Cherries
folder
Harry Potter AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
43
Views:
80,733
Reviews:
221
Recommended:
3
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Harry Potter AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
43
Views:
80,733
Reviews:
221
Recommended:
3
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Harry Potter world created by JK Rowling, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story and never will.
So Close, And Yet So Far
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Story: Cherries
Author: bubblybabs
Email: bubbalilly@gmail.com
Beta: Periculum
Total Word Count: 7,027
Chapter 23 Edit Date: 02/22/2009
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
WesleyY7 – I do believe Sirius is having trouble holding it together, and it's showing more and more – that was one of the purposes of this chapter. He's finally lost it a bit in front of Remus, how much further will he unravel in front of others? And, yes, Hermione's hold on sanity is cracking – you'd be amazed at what you can deal with in life (though, of course, some people deal with it better than others). Sirius would have been okay if it hadn't been for Kreacher, an elf who is expert at mind games It's a shame, really, because the way the story began, you could tell there was true chemistry between Hermione and Sirius, and Sirius' feelings for her were true. He would have been a good man if Kreacher hadn't worked on him.
*
morganabythesea – I'm sorry you think the story is going downhill! The reason you feel this is due to Hermione's attempt to fight back? You don't think she eventually would? You fail to see how it is in an abusive relationship. Fear is a huge factor, and it's difficult to overcome. The abused will be 'wishy-washy', then try to fight, then become 'wishy-washy' again. They've been brainwashed. But, I think, the victim is truly optimistic in their own way, no matter how misguided they may be. You see this all the time as women flee to abuse shelters, then go back to their abusive partners, get fed up again and go to the abuse shelter, then go back to their abusive partners. I showed Hermione attempting to fight back, ineffectively, but she still tried. The cycle begins. I tried to show that Hermione had had enough at that point, when Kreacher was tormenting her, with Sirius masturbating as he watched, and she reacted without thinking or rationalizing by yelling at and smacking Sirius. She tried to keep fighting, but her fear took over. Maybe I didn't write that well enough and need to redo it – sometimes a reader can spot something that isn't quite right and help the author along due to the comments they left for a story. I also showed Sirius' taking control over her once again, and her allowing him to. I don't think you guys want to read a story that spans many years of abuse and the slow fight back, so I'm having to condense things a bit. In her place, would you know what to do to get out of that particular situation? Anyway, many thanks for your review, I do appreciate it – you'll have to let me know what you think of the story as it progresses, I'm wondering if this chapter will answer some of your concerns as to which way Hermione is going – or not going.
*
soniab – This chapter will answer some of your musings, though the next chapter will be a difficult read for Remus lovers (that's a hint). Kreacher is so much more than people expected, isn't he? You are sort of close on your thoughts on what will happen to the baby. Chapter 25 is the labor and delivery, I'm anxious to see if you're surprised by the story line it contains. And, is that your story I'm currently reading on Petulant Poetess??? The signature of the author is suspiciously similar to yours...
*
JorkenK – If you would, please email me so I can ask you something. Last chapter showed many things, one of them Lupin's good character. Kreacher's been trying to 'teach' him for months now, and his body reacted in Chapter 22 due to the teaching, but this chapter shows his true self. I think the next chapter will be one of the saddest to read thus far, especially in regards to Lupin, but gets a little bit better with chapter 25 when Hermione gives birth. This story has many twists and turns, ups and downs, like a roller coaster – and the ride isn't over yet.
*
morganabythesea (again x4) – Hmmm... I appreciate your stating I'm talented, truly, I do. I'm wondering about your negativity in regards to the direction this story is going. I hold by what I said to you above – an abused victim will often get to the point of fighting back, as I showed Hermione doing. Then they will allow things to go back to the way they were for various reasons (fear, hope, the kids, whatever) before getting fed up again and either fleeing or fighting. Hermione can't flee. You don't think there would be fighting between the person who's losing their sanity and the person who still has his, as well as some morals? I'll mull over your statements a bit, it's hard to be objective about your own story so it does help to have the input of the readers. I appreciate your input...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 23 – So Close, And Yet So Far
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Previously:
He glared at Hermione, his irritated voice hissing through his teeth. “Kitten, quit that damned crying and disrobe. NOW.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Story Date: April 7, 1996 (part 3 of 3)
Sniffling, Hermione looked up at Sirius, her hands coming up to wipe away her tears. “Please, Sirius, please, I don't...”
