, but she couldn�t look away.� She
saw the blur that was Harry raising the sword.�
It fell and there was a sharp clang as it struck the stone floor.� It sounded very final.� A white blur on the ground fell away and
rolled slightly.� She knew it was his
head.�

How often had she kissed him?!� How many
times had she spoken with him for hours.. fascinated by the quick, intricate
way his mind operated..

Her fault.

Why had she done it?!� What insanity
possessed her to do it?!� She wanted him back!
If she
had cursed Harry... if she�d used one of the dark curses Voldemort had allowed
her to learn.. if she�d just.. chosen...
and not been so damn stupid about.. showering.. and dresses.. and her friends
who were never really her friends anyway.
�If she�d helped him.. like he�d asked her to..
He had
always been right.�

there was no place for her in Harry�s world.�
The sound
of Harry and Draco arguing quietly as they tried to break the wards on the cage
door went ignored.� �Harry offered words of comfort to her.� He was very anxious and impatient now.� She didn�t care.� Nothing mattered really now.� In a way, she felt like they should leave her
in the cage and go.� She deserved that
and worse.�
When the
cage opened and Harry called her urgently, her rational mind stepped back in
for a moment.� This was the world she was
now in, it informed her, and she needed Harry�s help � just as Voldemort had
told her � in order to avoid interrogation by aurors, or more likely unspeakables... �Irrespective what she felt she might deserve, did she really want to go to Azkaban?!
She
crawled over to Harry with as much enthusiasm as she could pull together and
found herself swept up into his arms.

He clung to her tightly until she squeaked in pain.� His arms loosened at once and he pulled back
apologetically.� She was shocked to see his
vibrant Avada green eyes fill with tears.�

�Mione.. I�m s-sorry.. I thought..� he snivelled. �I never knew..�� His face broke into desperate misery.� �They told me you were dead!� They told me they had your body, Mione.. I thought.. I thought it
was too late!� I�d never have left you
here if I�d known..�
She
swallowed and nodded, hearing herself offering reassurances.� She didn�t blame him.� She understood.� It was ok.�
She was fine now. �It would all be
ok.�

empty words.� It wouldn�t be ok;� it would never be ok again.

Malfoy stood a few steps away, looking somewhere between embarrassed and
disgusted.� Impatient, he seemed about to
intervene several times but apparently thought better of it.
Harry
eventually calmed enough to wipe his eyes on his sleeves and look down at her
with something approximating acceptance.�
He smiled sadly.

�I love you, Mione� he said softly.� �I�ll
never let anyone take you away from me again.�

He pulled her closer again in a careful embrace.� She found her face pressed against his
shoulder.� Her gaze, over the top of Harry�s
shoulder, met Draco�s silvery eyes.�

There was something disquieting in the traitorous blonde�s expression.� Something like..calculation.

She remembered suddenly what Lord Voldemort had said to distract Harry and
realised that Draco had been in the room somewhere hiding.� ��Even
if Harry no longer remembered what had happened in the minutes before he was
cursed, Draco did.

Her eyes widened and Draco�s expression became shuttered.� He looked away
She
frowned when Harry pressed a soft kiss just behind her ear.� Turning her head she looked up at him
curiously�

He seemed..calm.� ...Really content actually.�

It was rather an intimate thing to do.�
Especially for Harry. �He�d never really been comfortable with affection
after a childhood without it. ��Still.. he was a bit confused right now.. he�d
just defeated Voldemort � or so he thought � and he�d just learned that she was
still alive when he�d thought she was dead.�
It was a strange moment maybe..
�Draco �
bring the body.� We�re leaving.� I�ll meet you back at headquarters.� I need to get Mione to St Mungo�s�
Hermione
furrowed her brows again, feeling another odd sort of bemusement at how much Harry
had changed.� He�d never really taken
naturally to leadership.� It was always
pressed upon him.� It appeared that that
had changed.
�Are you
sure you�re safe to apparate?� Draco asked dubiously.� �It�d be safer if I side-along you one by one...�
Harry
waved him off.� �I�m fine now.� I was just a bit.. shaken.. when I woke
up.� No.�
Take care of the body.� I�ll make
sure Hermione is safe.�
Draco
looked at Harry carefully and nodded after a while.� �Alright.�
I�ll see you back at the lodge then.�
Without
warning, Harry leaned down and swept her legs up, taking her into his arms and
holding her close.� She eeped in surprise
and clung, trying to regain her balance.�

