Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Mirrored Desires	By : kstargal Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 7194 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with JK Rowling or the Harry Potter world and make no money from this - only the ridiculous story-line is mine!

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Hermione felt her hand rise and Draco grabbed it before she could hit the shocked man lying by her feet. She was horrified by her reaction. This man was bloody and beaten and she was ready to inflict more pain on him. But he was the man who’d created the foul vial of liquid which would erase her very heritage – the only thing which made her different and special from the norm. She glared at Draco accusingly, and was shamed to meet his grey understanding eyes for longer than a few seconds. He’d stopped her from being a monster. The thought completely changed Hermione’s opinion of him, making something in the middle of her being thump erratically.

She grabbed her arm back and stood up; pacing around the small room. Hermione felt eyes on her and turned. Fabian was staring at her, she tried not to wince. He saw.

Fabian lowered his gaze, and sighed deeply, chest heaving a little in pain. Hermione wondered how many ribs were actually broken. Then he spoke, his voice hoarse from under-use. “I understand. I know what you must think of me. It was not my intention to create such an appalling ‘cure’ as Claude calls it. Though, yes – I was the one to discover it, and by all means the horror of what it can do is entirely on my shoulders.”

“Why?” Is all Hermione could rasp between too dry lips, not even questioning who Claude was. It was the second time she’d heard the name and her instincts should be yelling for her to find out more – she was too upset to think rationally.

Fabian went to speak, but his voice caught in his throat and he coughed; then couldn’t stop. Draco grabbed the bottle of water from Hermione’s hands with a small glare, as if she should have offered first - then held it to the Doctor’s lips. Hermione got a queer sensation in the pit of her stomach watching Draco bestow kindness on this man. Fabian continued to cough afterwards and she saw blood covering his hand when he lowered it. Hermione couldn’t help the instinct to feel sorry for him; she squashed it before she lost her resolve.

“Hermione; now’s not the time for those questions – we have to go. WAM are not stupid – we would have been seen by now, they’d know we are here. We have to get Dr Munroe out of these rooms and hide him someplace safe. Then we look for the vials.”

Draco was right, but everything recoiled in Hermione’s stomach at the mere thought of saving this man. Why should they? They owed him nothing. He could wipe them out with no more than a sip of blue liquid. Draco continued to stare at her and it took a moment for her to understand why Draco was asking the almost impossible of her. No matter what heinous crimes this man had committed in the name of science – he was in trouble and needed their help. Draco was a bigger person than her in that moment; and for once his sense of honour didn’t surprise her. The world had turned upside-down in the space of two days, and she had stayed in the same position. Could she trust, could she change?

Draco was still watching her – eyes unreadable. He was letting her come to her own decision, and was astounded at his patience; although she could see he was ready to throttle her into his way of thinking. But he didn’t, and that changed everything. Hermione said nothing and strode for the door, looking out quickly; uncomfortable at this new side of Draco she was experiencing first-hand. He was not supposed to be nice or considerate – he was not supposed to ‘get her’, he was a conceited prat who was shallow and left broken hearts in his wake. Now why did she think that? What did hearts have to do with this at all?

“Granger?” Draco’s voice was low beside her, his breath tickling her ear. How had he moved so quietly? She moved away, uncomfortable for reasons she couldn’t voice; he huffed in annoyance. “Why are you being so damn difficult?”

“Excuse me if I don’t trust traitors; although I know you do, so this is obviously an easy decision for you to make.” Hermione snapped back impatiently, disliking she had resorted to throwing a small tantrum embedded with cheap shots. It was unfair.

Draco slammed his hand against the wall next to her head, the force behind it making her look around wide-eyed. Draco ran a hand through his hair roughly; his back turned towards her. Okay, so maybe she shouldn’t have said that, but it was true – wasn’t it? Things were starting to get muddled; maybe she had more injuries in her head than first thought. But, Draco had cured her of that hadn’t he – just another thing she owed him. He spun around looking tireder than she’d ever seen.

“The past is the past, Granger – I understand you will never forgive me for my part in the war – I also get why you loathe me. But, you don’t know the full story on Dr Munroe and I had always thought the high and mighty Hermione Granger gathered all the facts before making a snap decision.”