Sirius leaned forward, his hands coming to rest on either side of her shoulders, his face inches from hers and following her as she sat back against the couch hastily, her hands coming up to rest on his chest. He spoke through gritted teeth. “I don't care what you want. Now, take off your clothes. I'm warning you, Kitten, each act of defiance means additional punishment later tonight. Oh, yes, it will. Do you understand?”
Hermione nodded silently, her lip quivering. Sirius grabbed her hands and roughly pulled her into a standing position. Not daring to look at Remus, she slowly removed her bathrobe and laid it on the couch, then reached haltingly for the hem of her nightgown and began to pull it up. From the corner of her eyes, she watched as Sirius continued to remove his clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor.
“Remus, what did I tell you? Take off your clothes.”
Still fully dressed, Remus addressed the mostly naked man before him, now clad in only his boxers. “Sirius, I think it perfectly obvious Hermione and I don't want to join in on this fantasy of yours. Wouldn't it be more fun for you if we both wanted this?”
“No, Remus, no, it wouldn't. Well, for you, yes, I want you to enjoy sharing her with me. You fail to see how much fun this is going to be. It doesn't matter what she wants, not right now, not with this. She'll get used to the both of us using her just like she got used to me and Kreacher. Besides, she does what she's told or she gets punished.”
Sirius turned to look at Hermione as she stood quietly, holding the dark green nightgown in front of her, bashfully hiding her body. He grabbed at the satiny material and tugged, but Hermione clung on to it stubbornly.
“Please, Sirius! Please, don't!”
“Son-of-a-bitch! Let go of the mother fucking nightgown, now!” Sirius grabbed the nightgown and yanked it away from her. With a cry, she fell to her knees, trying to cover herself with her arms.
“Sirius, I'm warning you, don't talk to her like that.” Remus grabbed Sirius' wrist and pulled him away from Hermione. 'Good Lord, he's lost it. This isn't the Sirius I know! How long has he been so demanding and disrespectful with her?'
Throwing Remus' hand off his wrist, Sirius pivoted and advanced on the other man. “You're warning me? You're warning me?” Sirius jabbed Remus in the chest with his fingers as he yelled indignantly. “What the fuck do you think you're going to do about it? I'll talk any way I want to her and you can't stop me!”
Sirius never saw the solid, explosive punch that Remus landed on his right cheek. He suddenly found himself on the floor, the room swimming alarmingly for an untold number of seconds. He was pretty sure he heard screaming for a few moments before everything became silent. His jaw felt as if it had been shattered. Gingerly, he reached up and rubbed it, then opened and closed it several times, finally deciding it wasn't broken after all. After a while, the room stopped spinning and he felt able to try and sit up.
“Don't.”
“Wha- what?”
Sirius tried to sit and found a heavy, booted foot firmly planted on his chest, pushing him down onto the floor. He looked up and saw Remus standing over him, a wand pointed directly between his eyes.
Sirius smiled. “You can't use your wand against me, Remus.” He went to push Remus' foot off. “Remember, the Vow?”
Remus pushed his foot down harder onto Sirius' chest. When he spoke, his voice was flat. “I said, don't.”
Sirius's eyes darted around, looking for Kreacher. 'Where the fuck is Kreacher? Stupid fucking elf, where'd he go? Why didn't he take care of Remus after he clobbered me?'
“I've Stunned the elf. He's over there.” Remus indicated somewhere near the bed with a nod of his head. He took his foot off of Sirius and backed up, the wand in his hand never leaving Sirius. “I guess it's a good thing for me he was busy getting the bed ready instead of paying attention to what was going on between us, huh?”
'Son of a bitch, damn it, Kreacher! What a time to let your fucking guard down!'
“What do you think you're going to do, old friend?” Sirius slowly stood up while rubbing his jaw. “Stupefy me? Avada me? What?”
“I don't know just yet, Sirius. One thing I can do though, is break your wand.”
“You wouldn't dare!”
“I would, and I will, if you don't get us the hell out of here. Hermione and I, now.”