�Sorry� he mumbled and gave her a sheepish grin.� �I don�t do this as much as the daily prophet
seems to think.� Are you ok?��

She nodded, unsure how to react.��

Part of her that she�d almost forgotten completely was sitting up alert and
avid.� She�d always dreamed Harry would
rescue her and literally sweep her
off her feet.. For months she�d
dreamed he�d kiss her and carry her away.. and Ginny wasn�t even here to spoil
it.� Her senses were reporting that he
smelled even better than she remembered and telling her to rest her head on his
shoulder in the crook of his neck.
But her
eyes drifted of their own accord to rest on the head that was lying on the floor,
empty eyed, slack jawed.� The familiar
serpentine face was turned toward her, colourless eyes accusing.�
She
realised that she didn�t want to be
in Harry�s arms anymore.� Voldemort had
been right about everything.� She�d chosen
wrongly and she�d always regret it.� �
With the
realisation, it felt like the window keeping her in the safe numb place
shattered and the black emotions swarmed down and engulfed her.� Guilt, despair, regret, anger, Loss!

oh Loss!!!� The loss was excruciating! �

She would never again get to hear his
strange voice..see those unnatural eyes.�

Never again would he touch her.� Never
would he smile in that dark knowing way that she hated, even as it sent shivers
of pleasure up her spine. �Never again
would he hold her.. stroke her hair from her eyes.. kiss her..�

She would never smell his faint pleasant scent as she fell asleep against him,
the soft movement of his breathing lulling her.�
She was the only one who was ever allowed to see him that unguarded.�
There was
no physical torture that was not worth that.�
She would gladly accept punishment every
night if it would bring him back!
Bursting
into sudden hysterical tears, she struggled to get down, incoherently trying to
explain to Harry why he needed to put her down now.�

She wanted to stay here.� She didn�t want
to go with them.� She wanted to stay here
with him.�

She wanted to go where he�d gone.

If Harry would just put her down, she needed to go and put Voldemort�s head
back with his body.. she needed to mourn him properly.� No one was going to mourn him. �It was intolerable that someone as brilliant
and powerful and amazing should die and be completely un-mourned.� She had to stay.� She needed to stay with him here.
Harry
didn�t seem to understand anything she was sobbing.� He and Draco exchanged worried glances as he
gripped her more tightly.
�Mione..
it�s ok..� It�s over now�
She only
cried harder at that.
�Harry..
just.. take her to St Mungo�s.� She
needs.. a calming draught or something.
she�s going to hurt herself�
Hermione
struggled harder.

Harry pulled her close, painfully, trying to restrain her arms.� �Hermione.. You have to stay still, ok?!� I need you to stay-�
Draco�s
stunner was like peace.� All of the
pain..dropped away and there was..nothing.
A hand in
her hand.
Someone was
speaking to her softly.
It was
very quiet.� And comfortable.� She was in bed.� The Dark Lord was holding her hand.�� He brushed aside her hair in that familiar
way she�d come to cherish.�
�I know
you are awake, Hermione..� he whispered�
She
smiled, inexpressibly relieved.� He wasn�t
dead.� Harry wasn�t here yet.� None of it happened.. maybe her parents were
still alive too.. She didn�t feel sore at all..
�I had
the worst dream..� she murmured sleepily
The
unmistakeable sound of a door opening dragged a frown onto her forehead.� There were no doors here.� There were no doors at all in this room.
She
opened her eyes to blinding white.� A
plain ceiling.� Sunlight streamed in through
massive windows.� She couldn�t remember
the last time she�d seen sunlight.� It
was piercing.