Hermione opened her mouth to retort, nothing came out. She couldn’t tell Draco she didn’t loathe him, not without explaining why, and even she wasn’t ready to face that yet. She also couldn’t tell him he was right – as she was making snap decisions. Draco left her side and went back to Dr Munroe. Shit – he was more than right, Hermione was the one taking the non-existent high ground and being petty. It didn’t sit right on her shoulders and she hated the fact she was being so judgmental – it wasn’t like her. Draco’s voice snapped her from her thoughts.

“Just be quick about coming to a des…”

“Fine, you take Dr Munroe to the vent – I’ll make a distraction and meet you there. If I’m not back in two hours – leave.” Hermione tossed the now-silent radio she’d grabbed to Draco. It was better in his hands – he could find out where the guards were and hide Fabian accordingly. Hermione had no idea whether she would be walking out of here or not. The thought of dying didn’t even factor in her worries – for some strange reason her concerns surrounded Draco. It felt like a regret of sorts was sitting in her stomach – but as life would have it; there was no time to make amends or voice questions – they had a job to do.

Draco’s brow furrowed as he caught the device; and placed it on his own belt-loop. “I don’t like it; it’s a plan with too many holes. Why don’t I stay and distract them, why you?”

Hermione gave him a withering look; she saw a small sneer trying to break through on his face. She couldn’t help the hiss in her voice. “I can’t carry his dead weight; not without help from magic. This is the best plan we have – so get him up on his feet.”

She was pissed at the whole situation. They were here for a damn vial not a freaking scientist who wanted to end magic. Her plans were all up shit creek and the paddle had now been commandeered by a blonde git who wanted to play a hero.

Standing there glaring at the other almost got them caught. At the last second Hermione turned back to the door and focused on three guards running towards them through the small glass partition. She quickly looked behind her and saw Draco had Dr Munroe on his feet; supporting him by the shoulders. She’d have to distract the guards long enough to give Draco time to get away. Hermione would have her work cut out for her - although the whole damn mission had been a struggle so far. Hermione was fairly sure nothing would go easy for her.

“Get ready to go.” Hermione warned, and glanced behind her. Draco was staring intently at her; his grey eyes fixated on hers. It looked like he was trying to tell her something without uttering a word; the look made her heart flutter. He finally nodded at her and murmured reluctantly he was ready. Draco wasn’t happy about the plan – but he accepted it for what it was; the only way out with no magic.

As the guards ran towards the door, Hermione slammed it open at the last minute – clipping one of the men on the shoulder. He yelled in pain and slammed against the opposite wall; holding a now dislocated shoulder. Hermione jumped through and started to attack the second man, while the third circled around them.

She started to walk backwards down the hall – beckoning for the men to take a shot. They followed. When they were a good eight metres away from the door, the guard who had circled behind her broke forward trying to catch her off balance. Hermione jumped to the left and the man barrelled past her – hitting the wall. He immediately swore and turned again on his feet, just as the other man kicked out. His boot landed on her hip and she snarled as pain blossomed down her thigh. She spun as he continued forward – spinning right past him and raising her arm up – smacking him on the back of the head as he went past.

The guard yelled and tried to retaliate, just as Hermione saw Draco and Dr Munroe hobbling down around the corner. Draco caught her eye as he disappeared from view, mouthing he’d be back soon. Hermione didn’t think Fabian was in any condition to be left alone - so she wouldn’t count on any help.

Then her thoughts were turned elsewhere as the guards began to fight her together. It was time, Hermione realised. She vaulted backwards doing a somersault to get a little distance between them before sprinting down the hall. When she had a small amount of space – she spun around grabbing two throwing knives from the sheath on her thigh and threw them in quick succession. Her aim was spot on.

One hit a guard in the leg – hard, the other slammed into his forearm. He roared in pain and fell down. It was not like the movies, these men were not muscle bound steroid freaks who felt no pain. Ever been stabbed before – it hurt like blazes and all you wanted to do was rip the blade free and use a compress. Hermione knew the cuts were deep – but clean, he would be fine.