Sirius stood staring at Remus. He definitely did not want to confess to the fact that he wasn't able to get them out, that only Kreacher was able to. He rubbed his jaw some more, opening and closing it a few times in an attempt to work the soreness out. 'Fucking Remus. Shit. I never expected him to fight Muggle. And with his left hand, too. He's a right-hander. I'm impressed.' He chuckled as he remembered that Remus had done the same thing several months ago when confronting him about Hermione the first time. 'You'd think I would have learned from that, but nooooooo, I didn't. I must remember to expect Muggle fighting from Remus from now on.'
“No.”
“Sirius, don't force me to restrain you. Tell me how to get us out of here.”
“I said, 'no', Remus.”
“Hermione, put your nightgown on and come here, hon.” Remus spoke kindly as he beckoned for her to come to him. She stared at Remus a few moments before grabbing the nightgown that lay nearby on the floor in front of her, pulled it on, stood, and began to numbly amble towards him.
“Kitten, don't. You come here with me. You belong to me.” Sirius brought his hand up, beckoning to her as well.
Remus couldn't believe it, but Hermione stopped and started to gravitate towards Sirius, her arms folded over her chest, a blank, almost dreamy, look on her face. “Hermione, no!” His voice was sharp as he stepped forward, reached out, and grabbed her arm, swiftly pulling her against him.
Hermione stood still, feeling Remus' arm come around her, above her belly and just below her breasts. She looked at Sirius tearfully, simply unable to make a coherent choice as to what she should do. 'I should go to Sirius or I'll be in trouble, but I want to go with Remus, but I should stay with Sirius. Should I fight Remus? But I don't want to be with Sirius! He hurts me! If I don't go to him he'll punish me for staying with Remus. But I want to stay with Remus!'
Sirius' eyes were riveted on Hermione, his body tight, as if ready to spring. “Leave her go, Remus. She's mine.”
“Oh yes, forgive me, she's your sex slave, isn't that right, Sirius?” Remus' voice was tight, he felt he'd never be able to put the proper amount of loathing that he felt for Sirius into his voice. “How could you do that to her? To Hermione? To any woman? It's one thing to love her, but to abuse her like that? And with a house elf? Gods, Sirius, how sick can you get?”
“I do love her, Remus. Now let her come to me.” Sirius brought both arms up, his hands gesturing for Hermione to come. He looked at her, his voice lowering, becoming a soothing drawl that reminded Remus of Lucius. “Come on, Hermione, come over to me. I won't punish you for this, I promise.”
Remus felt Hermione push back against him, her head shaking slightly as she grabbed at his arm.
“What do you mean you won't punish her for this? She's not a two year old in need of punishment! Where do you come up with this stuff?”
Sirius shot Remus an impatient glance before his attention turned to Hermione again. “Come here, Hermione. Now.”
“No, she stays with me. Get us out of here, Sirius. Now.”
Sirius' face became redder as he struggled to keep his anger in check. “No, Remus. She's mine! Come here, Hermione, I told you to come to me or I will be forced to punish you.”
Remus tightened his hold on Hermione as he felt her pull away weakly, her body jerking slightly against his torso when his arm pulled her back, the wand in his hand still positioned on Sirius.
“Hermione, am I hurting you?”
At his gentle words, she shook her head, then backed up against him once again. “No, sir.” She turned her face up so she could see him, feeling secure for the first time since she was brought down. She smiled when Remus looked down at her briefly before turning to face Sirius again.
Seeing Hermione smile at Remus as he held her made Sirius see red; all he saw was his possession being held by another man, being taken away from him by a competing male. Seething with anger and emitting a low growl, Sirius began to stalk towards Remus.
“Back off, Sirius.”
Sirius' voice was a snarl, his face menacing. “No, she's mine, Remus. Give her to me.”
Remus backed up, pulling Hermione with him. “I said, back off, Sirius.”
“Give her to me, she's mine. You can't have her.” Sirius stopped advancing, his voice becoming a bellow as he shook his fist at Remus. “I'll fucking tear you apart, you bastard! She's mine! Now give her to me, Remus! Give her to me, NOW!”
Remus' expression was sad, his voice barely above a whisper. “Stupefy.”
A beam of red light shot out of Sirius' wand, Remus' aim true; a look of surprise coming over Sirius' face as the light hit his chest, his body crumpling silently to the floor.