But..

But he had been here!�
She
turned her head to find bright green eyes looking back at her calmly from under
a heavy mop of black hair.�

Harry.

Not Voldemort.�

Harry�s hand.� Harry�s whisper.� Harry brushing aside her hair.�

She remembered suddenly that he had
done that sometimes too.� Ages ago.� When they were both younger and waking up at
the burrow together.� Back when seeing
one of her friends in their pajamas didn�t constitute a sexually charged
situation.

Oh god... it hurt!� It hurt so much! ��It felt like something inside her were
cracking into pieces.. it felt like acid.. like wrenching..tearing.� It was worse than any physical pain she�d
experienced.
He was
really gone..
It had
really happened.� She�d killed him.�
She didn�t
mean it!� She wanted to take it back!� So what if he killed half the world?!� She didn�t care in the slightest if he
tortured everyone she�d ever known.� She
wanted to be with him.�

If killing Harry would bring back Voldemort, she�d be on him right now,
strangling him with her bare hands!
�Miss Granger..
How are you feeling this morning?� a no-nonsense voice demanded in a
businesslike manner from somewhere off in the direction that the sound of the
opening door had come from.�
Her
miserable thoughts shattered, she turned her head to find a matronly woman in a
green mediwitch�s uniform.� Her stern
british bulldog face and tiny dark eyes reminded Hermione of the kind of woman
her mother referred to as a battleaxe.
�I�m..
fine?� she answered uncertainly.�
�Well..
you were not fine when Mr Potter
brought you to us..�

Hermione frowned at the way the woman�s brisk reproving tone almost seemed to
blame her for daring to be injured.� The
battleaxe continued without pause �-Although the external damage was quite..disturbing..it
was not difficult to heal.� However you
had a number of nasty internal injuries, both mundane and magical.� Dark magic can be quite tricky when it is
layered in that manner. �You have been in
a magically regulated sleep for several days now while your body repaired
itself.� I am going to check your levels
now and then perhaps we might see how your body responds to a reduction in the
strength of the spells keeping your liver and kidneys operating.
Hermione
lay still while the diagnostic spells flitted over her body and threw up flares
of different coloured light in different areas.�
Most were a pale green or pale blue but some orange and even purple was
hovering around her abdomen.
�It is
slightly improved� the mediwitch pronounced with a hard face. �I am still not
happy with your kidney function.� Perhaps
we might wait until tomorrow to start you on fluids.� I�ll see what healer Auldwin�s opinion is.�

She turned then to Harry and the stern bulldog expression split into a soft
beaming smile.� �Visting hours are from
twelve to three and she may have no more than three visitors at a time.� I do not want her overexcited at this point.�� The smile widened further.� �Of course � you may stay as long as you wish, mr Potter. St Mungo�s ... and the
entire wizarding world.. is forever in your debt.�
�Thank
you Mediwitch Medina� Harry returned politely.�
�I appreciate everything you are doing for Hermione. �She looks a hundred times better than
yesterday and the day before � you don�t know how much it means to me that you
and healer Auldwin have been taking special care of her � I don�t know what I�d
have done if I lost her again!� Thank you
for everything!��
Astoundingly
the old battleaxe managed to flush slightly.�
Hermione raised her eyebrows disbelievingly.� Oh my god.�
That was just unsettling!� ��
The woman
must have caught Hermione�s disapproval because she pulled herself together
again a moment later and stated in her brisk tone ��There are
a large number of people waiting in the corridor.� Perhaps you could convince them to wait
elsewhere and organise themselves into groups to visit Miss Granger.� You understand that the corridors must remain
free in case of emergencies.�
Harry
nodded agreeably.� �I�ll see that they
move shortly Mediwitch Medina.� I�m sorry
for the trouble � they�re all just so glad that Hermione is alive and well.�
The
mediwitch departed soon afterward, to Hermione�s relief.
She
really wanted to be alone.. but it
didn�t look like that was going to happen anytime soon.� It was probably selfish of her to want it, when
as Harry had pointed out, there were so many people outside worried about
her.� Uneasily she turned her eyes toward
Harry.� In the absence of the mediwitch
he looked less controlled..�� Less..saviour-of-the-light and more Harry.�
The emotion was clear in his eyes.
�Mione..
I�m so glad you�re ok!� he hushed out quickly. �I�m sorry.� I should have known you were alive.. I should have felt it or something...� I would have saved you if I�d known.. I�d
have come sooner.. I�d have done something...�
He took her hand again and brought it to his cheek.

