Penance

Hermione gripped Draco tightly, the freezing air swirling around her, whipping her hair in her face, blocking her vision of the man before her.

“Hello, my dear. It’s been a long time.”

Her body stiffened at the sound of his voice. Her nightmare stood there, sneering at her.

“I’m not scared of you,” she said, spitting in his face. He calmly reached into his cloak, retracted a handkerchief, wiped his face, and replaced the scrap of fabric.

Smack! He hit her across the face so hard her head rolled to the side, her neck straining.

“You will be.”

“Not long enough,” she replied.

“Oh, I think it has been. Now, come quietly and I might spare your life.”

“Not likely. Stupefy!” the spell hit him in the chest and she grabbed Draco, turned to aparate but was caught by her hair. She cried out in pain as she was wrenched back.

“Want me to kill my disgraceful son?” she shook her head. “Then you best behave. Now, where is the child?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she grit out, her voice quavering.

“Oh, I think you do. Now, tell me or I kill Draco.”

“No! Leave him out of this! This has nothing to do with him; it’s between you and me!”

“That’s right, my dear. It is. Now talk or I shall have to force you.”

“Tell me where Harry is first,” she demanded. He ripped her head back and placed his ears next to her ear.

“You don’t make the rules here, poppet. Crucio!”

The pain ripped through her and she knew she was screaming, but the only thing she could think of was getting Draco out of here. There was so much blood, he’d even been coughing it up…she was so scared for his life.

When she was released she clutched her wand tightly. She knew she could do this. She rolled with a cry and banished Draco back to, hopefully, the Den.

“No!” Lucius yelled. She was grabbed violently but was not deterred.

“Morsmordre!”

The sky lit green as the Dark Mark filled the air. She knew it would draw the Aurors to help the poor people who were still here. Seconds later she felt as though she were being sucked through a large tube. It was now.

It was time to rescue Harry.

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Draco woke with a groan. Gods, everything hurt. His back stung like a mother fucker and his head pounded. He thought for a moment that he was going to be sick but swallowed the sensation back and relaxed against the pillows.

“There, there, my dear. Settle down, you’ll be quite alright.”

It was Madame Pomfrey. He tried to remember how he had gotten here but couldn’t seem to think.

“How-?” he croaked before coughing. The iron taste of blood filled his mouth.

“Now don’t try to talk. You punctured your lung and nicked a few important organs but you’re healing up nicely. Just go on back to sleep.”

He trusted her judgment and did so.

When he woke again he was able to open his eyes. His mind was clearer. He was in the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey was bent over someone at the moment but he knew she was aware he was awake and she would come bustling over in a minute.

“Ah, awake again, are we? Good, good, maybe you can take these potions on your own.”

“Maybe I’ll go back to sleep,” he joked, his throat so sore his words came out as grunts.

“They aren’t that bad. Come now, can you sit up?”

She assisted him into a seated position where his head spun and he had a feeling of floating off the bed.

“Why am I so lightheaded?” he asked, taking the potion she handed him and throwing it back without question.

“You lost a lot of blood, deary. Drink this down and try to get some more sleep, you can eat when you wake up.”

“Thanks,” he said and handed her the empty bottle. Shimmying down into a horizontal position he looked over at the person on the bed. It was Carl Stokes. Carl? What had he-?

He gasped and bolted upright. Good Merlin, the dock, the fight, Fargo-

Hermione.

“Where’s Hermione?” Draco yelled, throwing himself off the bed.

“Draco! Get back to bed this instant!” Madame Pomfrey yelled, grabbing his upper arm and heaving him back onto the mattress. He was so weak he couldn’t fight her.

“Hermione, where is Hermione?” he asked again.

“Miss Granger? Well, I don’t know I haven’t seen her for nearly a week now. It was Miss Weasley who brought you in.”

“Ginny? I have to talk to her, now, it’s urgent!” his voice kept breaking, his throat so swollen and raw it was becoming difficult to push out the words.

“Alright, alright. You stay here, I’ll floo her.”

Draco conceded for he didn’t think he could make it all the way to the Headmistresses office, the only fireplace connected to the Den’s.

He leaned back as the large woman ran out. His stomach roiling, his mind straining to remember what had happened. He had watched Hermione take out Fargo, it was fuzzy but he could see it, see him falling to his knees, hitting the ground with a spell from her. He remembered the green light. She had killed him.

Then he remembered a picee of wood half buried in snow. He remembered her face, she had been talking to him but he hadn’t heard a word. Then the look on her face…she was terrified. Something beyond his vision had rattled her. What was it? Was she ok? Why hadn’t she brought him here? Questions raced through his mind until he felt sick again and started heaving.