That left just one guard running at her and Hermione unsheathed her sabre and held it out in front of her. The guard skidded to a halt and backed away a little. As she took one step forward he started to smirk. Why in hell would he be happy? Then she felt it – a presence at her back. She spun quickly to the side so her back was up against the wall and she could see both ways. There was no way she was taking her sights off the guard she’d threatened with the sabre.

Then she realised it was futile. Seven men stood at her back and she watched in dismay as another three came up behind the man on her other side.

“Damn it.” She whispered, knowing the trouble she was in was only going to get worse. She placed her sabre on the ground and stood back up, hands above her head. She wasn’t an idiot; the odds were not in her favour. Even if she was Bruce Lee - it would be almost impossible. A large man almost hitting six foot seven strode out from behind the guards. Hermione could tell he was in a position of authority. Suddenly it clicked in her mind; he would have to be this Claude person – the man behind the curtain.

“So you’re the slip of a girl who’s been creating all this trouble. Where’s your partner?” His voice was neither friendly nor hostile, but it was deep and authoritative, Hermione almost answered as if he was Louis from instinct alone.

“I’m working alone.” She retorted, knowing already he would only get ticked off by her lies. But if it gave Draco a little extra time to get away, it was worth it.

Who she assumed was Claude closed the gap between them; slapping her hard. At the last second she raised her head a little so he wouldn’t shatter her cheek bone. Then Hermione grabbed his hand and yanked him towards her. His posture turned to one of surprise.

“Don’t ever hit me again,” Hermione hissed as she head-butted him with all her might. Claude growled in pain; as she saw white lights behind her own eyes from the force of her hit. She was going to have the mother of all black eyes in a few hours. Another blow took her on the head surprising her – then she saw and felt nothing.

Draco half dragged, half carried Fabian along the longest corridore in the entire compound – or maybe it wasn’t, but it seemed to take an hour to reach the end. The Doctor was slight, but almost a dead weight. Draco tried not to snarl in frustration, his last sight of Granger had her up against two guards and one on the ground – who might have gotten up at any second. He should be helping her; not saddled babysitting the Doctor.

Draco pulled him into another room, one with an air-conditioning duct. Going back into the shafts was not ideal - they had originally planned blasting their way out the front doors, but their sudden new member put a spanner in the escape works. He leant Fabian against a table and stood up on a chair against the wall and tried ripping the large grate off.

“Thank you for doing this. Saving me – I mean.” Dr Munroe’s voice was weakening by the moment.

“I’m not doing this for you.” He snapped back as he pulled harder, feeling the small rivets giving. “I’m helping you because of that witch out there who’s fighting for your freedom.”

Fabian gave a wry laugh which husked in his throat, causing more coughs. He eventually settled down as Draco placed the grate on the ground. “She doesn’t want to save me – she can’t even look at me. I disgust her…” He trailed off. “I disgust myself.”

Draco grabbed what was left of the lapels on Fabian’s shirt and tugged him forward. “Granger is the most generous, loyal and fiercest operative I know. Yes, she’s in shock by the fucking ‘cure’ you’ve created, as am I; but that does not mean she would turn her back on you – which she’s proving now by fighting three men so you can escape. She’s a good person – trust her with your life – I know I would.”

Heaving Fabian up off the table, Draco started to help him up to the vent; still a little surprised at his speech. Did he believe everything he’d just uttered? He knew he did, it was tough to admit – but yes, Granger was a damn good operative – and person. He sneered at the thought; he really was turning into a girl.

It took almost fifteen minutes for Draco to get Fabian in a comfy position in the vent – and then it was slow-going. His ribs were obviously giving him a substantial amount of pain; though Draco was impressed he didn’t complain – not once. It was a completely different trek through the large cold metal passage than before, and Draco felt strange at only being two escapees instead of three. He was starting to realise why COT didn’t give you partners for an operation, having one could distract you from your mission. Something Draco was learning first hand. He was also currently fighting with himself on the orders they had received earlier.

He looked down at his cuff again waiting for Fabian to catch up and re-read the extra information Louis had sent – the part he didn’t tell Granger. The orders were clear – when the package was secure, get out immediately – with or without your partner. No exceptions.