�I never realised..� he broke off and swallowed.
She
forced herself not to snatch her hand back uncomfortably although she wanted
to.� She didn�t want anyone touching
her.� Least of all Harry. ��

�Didn�t realise?� she prompted, hoping it would lead to her being able to
reclaim her hand.
�I didn�t
realise you were such a target for him� Harry finished, but it sounded a bit
stilted.� She wondered whether it had
been what he had originally intended to say.�
�It�s ok,
Harry.� I�m fine.� You don�t need to worry.�
Harry licked
his bottom lip nervously and then bit it, avoiding her eyes.� �Um... �
Worry
crept up inside her. �What is it?� What�s
happened?�
He shook
his head. �nothing. Nothing�s happened.�
It�s just.. Well.. you saw how
they�re all treating me now.��

She rolled her eyes and nodded, smiling faintly and resisting the urge to tug
her hand back from where he was now holding it between both of his, stroking
the back of it with one hand slowly.

�Well... I asked..what your injuries were and..�� he paused meaningfully.� �And.. they told me..�� Another meaningful glance.
She had
no idea what she was supposed to derive from that.� It sounded serious.� Something bad.� She thought back as hard as she could to what
exactly she�d been cursed with.� She really
couldn�t remember it all.� Was there any
other damage?� Her mind flicked over the
time in the dungeon with her parents.�
Waking in the cage..� No..� No..� Nothing
that should cause such an ominous feeling.

She turned a blank face toward Harry.
�Who was
it?� he asked obliquely.�
When her
blank face remained, he swallowed and said softly �I need to know who raped
you, Mione.. I need to make sure they�re dead or in Auror-custody.�
Pure
surprise must have shown on her face because Harry looked down and blushed, as
if ashamed.

�You didn�t think that I�d let anyone... do that...to you..and get away with
it, did you?!�� You have to tell me.� I�m sorry � if you don�t want to remember..
but I need to know..�
Raped
her?�

There was no way that she was going to say that Voldemort raped her.�

Maybe.. the last time was perhaps.. a bit rough..
after all he was making a point... but it certainly wasn�t rape.�

Ok� Maybe she�d fought him.. and he�d
...insisted.. but she�d been begging him for it just minutes before and after
he stopped she begged him again.� It clearly
wasn�t rape.

He didn�t!! �Not ever!� She wasn�t saying that about him now...�
he was dead.
At that,
the damnable tears sprang forth again and she hid her face.
Harry
panicked.� He didn�t seem to know what to
do.� He leapt up and tried to hug her,
apologising.� When she jerked away and
wailed at him not to touch her, he sprang back as if burned and hovered
helplessly, fidgeting and wringing his hands.�

�I�m really sorry, Mione.. I didn�t mean to!!�
I don�t want to upset you.. I shouldn�t have asked!� I should have thought about how you�d feel!� Please be alright!!�
She took
a huge breath and held it, hiccoughing slightly and scrubbed her hands over her
face to wipe the tears away a bit till she could see.� When she turned to him it was with
determination.
�I don�t
want to talk about anything that happened there, Harry.� And you can tell any aurors or whoever else
wants to know � I�m not going to talk about it.�

Its over.� I don�t want to discuss
it.�

I don�t need a therapist or a mind healer.�
I couldn�t care less who is arrested and who isn�t.� I don�t want anything to do with it.�

I can�t .. I can�t talk about it..ok?!�
And if they put me under veritaserum and force me to...I don�t
know..what...� she devolved back into sobs, that she this time willingly
embraced to emphasise her refusal.�
�But..�

Harry sounded torn.