“Draco? Are you alright? Madame Pomfrey!” Ginny’s voice rang out above him as he leaned over the bed, heaving. A bowl was magicked under him. The dry racking finally subsided and the nurse helped him lean back.

“Hermione,” he said. “Where is she?”

Ginny sat on the side of his bed. “We don’t know, Draco. By the time the Aurors found the Dark Mark she was gone. Carl got our attention with some sparks…he told us she was taken…”

“Taken?” he sat up again, his vision swimming, his mind reeling. “By who?”

She looked reluctant. “She was taken by Lucius. Carl was in and out of it but he said there was no way to mistake his face or his voice. We have people on it now-,”

“That’s not good enough! He’ll tear her to shreds! Ginny, we have to get people in there now! I have to get in there-,”

“Draco, stop, you’re in no shape to go anywhere! If Hermione hadn’t banished you back to us when she did you might not be here! We’re working on it, we’re all worried-,”

“Ginny, you don’t understand! There are things she hasn’t told you, she refused to. Ginny, that scene we found in Grimmauld Place two years ago wasn’t fake, it was real. He attacked her, that bastard attacked her, he raped her. Ginny, he fucking mauled her. I don’t know how she got away from him. She couldn’t use her magic afterward, she was so scarred. She got it back tonight, I don’t know how or why but it came back. Merlin, he’ll kill her! We have to get in there!”

“We’re doing the best we can!” Ginny cried, tears coursing down her face. “Why wouldn’t she tell me?”

“She’s so fucking stubborn! Why was she out there in the first place?”

“She said she’d find out another way. Draco, I’m sorry, I had no idea-,”

“Ginny, stop. Just go, get her back. I’ll meet up with you. Bring her back, Gin. We can’t lose her again.”

Draco leaned back against the pillow, his eyes closed. He cursed his body as he heard Ginny run off, slamming the door behind her.

“Drink this, dear, it will help,” his old school nurse urged. He shook his head, he wanted the pain, but the old hag shoved it down his throat anyway and he had to swallow to keep from choking. The effect was instantaneous and he felt himself slipping away.

“I’m going to kill you for this, Pomfrey,” he slurred as his eyes drooped.

“Of course you are, dear. Now, get some sleep.”

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Hermione opened her blood crusted eyes and crawled to the wall of her cell. She used it to ease herself up. Her wand was gone; it had been wrenched from her during one of several rounds of the Cruciatus Curse. She hadn’t broken, not yet, not until she could use her knowledge locked away inside her to help Harry. She did not know Occlumency well, but she was good enough to hold them at bay…for now.

Her legs shook beneath her but she wasn’t seriously injured. They were still counting on her to reveal what they wanted. She would never willingly give it to them. She didn’t know why they wanted to know, didn’t know for what point or purpose, but she knew that her secrets were the only thing keeping her alive, and consequently, Harry.

Draco had said he was in a cell in a dungeon. Well, she was in a cell and most definitely in a dungeon. Too bad she didn’t have her wand. She sighed. What could she do? Without her wand she was helpless…

A loud creak signaled someone entering her cell. She flattened herself against the wall, steeling her mind for another round.

But instead, someone was bringing her food. He kept his wand trained on her the whole time and she itched to grab it…dare she? No, not this time. She only had one chance to pull something like that off and she wasn’t going to waste it in a half-hearted last-minute attempt. She would plan it out. Knowing that she was submitting herself to more torture by waiting for her next meal, she knelt, watched the man leave. She snorted at the food, probably filled with Veritaserum. The smell was inviting but she kicked the plate out of spite, watching the food skid across the ground. She hugged her sore legs to her chest and waited.

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Draco forced his eyes open, waited impatiently for his vision to return from its fuzzy state. His head was clearer than before, but the pain still enveloped, wrapping him in a hot band of agony. It felt like he’d swallowed a bunch of Skele-Grow and his whole body was trying to mend itself. Propping himself on an elbow he willed himself not to be sick but he was able to sit up by himself and the dizziness cleared quickly.

“How are you feeling?” Draco started at the voice but leaned back.

“Hey, Luna. Why are you here?”

“Ginny sent me. She said she wanted someone to be there when you woke.”

“Any news about Hermione?”

“Well, that’s what she wanted me to be here for. You see, they can get into the Manor, but the guards are copious. We don’t even know if that’s where they’ve taken her. We have people on all the holds but we just don’t know. No one has been able to catch neither hide nor hair of her.”