Instantly, Hermione was screaming, trying to pull away from Remus. He let her go and she ran to Sirius, her hands grabbing at him frantically as she began to cry hysterically. “Sirius! Sirius! Is he all right? Sirius! Answer me!”
Remus walked over to them and crouched down, uncomprehendingly watching Hermione as she cried over a man who had been abusing her for months. He thought about what Hermione was like before she disappeared, knowing that, back then, she would have fought Sirius instead of going to him when he beckoned for her. But, now? What had been done to her to make her so whiny and fearful? Would 'Dora be like this if the tables were turned? Or Ginny? Molly? He snorted, wondering if Minerva would have broken down so thoroughly.
“Hermione.”
Unable to get her attention as she grieved over Sirius, Remus grabbed her upper arms gently and pulled her up as he stood, then guided her to the couch, sitting her down carefully. He walked over to Kreacher and bound him with invisible ropes, levitating him over to where Sirius lay. Invisible ropes were soon wrapped around Sirius as well. Once his new enemies were secured, he turned and watched Hermione, who, by now, was lying down on the couch, sniffling. Walking over to her slowly, he conjured a handkerchief and handed it to her, which she accepted gratefully. Remus sat on the coffee table and leaned forward so his arms rested on his thighs, his hands dangling between his legs, his tired eyes trained on her.
“Are you all right, Hermione?” His normally quiet voice was spoken with extreme gentleness, his face showing his worry over her condition.
Hermione nodded as she wiped her eyes with the handkerchief. “Y-y-yes, sir.” A few seconds later she began to cry again.
Remus watched her thoughtfully, then reached up and rubbed her belly, his hand splayed out as he felt for the baby.
“Does the baby feel okay to you?”
“I, I guess so. I doe-doe-don't know. Y-y-yes, I g-guess so.”
He rubbed his thumb on her belly, hoping it would somehow help her feel better. “Hermione, we need to get out of here. How do we get out of here? Do you know?”
“Master Kr-Kr-Kreacher. He's th-th-the only way.”
“Kreacher? Are you sure there's no way for us to walk out?” 'Surely there's some other way out. It can't possibly be only Kreacher who knows how to get here, could that be?' Remus thought about it some more, then realized that it probably was true.
Hermione sat up, still hiccupping from her crying. “N-n-no, the on-only way out i-i-is with [gasp-sigh] Ma-ma-ma-master Kr-Kreacher.”
Remus put his hands on her trembling shoulders, giving them a slight reassuring squeeze. “All right, let's just take some deep breaths until you can talk right. I want you to calm down, okay?”
“Y-y-ye-yes, sir.”
“Deep breaths, go on.”
He watched as she took in several deep breaths, then let them out slowly. He truly worried she'd go into labor with all the excitement that had just occurred and was desperate to get her to calm down sufficiently enough that she could talk normally and think straight.
“Are you cramping or anything?”
“N-no more than usual.”
Worry furrowed his brow and permeated his voice. “What's that? You are cramping?”
“No, I mean, yes, bu-but I've been having little crampings for a month or so [gasp-sigh] now. I think. I don't know what today is, I doe-don't know the date.”
“It's April 7th.”
“Yes, since around Ron's birthday. I've been cramping since around then.”
“Ron.” Remus paused a moment as he thought of the red-haired boy becoming a man sooner than expected. He placed a hand gently on her knee. “Hermione, does Ron know about the baby?”
Hermione looked down at her hands in her lap and shook her head. “Sirius Obliviated him. He Obliviated Ginny, too, when Master Kreacher brought her down.”
Horror-struck, Remus struggled to get the words out, his voice a hoarse whisper. “Ginny? He brought Ginny down? What did he do to her?”
“You, you don't want to know.” She covered her face with her hands and shook her head back and forth. “I don't want to talk about it. Please, Remus? Please?”
“Okay, okay. Shhhh, we don't need to talk about it right now.” He grabbed her hands and squeezed. “But, Hermione, you need to tell me how to get us out of here.”
“Master Kreacher. He made it so that no-one can leave or enter but an elf. I guess any elf can come or go, I don't know, I've only ever seen him in here.”
“Kreacher. Shit.” He turned to look at the elf, wondering how he'd get him to remove them from the room. 'Can an elf be Imperiused, I wonder? I guess I'm going to find out, aren't I?'
“Hermione, why did you start to go to Sirius when he called for you?”