�Hermione.. there are aurors outside now.
��They�ll want to know what
happened.� You�ve been Voldemort�s
captive for months.. They need to-�
�Idontcare!!�
she blared out soggily.� �I don�t
care.�� Do you want to know what
happened?� I sat in a cage and watched
people get tortured and killed just about every day.� I don�t even remember their faces, nevermind
their names.� No one needs to know that!� It won�t help anyone.�

And.. and the other stuff...

I don�t want anyone to know
that.�

I don�t want complete strangers...or even the people who know me looking at me and knowing what happened.� I don�t want anyone at all to know.� He�s dead.�
Most of them are dead and the ones that aren�t will end up in Azkaban.

Just..� just make it go away, Harry� she
pleaded.� �Please.. it�s ok that you didn�t
save me.. I know..you would have.. if
you�d known... but don�t make me relive it all again now for them.�
She knew
it was low to use his guilt but...it was what he had said she should do.
Harry
seemed to be thinking.� He bit his lip,
worried and internally preoccupied.�
After a long minute his unnaturally bright eyes returned to meet her own
and he mustered her with a serious expression.

�I...can keep them from questioning you Hermione.� At least.. I�m pretty sure I can.� But... I�ll
need to know everything that happened there eventually.��

He held up a hand to forestall her protests.

�Not right away, ok.. I didn�t think when I asked before.� I didn�t consider...� But I�ll need to know in time, Hermione.� If I agree to do this.. you have to promise
you�ll tell me everything as soon as
you can
Hermione
considered the promise.� It was an
extremely open and subjective thing.� Voldemort
would never have agreed to that if he
wanted information from someone.
�Ok.� I promise I�ll tell you as soon as I feel I can.� She agreed.
Harry
hesitated, frowning slightly, but then shook his head and the expression
drifted back to a soft caring smile.
�Ok, Mione�� He reached for her hand again and she allowed
it, only tensing slightly when he brought it to his face and pressed her palm
to his cheek again.�

�Who do you want to see first?� They�re
all out there, impatient to talk to you.�
Healer Auldwin told me when you�d be waking up and.. well.. I told Ginny
and Ron.. and you know how he is.�

He rolled his eyes in mild irritation.
Hermione
didn�t want to see anyone.� Least of all
Ron and Ginny.
Oh god.
Mrs Weasley.�

How was she supposed to look them in the eye when she�d killed their mother
only days ago?!� Oh bloody hell.
�How..� how are..they?!�� She asked carefully.
Harry
looked at her, startled, and then understanding.
�You...saw?�
She
nodded slowly
�Who was
it?!� he demanded urgently. �Who killed her?!��
We found..� She was..� He.. returned
her.. to the burrow.�� She was cursed �
one of the Aurors lost a hand when he tried to touch her.�

Who did it?!�
Hermione
looked down, considering what the best answer might be.
�It was
someone new.� Young.� It was a test of sorts.� I didn�t see their face.�� She hoped that was enough. �It was better not to lie.� She wasn�t very good at outright lies.
Harry
seemed to accept it.� He looked
downcast.� Then, as if something else had
occurred to him, his eyes slid back up to her anxiously.

�Were there.. any others?� That you
knew..?� he asked hollowly.
She
darted a glance up at him and then looked away again.� A nod was enough for him to seize her damn
hand again and hold it tightly.�
�I�m
sorry, Mione..� he whispered. �I have to ask you.� There are a lot of people missing right now..
and.. and..� he drew a deep breath.