“Shit,” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, cringing at the dull sting in his back at the movement. “What time is it?”

“Almost nine-thirty.”

“I’ve been out for that long?”

“Well, that and another day.”

“What?”

“You slept for a whole day before you woke up the first time. Carl was up before you even.”

“She’s been gone for that long? Fuck, I’ve got to get out there,” he pushed himself to his feet and was somewhat surprised when his legs held him. Madame Pomfrey was a miracle worker.

“Ginny thought you’d say that. It’ll be hard to get through the door without your wand.”

Draco looked around frantically. Luna was waving his wand between two nimble fingers.

“Luna, don’t make me hurt you…”

“Oh, I don’t think you will. Don’t think you can either. Ginny told me to tell you they will let you leave when they find her. We won’t stop you. But you know you won’t be any help to her if you can’t stand up straight.”

“Did Ginny say that too?” he spat out, ready to tear the seemingly calm blonde limb-to-limb.

“No,” she said with wide eyes. “I did.”

Draco was so angry he couldn’t see straight. Then again, maybe he wasn’t as strong as he thought he was. He started falling over but Luna was there, at his side, taking his weight.

“Lean on me,” she said. He had no choice. With incredible strength the odd girl lifted him into the bed, positioning him while his head spun and he worked on righting it. He cursed his damnable body for failing him, failing Hermione as yet another potion was shoved down his throat. He cried out in anger as his body relaxed, pulling him down, down, down…

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Hermione endured the pain because she had to, she had no other choice. Her choice had been to spend two long years living a quiet life while Harry wasted away in the hands of these monsters. She worried Lucius might come in and rape her again, but he sent his goons instead to practice their spells. They’d left not too long ago and she was back to lying in her own blood, wondering if she’d live until the next round. She sure hoped they planned on feeding her before then. They’d been so angry that she hadn’t eaten the last meal that they’d beat her stomach over and over. It felt as though they had dislocated several vital organs but she was alive. Taking a deep breath she hoisted herself to her knees and crawled to the corner behind the door where it would swing back. When the next guy came in with food, she would be ready.

She didn’t have long to wait. A muttered spell outside the door signaled an intruder. She stood and as soon as the door shut behind him he looked around. She jumped him, grasping him around the neck with her forearm, cutting off his air supply. He tried to yell, tried to curse her but nothing made it past his lips. The food clattered to the floor as he reached back, trying to pull her off. She held fast, wrapping her legs around his navel, her adrenaline giving her a boost of strength she didn’t know she’d had. His flailing became feebler and he fell to his knees, his hands clawing at her but she held strong, applying more pressure to his wind pipe as the bodyguard in her self defense class had instructed. The Death Eater finally keeled over, onto his face. She held for a moment, just to make sure. Then, gasping, she pulled away and rolled the man over. A hand came to her mouth as she gazed at the purple face of Marcus Flint. With shaking hands she grabbed his wand from his limp fingers and transfigured him to herself. She transfigured herself into him and summoned the food back onto the tray. This was it.

She left and locked the cell behind her. Looking every which way she started down the dingy stone hall, candelabras her only source of light. She peered into cells with a spell that allowed her to look through the wall. She searched and searched for what felt like hours before she came upon another Death Eater, scaring her so much she nearly dropped the tray of food.

“Flint! Where the hell have you been?” the Death Eater roared, advancing in her.

“Got lost…” Hermione mumbled.

“You were supposed to give the mudblood her food three-quarters of an hour ago!”

“They told me if she didn’t eat it to take it to the boy. I forgot where he was.”

“That’s because they just moved him. Come on, I’ll show you. Better not let Lady Bella hear about this, she’s angry enough about last week.”

“I know,” Hermione said in a defeated voice, glad to have run into what was obviously a friend of Flint’s.

“Here, take it in and be quick about it. I have to head back up; you remember the spells to lock it again, right?”

“Of course, of course. Go, I’ll be up in a minute,” Hermione couldn’t believe her ears. The Death Eater had taken down the defenses for her.

“Just…be careful. He’s in and out, you know?”

“Yes,” although she didn’t. Harry, oh, gods, Harry was just behind this door. The Death Eater left, finally, and Hermione made her way into the room. There he was, chained to the wall, black mop of a head down, facing the floor. He looked up when she entered and sneered.

“Oh look, Harry. The mudblood’s come to see you.”

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A/N: Dun dun DUN! Hope you’re enjoying it, more action is to come. Thank you for the reviews and I hope to see more so I know you guys are enjoying the story and if you aren’t so I can try and fix it for you.

XOXO

RynStar 15