Tainted White

CHAPTER TWO


When she woke up, it was an early afternoon. She found a woman sitting next to her bed.

A movement of Hermione\'s body got her attention, and the woman looked at her, almost scared.

Hermione remembered. Malfoy. She closed her eyes, and turned her head away from the woman.

\'\'Ms...are you all right?\'\' Martha asked. She didn\'t know what happened last night.
She reached to touch her, and Hermione somehow managed to make her sore body shake the woman’s hands off.

\'\'Don\'t...touch me!\'\'

\'\'I\'m sorry...I just wanted to see...\'\'

Hermione looked at her \'\'What? Am I alive? Am I ready to be sacrificed to The Great Lord Of The Fools? Because you can tell your MASTER, I would rather die than betray Harry. Go, call him up...he can come and finish me. I\'m sure his Lord\'\' at that, she smiled as if she was making fun of the name \'\'will award him.\'\'

Martha looked at her.
\'\'I guess you are fine.\'\'

Hermione was furious
\'\' Fine? I am at the Malfoy Manor, and you think I am FINE…Call him.\'\'

\'\'I must inform you that Master is not present at the moment, but you should feel free to take a shower, put on your clothes and have lunch, or use the library. He will be back tonight.\'\' Martha rose up from the chair and headed towards the door. \'\' And make no attempt to escape.\'\' She smiled. \'\' It is useless...Oh, and the clothes in the closet are yours. Choose what you like. It should all fit you.\'\'

With that, she closed the door, leaving a furious Hermione behind her.

She ran to the window, and pulled at it desperately, tried to break the glass ... she slammed her fists to the heavy wooden door ...Nothing. Everything remained silent and motionless. Moreover, she was tired and worried. It\'s been three days since she last saw Harry and Ron. They didn\'t know where she was whether she was alive or not.
‘Were they alive?’

She had no fear for herself at least not now. She was too angry.

As her fury started to calm down, first traces of fear showed their face. She had no wand and no strength. She realized she didn’t stand a chance.
She was alone at the manor waiting for him to show up, and decide.
Hermione needed it to be fast and to end. Whatever it was that was going to happen.
‘Just come and do it, Malfoy. Come.’

She closed her eyes. She did not expect a knock at her door so fast.
‘A knock?’

She went to the door and opened it.

Martha.

\'\'Master wants you to join him for dinner. \'\'

The anger was back again.

She pushed a stunned Martha to the side and practically ran down, seeking the dining room door. Ah, yes... expensive enough to match a price of a smaller house. There they were. She pushed them open and her eyes locked on the familiar face. A cold face. Images, flashes of events, humiliation, hate, pain...mudblood...Malfoy.

\'\' Is this one of your twisted games?\'\'
She asked coolly while approaching the table.

He said leisurely
\'\' Sit down Granger.\'\'
The tone of his voice made her. Sit down.
\'\'This is how you Muggles respond to a kind gesture?” He said, while rising up.

\'\'Was it a good day, today?\'\'
She tried to remain calm. As he was.
\'\' How many have you killed today, Malfoy? How many innocent?\'\'
She figured it would be wise to stop there but she could not make herself stop.
\'\'How do you sleep at night knowing what you are? A heartless, cold-blooded killer? \'\'

Why was he letting her continue?

\'\'Is it worth it?\'\' She tried. However, he didn\'t react.

‘React, you monster. Wake up and do something. Wake up and end it. End me because I cannot know. What did you do to him?’
Thoughts were running through her waken mind.

\'\'TELL ME IS IT WORTH IT? WAKING UP AND KNOWING THAT THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE LEFT IS THAT SICK PERSON YOU CALL YOUR LORD? \'\'

But breathing hard he just looked at her.

\'\' IS THAT WHY I AM HERE? HE ORDERED YOU TO GET ME? YOU THINK I WILL BETRAY HARRY?\'\'

His jaw clenched.