�Please.. tell me that Remus wasn�t..�
He didn�t
need to finish.� The look on her face
apparently said it all.� Harry sat down
heavily in the chair.� His hand was
crushing her own but she doubted he realise it.�

�Fuck..� he said with feeling.� �Fucking bastard..� he looked murderous, green
eyes glinting like broken glass� �And you saw him..� you�re .. you�re sure?!..�� A high pitched
tone of slight hysteria had crept into his voice.�

She nodded again.

Harry let go of her hand finally and bent over his knees, both hands over his
face.� She could see his back moving and
assumed he was crying.� If he was, he did
it silently.
�There�s
more..� she murmured unhappily, feeling like a confessor.
�More?!�� Harry said, choked.� His voice was thick.� After a moment he took a deep breath and
wiped his eyes on his palms.� The red
puffiness around his eyes when he looked up at her seemed to only enhance the
green, making him look otherworldly.
�Yes� she
confirmed quietly.
By the
time she�d told Harry all about Hagrid, Luna and Professor McGonagall, he was
beyond overwrought.� He just kept touching her and crying and saying how
sorry he was that she had to go through it all.�
She was having difficulty crying as much as he seemed to expect and it
was a great relief when he said not long afterward, with more apologies, that he needed to get some air and calm down
and that he�d come back and see her later after he�d broken the news to the
rest of the order.�
In the
wake of his departure, the silence was bliss.�
The cool..peace.. the lack of dramatic urgent emotion.� She curled down deeper into the single bed
and pulled the blankets up.�

It was a luxury to be in a bed.�

She was only ever in a bed when Voldemort felt like rewarding her.

Which he probably wouldn�t do now, if anyone could ask him.� With the way he�d punished her so harshly
over the last days... she couldn�t even begin to imagine what kind of
punishment killing him with the Avada
deserved.� There probably wasn�t anything
painful enough.� He�d have to invent a
new curse to increase the amount of suffering endurable by a human body.�

No doubt he could do that too.� If he
took it into his head to create something more painful than the cruciatus, he
would.�� Maybe he had.. and she�d just never deserved it before.
When the
door opened quietly, she was lying, half dozing, dreaming of ways in which Voldemort
might not really be dead.. fantasies in which she brought him back
somehow...perhaps there was a hidden horcrux that Harry hadn�t found.. perhaps there
was some spell for parting the veil � maybe she invented one..just for him.� Maybe it was possible to sacrifice part of
her life force to buy him back from death.�
Was it possible to become a
necromancer or did one have to be born
that way?!
�Granger�
She
flinched at the unexpected presence so close to her and opened her eyes
quickly, blinking to rid them of sleep.� �Draco?�
The blond
stood uncomfortably at the side of her bed, looking down at her with an
indecipherable expression.

�We need to talk� he growled low.
She took
in the sharp alertness, almost jumpiness,
the way his wand hand was in his pocket and the forbidding set of his jaw.
�Ok..�
she agreed and moved to sit up.� He
flinched, drawing his wand.
�Don�t do
anything stupid!� Slow movements.� Keep your hands where I can see them.� Don�t lie
to me either, Granger.. I�ll know if you do!�
Hermione gave
him a look that made clear that she thought he was mental.

