Dark Mark

Chapter 18


Hermione took a deep breath, determined not to cry as she stood at the huge domed doorway that would be her final exit from Hogwarts Castle. She held her scruffy cat Crookshanks tightly against her body, feeling his fluffy head tucked under her chin; it comforted her somewhat, though she was on the verge of breaking down with or without a fuzzy cat to hug. Barty stood behind her, carrying her luggage.

After several long minutes of staring at the ancient wood planking of the door, Barty spoke softly.

"Love, it's time to go."

Hermione nodded. Hagrid the Giant had come to retrieve her trunk and carry it to the carriage for them, sniffling in such a heartbroken way that Hermione ran and threw herself against his huge bulk, hugging him and crying tragically into his smelly moleskin coat.

"Now now 'Ermione, there there," he consoled her, patting her back awkwardly with a gigantic paw. "I'll sure miss ye, the castle just won't be the same wi'out you and Ron and Harry sneakin' about."

Hermione burst into a fresh bout of loud sobs, muffled against Hagrid's gut. "Oh Hagrid!!"

The Giant was glaring murderously at Barty Crouch Junior, who was standing silently, meeting his stare without so much as a flinch.

"You best be takin' care o' this young lady," Hagrid snarled, his tone more threatening than Hermione had ever heard it. "If I e'er hear any diff'rent I'll be huntin' you down, you mark my words. All yer Deatheater trainin' won't be able to save you then."

Barty nodded silently, bowing his head respectfully to Hagrid as Hermione finally let go of him and began pulling herself together.

"We best be off now, it's gettin' late an you two've got things to do once you get t' Hogsmeade."

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The carriage ride seemed longer than Hermione remembered, the road bumpier, the air chillier; Barty hugged her against him, wrapping his long coat around her so that they were both inside it, and rested his chin on the top of her head. He spoke to her quietly, but Hermione didn't hear the words. She closed her eyes and wished she still had the TimeTurner McGonagall had loaned her the previous year...she could go back to three days ago and buy those damn candies the minute she got to Hogsmeade, catch the first return carriage that arrived to take the students back, finish her school year, pass her exams, graduate at the top of her class, and get on with her life the way she had planned.

Without it, she was expelled, alienated, married, and alone.

Well, with the exception of a Deatheater she barely knew, who was at the moment sliding his hand inside her blouse.

"Please Barty, not now," she chided, squirming away from him. "I'm hardly in the mood."

"I can fix that," he murmured against her neck, holding her tightly. "Just give me two seconds to get my fingers into your panties and you'll be singing a different tune."

He yanked her hips toward him, causing her to fall backwards and end up lying down in the seat. Seizing the opportunity while she was prone, Barty pried her knees apart and situated himself between them. Hermione started to laugh despite her best efforts, swatting at him and protesting feebly, but Barty wasn't having any of it. He unbuckled his pants and quicker than Hermione could say "Don't you dare!!" he was inside her.

Mr and Mrs Bartemius Crouch Junior's first foray into married sex was, in Mrs Crouch's estimation, mindblowing. The last time she had been in this carriage, Ron had been sitting next to her with Harry in the seat across from them; they'd been discussing the rumor that Flitwick and Sprout were doing more in the greenhouses than levitating the bean pods. And now here she was, lying where Ron had sat, her legs splayed wide while the man who nearly killed Harry at the World Cup was busy screwing her brains out. It was all so ludicrous she could barely keep from laughing out loud. She might have anyway if she hadn't been so close to coming.

The carriage bumped and rolled along, its rickety wheels and the repeating thunder crackling across the night sky doing their best to drown out the moans and cries of passion spilling from inside the cab. Hermione and Barty likewise did their best to drown out the sounds of thunder and rickety wheels; the noise of their lovemaking echoed across the moors, frightening a pig or two and causing a shepherd to cross himself and cast a quickly muttered prayer heavenward.

When they reached Hogsmeade, sweaty, disheveled, and giggling, Barty opened the carriage door and motioned for Hermione to exit first. With a devilish grin, she pulled the door shut again and crawled into Barty's lap, straddling him, pushing her saddle up against his stomach and rubbing lasciviously on him.

"What do you say we take another spin around the block, Mister Crouch?"

Barty returned her grin, reaching up to knock on the roof of the carriage. "I think it's a brilliant idea, Mrs Crouch."

The carriage took off with a lurch just as the Hogsmeade station valet was reaching for the door. He peered after it, scratching his head, then shrugged and shuffled back inside his little booth. Pouring himself another cup of coffee, he made a mental note to himself to check the suspension on carriage #4 the next time it returned....it was rocking something awful.

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