If Louis knew Granger was off by herself he would tell Draco to leave her behind. It was obvious Dr Munroe was the package – him and his ‘cure’. COT would want both in their hands – for what, Draco didn’t know; but who was he to argue as he was just an operative following orders. First things first, he had to make sure Fabian was safe; then he could worry about the orders and the good doctor’s invention.

They found themselves in a junction soon after, so Draco set Fabian up with some water and bound his chest tightly with strips from his tank-top. He was now naked under his special op’s shirt – it was scratchy. He hoped nobody else needed care – he was rather fond of this particular pair of underwear and would like to keep his manhood covered.

“I was trying to cure Lycanthropy. Well not cure – just stop the change.” Fabian’s voice was still quiet with pain. Draco looked over in the darkness, eyebrow raised.

“So why invent something to wipe magic from the face of the earth instead – accidently add too much eye of newt?” Draco sardonically drawled.

“It was a mistake – a by-product of my initial study.” He coughed again and Draco winced at the wheeze he could hear – maybe a lung was punctured. He wasn’t feeling as generous as he was with Granger and didn’t think to heal him when the magic returned – if it returned.

“That’s one hell of a fucking mistake.” He said instead as he tried tuning the radio in. How the hell Granger got it working he didn’t know; it hadn’t made a peep since. The thought of her made Draco want to run straight back out into the fray – but he had to make sure Fabian would be fine. It was damn near impossible to push down the desire to rescue Hermione – a rescue she would probably yell at him for. He felt a small smile twitch and erased it the moment he realised why it appeared. It would not be good to get attached – to having a partner he quickly thought, nothing else. Fabian was oblivious to Draco’s thoughts.

“I’d used a test subject, a small creature called a Puffskein. It turned into a normal animal – no magic ran through its veins. Suffice to say it died within an hour – a Puffskein can not function without magic. When I figured out what I had discovered – I burnt all my notes and destroyed the vials. But little did I know – one assistant leaked what I’d found. Within a day I was snatched from my lab and brought here. Claude can be very persuasive.” Fabian began to breathe shallower.

“Who the hell is Claude?”

“A man you’d best not cross,” was Fabian’s weak reply. “I don’t exactly know where he came from; all I’ve heard is rumours around the compound. Apparently his parents were quite powerful wizards and when he was born a Squib, instead of putting him up for adoption they kept him as an example of what not to be – he was ostracised and bullied from day one by his older brother – a Pureblood. He made it his mission to make the world equal somehow, unfortunately he found WAM who would fund this atrocity.”

“One he couldn’t have done without your damn vial of horror.” Draco reminded the wheezy doctor.

Fabian nodded and tried moving positions, wincing as his chest heaved.

Draco held out a hand and steadied him; and received a small ‘thank you’ for his trouble. Draco frowned. “If you destroyed all the evidence it still doesn’t explain why you re-created your experiment. You obviously know about magic, a wizard perhaps; so why kill your own people? What was behind it all?”

Fabian mumbled something into his chest; then spoke louder when Draco said ‘huh’.

“I was attempting to find a cure for my sister – she’d been turned a year ago and had lost everything since her attack, friends, her job, her husband and two children. I was only trying to help – Claude knows this and has threatened my whole family with death.” He sighed loudly and painfully. “Honestly I don’t know what is a lie and what’s the truth – I’ve been here for months. The beatings I’ve received mean nothing, I deserve them; but my family don’t deserve to be threatened – if they are at all.” A soft sob came from the broken man’s throat.

Before Fabian could say anymore – the radio crackled into life. ‘Female caught and is in interrogation room 49c. All personnel on the look out for two males; kill orders have been given.’

Draco felt adrenaline explode in his chest – they had captured Granger; and a damn kill order. It was not looking good, not at all. “Fuck!”

Fabian jumped a little and Draco held out his hand in a gesture to not worry. “Look I have to go; I’m not leaving my partner behind. Will you be okay here for an hour or so?”

Fabian nodded and Draco started to take off non-essential equipment. “Is there anything I can do?”