�Draco.. I�m unarmed..You of all people know
that. �I just woke up from a coma and I�m
in a auror-secured- room.� Just what do
you think I�m going to do?!�
Draco didn�t
put his wand away but he seemed to calm down a bit, as if reassured that no..
she wasn�t going to curse him wandlessly.
�What
happened between you and the Dark Lord?!� he hissed quietly, through gritted
teeth, as if afraid the walls might have ears.
Hermione
was certain the walls had ears here -
especially now.�

�I�ve already told Harry, Draco � I don�t want to talk about anything that
happened to me there.� With anyone.�
I don�t want to think about it.� I
just want to move on.�
Draco did
not seem satisfied with this. �He opened
his mouth to demand a better answer and she held up her hand, cutting him off,
and beckoned him closer.�� He glared at
her, but eventually he grudgingly moved close enough for her to put her lips
close to his ear.
She
whispered softly �I�m not prepared to discuss anything that happened with you or the aurors, however if you force me
to, I will tell everyone about the
time you used the cruciatus on me.� I
will tell them how you were given the choice and eagerly cursed me for several minutes.
�I�ll
give them my memory of it, if they
want.�

I have nothing against you, Draco... I�ve always thought you were one of the
most intelligent students at Hogwarts, even if you did behave like a spoiled, bigoted
little jerk... I have no intention of trying to hold this over your head but I�m
not going to allow you to try to blackmail me either.� I really think it�s better for both of us if
we just forget all about that time and get on with our lives.�
Draco
moved back with a slow, calculating expression again.� He seemed somehow reassured, although she
rather thought that what she said should
have had the opposite effect, really.
�I
think.. we can both come to an agreement about that...for the moment.��

We�ll talk again.. Later.� When you�re
out of here.��

...Preferably at the Manor�

He offered an inappropriately smug smirk.

�of course... you wouldn�t have heard.� I�ve
received my inheritance early, after mother and father fell in the last days of
the war.� When I have settled these
annoying formalities and cleared my family�s name, I will probably be the most eligible
bachelor in the European Wizarding world.�
Hermione
gave him a long even stare.� He had as
much as screamed out joyfully that he�d slaughtered his parents for
profit.� Why was he even telling her
this?!
Draco�s
smirk widened ferally.

�...when you find that you need somewhere to go, Granger,.. somewhere secure...where you won�t be hounded by
well-meaning idiots like half the degenerates out there in the corridors � you can
owl me.� I�ve space to spare and I�m sure
we�ll have...very interesting...fireside chats.�
She
raised a sceptical brow and wondered just what his bloody angle was now?!�� She was still wondering after Draco had
swanned out of the room looking like an entirely different person than he had
when he came in. �Confident, smug,
polished..� Almost as annoying as he used
to be.

Luckily,
no one else managed to just stroll in as Draco had, and she remained tense but
undisturbed until Harry returned a bit later.�
He seemed upset but composed and when she asked him if she could put off
seeing anyone else till tomorrow, because she was very tired, he sighed and
looked at her sadly, but nodded.�

�They�ll be disappointed, Mione.. but I�m sure they�ll understand.� I�ll stay with you though..� That�s ok, isn�t it?!� You don�t want me to leave?!�
The
anxious need in his voice and the way he clung to her hand again found her last
heartstring and twisted it.� She shook
her head.� �no.. You can stay, Harry.� I�d never ask you to leave..�
Reassured,
he dragged his chair closer and transfigured it to be somewhat less
uncomfortable.� She curled down in bed
and pulled the covers up around her ears, the arm that Harry seemingly refused
to relinquish sticking out of the blankets.��
When she closed her eyes she could still feel him watching her.

It was an odd feeling.�� When she�d been
in the cage, lots of different death eaters had watched her while she was awake
or asleep.� But the feeling of Harry
watching her reminded her more of the way that she felt when she knew Voldemort
was attending to her, even thought he didn�t
watch her.�

It was almost comforting.�
At one
point she woke up briefly when a healer came in and performed some tests on
her.� She was barely alert enough to
register that there were more yellow than orange hues and no purple at all on
the diagnostic spell.� Harry talked with
the man for a while but she wasn�t interested and went back to sleep quite
quickly.�� Her hand, she noticed before
she dropped off, had been placed on the dark blue denim of Harry�s jeans and
his own covered it, thumb stroking from time to time.
She hoped
he�d be gone when she woke up.

Author note.
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