\'\'Oh, I did get your attention? Splendid now, listen. There is no curse in the world that will make me do it. So, save your time and just kill me now.\'\' She challenged.

\'\'Nothing is more important than Harry Potter, is it?\'\'

He was just a step away from her seat.

‘Good. Still predictable, Malfoy.’

The inside of his mind was fighting his own battle.
‘How dare you, you low creature...look at me like that? Don\'t you know that you are nothing? Make her see, that she is nothing...
that she is not strong as she thinks she is. Make her fall, as you did. Make her weak. Show her that you can.’

It wasn\'t comfortable, sitting and feeling him somewhere behind her.

\'\' No, nothing is more important than Harry Potter. \'\' She said slowly.

‘Not for long, Granger.’ He thought and said, \'\' You are willing to give your life for him?\'\'

\'\'Yes, so why don\'t you take it already?\'\'
Her words sounded much braver than she felt at the moment.

How do you stay brave when you know you have only moments left to live? And it\'s not death itself that scared her.
It was that feeling that she will not see Ron and Harry again. She won\'t be able to hug them, to laugh at Ron\'s stupid jokes,
she won\'t know, whether Harry killed Voldemort...She won\'t be there to see them all grown up, married and...happy.

\'\' What if I told you, that we informed our famous hero, that you were captured, and…let say, we told him that you will be released,
but only when he comes, and gives in. What do you think, did he agree to trade places with you? \'\'

He looked pleased. Yes, he won.

Horror was, rising inside her, taking over all of her senses,mixing with her blood.
‘Yes, that was something Harry would do. Let his heart lead.’

\'\' What do you think, Granger? Did he come? If he did, is he alive? On the other hand, is he still being tortured?
Tell me, can you think of the amount of pain he\'s in? Enough to make him lose his mind? \'\'

Her bottom lip started to tremble. But he couldn\'t see it. He was still standing behind her. Still above her.
She rose up and turned to face him. He gave her one of his \'I\'m so disgusted with a creature of your kind.\' sneers.

\'\' Are those tears in the eyes of Hermione Granger? So, you can die for him, but are not brave enough to listen to what happened to the golden boy?
Do you think he screamed? How strong has to be the pain to make Harry Potter beg? \'\'

Draco laughed, and her blood froze.

Something in that laughter was so cold...so...
‘It can\'t be it can’t be the truth..., please, doesn’t let it be the truth.’

Hermione started to cry, on the inside. She started to mourn him. Her friend, her brother. Her rock. Nothing could go wrong when he was around.
‘Now? Was he...? Dead? \'She had to take better care of him. She had to protect him from pain. And she failed.

Her tears spilled. Together with the words
\'\' HE DID NOT BEG. HE WOULD NEVER BEG. HE IS NOT A SMALL CREATURE LIKE YOU ARE. HE IS A MAN, MALFOY. A MAN YOU WILL NEVER BE. \'\'


And the bitter laughter again.

\'\' Touching...really. I expected no less from you, Mudblood. So sad, though, that your screaming could not help him.
Tell me, how you will sleep at night knowing, that you are a reason Harry Potter is dead?\'\'

He did not catch her move. Her fingers had been tapping over the table, trying to find a knife. A brief moment and a sharp metal flashed; matching a flash in his silver eyes...she stabbed him. Just above his heart. If he had one. Into his left shoulder.

The rest of it was a blur.

He remembered Jack and Martha rushing in. Jack caught her, tightly holding her, and she looked at Draco.

He was stunned. For the first time in his life, Draco saw PAIN as if it had been materialized in front of him. It was forming in her eyes and running down her cheeks. For the first time in his life, he heard what PAIN must sound like. He heard it from Hermione Granger\'s mouth, as she spoke, no, promised
\'\' I will kill you. If he is…” and her voice broke; she was not able to even say it. \'\'No Lord will save you. I... Will kill you. \'\'

That\'s when the darkness came in.