Draco almost laughed; what possible thing could Fabian who was completely wrecked and beaten offer him. “A way for your damn ‘cure’ to never have existed in the first place, that way I’d be at home with a very expensive bottle of Fire-whiskey and a gorgeous brunette…blonde – I mean blonde.”

Fabian was quiet for a moment then smiled, well grimaced in pain. “There’s a self-destruct. You can localise it to certain areas; I’ve heard things while being here, especially when I was in Claude’s clique. I’m sure you can trip it if you have computer skills – you just need to find someone who can tell you the proper sequence. I can’t take back what I made, but we can destroy all the samples and research once and for all. I know for a fact everything is here – Claude hasn’t had the manpower to move it yet.”

Draco listened as Fabian told him where he thought the labs holding the ‘cure’ were, and left him with a small gun, some water and a hell of a lot of luck. He would need it – and Draco; well - he had a partner to find.

Hermione slowly came to, feeling wet from the waist down. Her first initial emotion was embarrassment – had she wet herself? Then she realised her entire lower half was sitting in water and breathed a sigh of relief. Although this was completely stupid as she would have been much better off having wet her pants than to be strapped into a chair in the middle of a large hole which was slowly filling with ice-cold water. What the hell was happening?

Looking around, Hermione saw she was in a small concrete pool; about six feet by nine, sitting on a metal chair – hands chained behind her and being watched.

“Enjoying the show?” She snarled up at the dark haired man with a beaky looking nose looking down at her. He lifted his mouth in a half sneer and turned away from the edge so all she could see was his broad shoulders. Hermione could hear nothing over the cascading water which was being pumped in via very large hoses. Things were looking decidedly bleak.

“Oi, you – lifeguard.” When he turned to face her again, she smiled. “Seriously, a drowning pool? I’m getting very wet and I’m cranky – I haven’t slept in a while and when I do, I dream of…well no matter what.” She sighed loudly; annoyed her train of thought was wandering. It must have been the freezing cold her body was sitting in making her vague; she could feel her legs shaking uncontrollably. “What I’m trying to say is – let me out and we can settle this like adults, well one of us can anyway.”

Hermione didn’t know what to expect, but the man holding a small gun shaped device and aiming it at her chest was not what she would have guessed. He squeezed something on the side and a small dart flew from it, landing in the water about a metre away. She grinned. “Missed.”

“Did I?” He drawled; then flicked a small switch on the device.

Wave upon wave of shock flew through her body; the bastard had shot a small electric conduit into the water. Not enough to kill – but bloody hell, the pain was enough to bring tears to her eyes and an ache to her core. As flames of heat and violent shakes controlled her body, Hermione absently wondered how she was going to get out of this. The pain ended.

Looking up through a film of tears she saw the man watching her avidly. “Fuck, they never last long enough.” He muttered then walked out of view.

She let out a long breath, glad he hadn’t shot another pulse into the water. Tugging at the restraints, she couldn’t feel any give and the water was continuing to rise – it was now lapping at her navel. She was glad they hadn’t put her in here lying down. Hermione wriggled her toes and panicked when she couldn’t feel them for a moment; they were that cold. Hoping frostbite wouldn’t kick in for a little longer – she concentrated moving every muscle she could, checking for damage. Her head hurt and her left forearm ached, from what - she could only guess; a hit or maybe a knife wound.

Yanking her arms did nothing except take skin off around her already icy wrists. The only good thing about being tethered in a pool was the water acted like a numbing agent and her aches had almost all disappeared. It didn’t help her situation in the least – she would probably freeze to death before drowning. Pushing down a feeling of hopelessness, she started to look further around than just her small concrete hole of hell. Ignoring the gushing water was proving hard – if only she had magic…she let the thought trail away; she knew it was almost useless to rely on something like that here in a fluctuation zone.

She had to get her captors to let her out, or escape – but how? Before she could begin to formulate a plan, Claude appeared like a bad omen. He watched her for a moment like she was a fascinating bug stuck in a Petri-dish. She resisted the urge to stick out her tongue – at least she still had manners; which in no way compensated for the lack of feeling in her lower limbs.