“I, I, I don't know. All I could think of was how much trouble I'd be in if I didn't. I don't want to be punished! You don't know what they do to me! Please, Remus! Don't let them punish me!” He voice was shrill, her face showing her desperate fear.
“I won't, Hermione, I won't. But if that happens again, I have to depend upon you to come to me, do you understand?”
She stared at their hands, her fingers twisting around his nervously.
“Hermione, my God, I can't have him using you as leverage against me, do you understand? I don't know if he'd hurt you to make me do certain things. Look at how close he came to making me.... to making us.... Merlin, Hermione, you do know how close it came to him forcing us into a sexual relationship, don't you?” He leaned forward, trying to look into her down-turned face.
She started to shake her head. “I know, I know. He's, he's hinted that he wanted to have you come down before, but I never thought he would. Never. He's, he's mentioned other people, too. He'll make, make a comment here and there, during, while we're, you know, busy. If he finally brought you down, that means he'll eventually bring them down. I, I don't want to have to, to, to do things with them.” A few tears fell as she spoke the last few words.
“Hermione...” Remus didn't know what to say to comfort her. How do you comfort a girl who's been forced to do despicable things against her will? He couldn't promise things would stop, not until he got them out of there.
“Besides, he, he, he [gasp-sigh] wouldn't hurt me, not like you think. He hurts me to punish me, but he'd never hurt me permanently. He does love me, he does. He's, he's just, he just feels the need to keep me, to...” She shrugged her shoulders, not sure what to say.
Remus sat up straight, a look of surprised shock on his face. “Merlin, do you hear yourself? Come on, Hermione! The Hermione from before wouldn't have said that! You need to fight with me so we can get out of here. Don't you understand that?”
“That's just it, Remus. I'm not the Hermione from before the cherries, I'm not. I'm different. I'm scared and I don't want to be punished!” Her voice increased in intensity until the last word was shrieked.
“Shhhh, shhh, shhh, shhh. Okay, I know you are frightened, but we need to work together if we are going to get out of here. Please, Hermione, just calm down, we need to work together.”
She looked up at him, tears still in her eyes. “I'll try, Remus, I will.” 'He's right. I have to fight them. That's the only way I'll get out of here. Ever. I'll be here forever if I don't fight my way out. I just have to summon the courage. Can I do that? Before Sirius brought me down here I would have said 'yes' without a second thought, but now? I don't know. It's so scary, I'm not sure I can. Oh, I want to see my mum! She'd know what to do!'
“Okay, that's good, sweetie, that's good. But I don't want you to merely try. If he calls for you, you stay with me, no matter what.” He paused, taking a moment to look in her eyes. “Hermione, you've been down here all these months with a madman and an errant elf, obviously always in fear for your physical well-being. That's a type of torture, to instill constant fear. It's also a way to brainwash someone so they will become compliant and do what the abuser wants. Do you understand?”
“Sirius wasn't, isn't an abuser. He, he, he just...”
“Hermione, he's been abusing you. You may not see it now, not clearly, but in time you will.” He looked around the room, taking it all in. His eyes rested for a long while on the wall that held Sirius' sex devices. 'Are those whips? He said he was whipping her but, for some reason, I didn't really take him seriously. What the hell is that thing? What's it used for? Merlin, do I want to know?'
Hermione turned to look at what held Remus' gaze for so long, then blushed deeply as she hung her head and pulled her hands away from him, wrapping them around her in a hug. Remus looked back at her, his eyes softening.
“Hermione, I know you couldn't help what was done to you. You had to do what you needed in order to survive. I didn't realize Sirius was so, so, uh, so.... I didn't realize he was so particular in his sexual tastes.” He sat up straighter, his hands rubbing his thighs for a few seconds. “There's nothing wrong with his sexual preferences, mind you. Many people enjoy that type of sex. The problem is that he forced himself and his ways on you; he caused you fear, grief, pain, and despair. Sex should never be forced upon another. Never.”
Hermione nodded slowly, not raising her head, too embarrassed to look at Remus. 'But, my body responded to him. I orgasmed. Was it really forced? I guess, yes, it was. But, still, I responded to him. What does that mean?'