“Ah, still conscious I see. I give credit where credit is due – you are a strong one. Keith didn’t do a good enough job I see.”

Hermione couldn’t believe that her dark-haired torturer had such a mundane name as Keith, it went to show her how far gone her thoughts were if she was concerned the man hurting her had an un-tough name. Claude continued to speak.

“It’s a pity really – I usually like the screamers; they tell me everything I want to know straight away; I hate waiting.”

“You haven’t asked me anything yet.” Hermione stuttered through bluing lips.

“Haven’t I? How remiss, I’m certain I asked you where your partner was.” Claude looked down his nose at her; and she yanked on her wrist again – she felt a small amount of give. Her wrists must be completely numb as she didn’t feel pain; a small plan began to form.

“I’ve said I’m alone.”

Claude raised the small gun and fired, Hermione watched in horror as it skidded across the water and sank. Oh, Christ no. The pain was worse the second time around – she could almost smell her hair burning; although she knew this wasn’t the case. When the burning stopped coursing through her veins, Hermione looked up through her eyelashes; knowing hatred filled their depths.

“I’d stop lying if I were you; how much electric shock can one human body stand? Six, eight – I had one man last up-to fifteen.” Hermione tried to keep the shudder inside, she’d experienced two and didn’t think she’d survive a third one. Claude kept talking, a small evil smile spreading across his face; he knew her thoughts. “I watched the video footage myself, you and your hapless partner stumbling around the hallways. I admit once you knew the cameras were in place we didn’t see you again – until you appeared in front of Dr Munroe’s rooms. I have reprimanded my chief security officer for leaving that corridore absent of guards. He will never fail anyone again.”

“Dr Munroe’s rooms?” Hermione spat. “Prison was more like it.”

“Defending the man who created the demise of your world? I’m surprised. I admit; getting him to do my bidding was a painful and often violent task – but he always relented in the end. Never-mind, I want him back; so where is your partner and my scientist?” As he asked this, the gun rose again. Hermione couldn’t look away from the shiny black barrel. Her stomach was still quivering from the last electric shock and she couldn’t help but think she just might wet herself if he did it again so soon. She tugged at her bindings, knowing she had only one choice of escape open to her.

“Hopefully they are in the far-east corner of the forest and have Apparated into safety by now. By the way – that’s a lovely bruise you have on your head, how did you get it?” Hermione tried not to wince as Claude leaned in closer to the edge of the pool, anger evident by the set of his mouth. Seems Malfoy was not the only one she goaded, although Draco was infinitely more fun to tease – Claude would hurt her. Thinking of Draco made her stomach churn even more – she hoped they had gotten out of the compound. Ignoring the small hurt she felt at the fact he hadn’t come back for her was easy when electric shock torture was happening.

“Brave – or stupid; I’m not sure yet. I should also let you know – an escape like that wouldn’t be possible. You’d have to Apparate at least twenty kilometres away, and I highly doubt our good doctor could make it that far – even with help.” As he said this he aimed and the pool once more burst into an inferno of pain. Hermione felt her teeth rattle in her head and knew she couldn’t take much more of this. She shut her eyes against most of the pain so Claude couldn’t get any satisfaction; but it still coursed through her like lightning.

Suddenly she was alone, and the water was lapping at the bottom of her breasts. Shit – she’d obviously passed out for a moment. Time was slipping away more and more; no one looked over the edge of the pool as she groaned – although that didn’t mean she was alone. Feeling in her legs had all but evaporated and she hoped fervently they would work when she got out of here…

Suddenly a loud ear piercing beep began, for a moment Hermione thought it was in her head; then she saw Keith run past her line of sight. She heard a door slam open then nothing. Had he left her? This was probably her one and only chance. Keith could come back at any time.

Trying not to think about what she was going to do; Hermione yanked her left hand with all her strength while making her fingers into the narrowest and longest of shapes. She felt a small amount of pain, more of a dull throb through the numbness – she wasn’t free yet. Hermione waited a moment more in case other guards appeared – she saw no one run past. Shivering she braced herself and yanked once more with all her might. The crack was audible - as was her scream of pain. Muscles, tendons and bone fragments ripped apart as her hand broke. She certainly felt fire as agony raced through her shattered hand and up her arm.