Reading her feelings, Remus tried to comfort her. “It's understandable if you responded sexually. You aren't dirty if you did. If done correctly, you're body won't be able to fight the sexual stimuli that it's being subjected to. Your youth and inexperience also played a part. I also believe there were other factors involved that we don't need to discuss right now. Sweetie, you never had a chance, is all I can say. You're body didn't betray you, nor did your mind. Okay?”
Hermione hesitated a moment as she thought about his words. He didn't seem disgusted with her, or angry, and she was so relieved. She had feared his response once he found out what had been going on down here. She still hoped to get free, and worried constantly over what the reaction of the others would be when they found out what had been happening to her. She thought about Ron, worrying over what he'd think most of all.
“Yes, sir.”
He smiled tiredly. “I'm going to see if I can retrieve your wand, then we'll see if we can work from there. Okay?”
“Yes, sir. Oh, I do want my wand back!”
“If I can't get it, I'll give you my wand. But you must promise me you won't give it to Sirius, do you promise?”
“Yes, sir, I promise.” She nodded her head enthusiastically.
“Even if he asks for it?” Remus looked at her critically, trying to size her up for the task.
“No sir, I won't give it to him, I promise.”
“You do realize why I'm keeping Sirius' wand, right?”
“Yes sir, Sirius made you promise not to use your wand against him during the Vow.”
“Precisely. I cannot use my wand against him, but I can use another person's wand.” Remus looked over at Sirius, thinking about how peaceful he looked at the moment. “Obviously, he didn't consider that point when he forced me to make the Vow with him.” He looked at Sirius' wand, then at his own. “It's a good thing both of our wands are made of similar wood or he would have realized sooner that I was using his wand against him. I don't know, maybe that would have been better.”
“How so?”
“Maybe he would have been a little more careful, instead of coming at me like he did.” He considered what had happened thus far. “Hermione, is he always so volatile with you?”
“No, sir. Usually he's very loving.” Remus gave her a skeptical look. “Really, he is! He holds me and hugs me. Sometimes, he, well, he likes things his way.” She looked down at her hands. “Things I don't like. I just, I do them to please him, and because I don't have a choice. Not really. But, mainly I do them to make him happy. He's very nice to be with when he's happy.” Her voice became very low, almost a whisper. “I, he, I've, he's never called the baby a brat before. I knew he wasn't happy that the baby was Ron's, but I didn't know he was so angry about it. I think he really wanted a baby of his own.”
“How do you feel about the baby?”
“Me?” She looked at him in surprise, for Sirius had never asked her for her opinion on the baby, and she didn't expect anyone else to ask her either. “Oh, well, it was a surprise. I never planned on having children until I was much older. I had so many plans for myself. I guess, I don't know, I guess my only plan anymore is to get away from here, to get out of this room.” She paused, looking around the room before turning her eyes to him as she expressed her current greatest fear. “I'm afraid of going into labor.”
“I'm sure you are. All woman fear it with their first pregnancy. You'll be all right, though. If I can, I'll help you through it, okay?”
Remus gave her a sad smile as she nodded her head. He reached up to tweak her cheek, then stood up and walked over to the kitchen, his eyes on the cabinet that contained her wand. He tried several different spells but was unable to get the doors to open. He walked over to the cabinet door and put his hands on them, his eyes closed as he tried to figure out what spell he could feel through his hands, but came up empty.
“It must be a Black family spell and not one used by others. How clever.” Remus stood back and yelled, “Confringo!” The whole room shook with the fiery explosion as the curse hit, but the door was untouched.
Remus stood, staring at the cabinet doors for a minute before turning to face Hermione. “Well, it looks as if your wand will have to stay put until Albus comes down. Being a far more skilled and powerful wizard, I'm sure he'll be able to retrieve it somehow. I'm sorry about that Hermione, truly, I am.” He looked apologetically at Hermione, and gave her a small smile.
“That's okay, Remus. You tried.” She looked at Sirius and Kreacher. “Now what?”
“Well, I'm going to Rennervate Kreacher just before I try to Imperius him. I have no idea if that curse will work on an elf so I don't know what's going to happen. Hermione, I'm going to need you as back-up. If he tries to escape I want you to stun him. His attention will be on me so you should have a clear shot at him. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir. You want me to Stupefy him.”
Remus nodded slightly. “Yes.”
“Your wand will work for me well enough for me to stupefy him?”
“It will, it may feel funny to you, but it'll work.”