She pulled her now free arm through the water – each inch agony; the lapping motions making it feel like she was beating her hand against a brick wall. Never had Hermione turned to such drastic measures for escape; but there was no other way, nobody else was going to save her. She had no idea where Draco and Dr Munroe were – if they got out, and even if they did; Claude could be telling the truth about the Apparating. Hogwarts had a spell over it so you couldn’t Apparate within its grounds – maybe this compound had something similar in place. It made Hermione’s blood boil at the thought WAM would use magic to help themselves. She had to use her anger now and make a move.

Hermione looked at her broken hand and winced – it was already swelling and a few layers of skin had been torn off. She was thankful it was still so numb; she would pay for her injury later. But, she was almost free and that was what mattered. Reaching up to her hair, Hermione clumsily and painfully found a clip and gingerly held it in her frozen fingers – then dropped it. The digits on her left hand didn’t want to respond while it was in so much trauma; Hermione had to push through it – else she would drown. Plus she wanted to see Draco again and smack the smug smile off his face – her plan of distraction had worked; they obviously didn’t get captured. Hermione knew it wasn’t the only reason she wanted to see him; she had almost made up her mind that if she got out of here alive – she would do one reckless act in her life – and it involved Draco Malfoy.

Grabbing the second clip almost ended up similar to her first try, her fingers refusing to work; though she somehow managed to keep hold of it. Close to blacking out, Hermione fumbled painfully behind her back with the lock – it was almost impossible doing this when healthy and pain-free. She watched the edge of the pool for foes as sweat pooled across her brow in stark contrast to her freezing lower body. The screaming sirens were still piercing through the compound and Hermione wondered what they meant. Intruders, nuclear meltdown – dinner was ready?

After what felt like an hour but was only minutes, her right hand clicked free and Hermione stood up quickly; then fell head first into the water. Her legs had given way and she feebly tried to kick and keep her head above the freezing water; she couldn’t really feel the movements and it worried her considerably. At least her suit was clean now; not a skerrick of mud would be seen. It was a mad woman’s thought she realised.

Her toes finally began to tingle painfully which was a good sign, and she managed to rest one foot on the ground and slowly float/pushed her way to the wall. When she reached it; she used her right hand to pull her body up from the water until she was on the balls of her feet; it was shallower at the edge, she thanked Merlin. Pins and needles stung through her body; lessening the pain which had started to throb agonisingly through her hand. She carefully looked over the edge. No-one was in the room - a room which consisted of one table – and no coffee.

Luckily though the table held her sabre, a few knives and the electric pulse gun – jackpot; Hermione would need everything she could. The next problem – getting out of the water. It took fifteen minutes to get enough strength to jump with numb limbs out the water high enough so she could hook her right elbow on the concrete edge to pull herself half free. She lay gasping – legs dangling in arctic water and one broken hand held tight against her chest. But she was out of the water.

Crawling to the table took effort, although by the time she made it; she could actually move her legs better and the tingling sensations were receding. Hermione leant up against a table leg and pulled her knee upright towards her chest and opened a zip on her shin pocket. They hadn’t searched her properly; she had a soggy strip of aspirin and the long thin line of t-shirt Draco had given her for her head wound. She licked the foil of its half dissolved medicine for pain relief and crudely wrapped her left wrist into the tightest brace she could – which wasn’t good enough but would have to do in the interim. What Hermione needed was magic, or in a pinch – morphine and a cast; neither of which were in abundance.

Eventually she got to her feet and knew her biggest pain now came from the damn screaming siren – not her body – her ears killed her. Hermione began to drag her feet over to the door when it slammed back in on itself and an extremely pissed off Claude blocked her passage.

He looked ready to kill somebody, and as Hermione meekly looked around – it appeared it was going to be her. Some days you should not get out of bed, she thought wryly and got into a fighting stance; ignoring her mangled hand and tingling legs.

A/N: Once again thanks for reading! And thanks so much for the wonderful review I have been getting - Makes my day :)
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Mirrored Desires