Hermione stared at Kreacher, her eyes leery of the form even though he was unconscious. “Remus, why would a Stupefy work but not an Imperius?”
“I don't know. Some spells work on other creatures, and some don't. It's as simple as that. Some spells work on other creatures but only if hit by several people at once, such as dragons. It can take more than half a dozen men to down a dragon with the Stunner.”
“Oh.”
Remus pulled his wand out of his back pocket, then handed it to Hermione. She held it in her hand lightly, a frown on her face.
“What's wrong?”
She swished his wand around, a few sparks sputtering from its tip. “It does feel funny to me.”
Remus chuckled as he shook his head at her words. He turned his head towards Kreacher, then walked over to him, making sure he stood a few feet away from the elf's body.
“All right. I'm going to awaken Kreacher now.”
Remus watched as Hermione walked around the furniture so that she had a clear shot at Kreacher, his wand in her hand pointed directly at the elf. He was relieved when he noticed her steady hand, he just hoped it stayed that way if things went wrong. Remus pointed Sirius' wand at Kreacher.
“Rennervate.” A moment later, as Kreacher lay on the floor blinking stupidly, he commanded, “Imperio!”
Remus watched Kreacher closely, watching for signs the Imperius took. 'He looks peaceful enough, I guess. Hard to tell with an elf.'
“Kreacher, do you hear me?”
“Yes, I hear you.” 'Good, his voice sounds far away, kind of dreamy.'
“Kreacher, I want for you to take Hermione and I out of this room. Now.”
Kreacher looked at Remus blankly. “Of course. To do that, my hands will need to be unbound.”
Remus stared at Kreacher, trying to gauge how under the spell he was. “Imperio!” He hit the elf with the spell again, just for good measure.
Without turning his eyes from the elf, Remus beckoned to Hermione with his free hand. “Hermione, come here, please.”
Hermione came over immediately and grabbed his hand.
“Kreacher, I'm going to remove the magical ropes from you, then I want you to take our hands and transport us out of here. I want you to bring us to the Library upstairs. Do you understand?”
“Oh, no! No! Not the library! Not there!”
Remus jerked his head around to look at Hermione before quickly turning his head back to watch the elf, a curse under his breath. “Why not the library, Hermione?”
“Because, just.... because. Bring us to the kitchen instead, or the living room. Please?”
“All right. Kreacher, bring us, the both of us, to the living room at Grimmauld Place. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“You are to do nothing else but bring us to the living room at Grimmauld Place.”
“Yes.”
Remus pointed Sirius' wand at Kreacher, his body relaxing as the ropes disappeared.
“Grab his hand, Hermione.”
With each of them holding a hand and without hesitation, Kreacher brought them both to the living room at Grimmauld Place.
Excitedly looking around the room, Hermione breathed in a huge sigh of relief as she went to release Kreacher's hand, but found she could not let go. Alarmed, she turned to look down at Kreacher and saw a huge smile on his face as he made a show of letting go of Remus' hand. She started to scream, “No!” just as she found herself back in the slave room, her scream that had begun in the living room echoing around the room decorated in blue. Suddenly, she discovered that she was able to let go of Kreacher's hand, and she did so as she backed up and continued to scream in panic before turning and running into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
“Oh, my God! Where do I go?” She stood in the middle of the bathroom, her fingers over her mouth, tears spilling down her cheeks, her eyes wide with fright, turning on the spot as she cried.
When the door exploded, she screamed, backed up against the sink, and fainted at the sight before her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Remus was so relieved to see Grimmauld Place's living room. He felt Kreacher let go of his hand and turned to speak to Hermione, to tell her that everything was going to be all right and that she was safe now, only to see the elf clutching her hand as she began to scream, then saw them disappear with a Pop!
“Fuck, no! Hermione!” He ran forward, trying to grab her, but he was too late. He slumped down to the floor on his knees, tears in his eyes, his voice anguished.
“Oh, my God; oh, my God; oh, my God!”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hermione felt someone slapping her face. She looked up and saw Kreacher, his eyes venomous. He grabbed her nipple and twisted it hard as he growled at her through his teeth. “You WILL wake Master up, NOW!”
Screaming with the pain, she tried to push his hand away but found her limbs frozen in place. “No! No! Please, don't! Don't!”
“You WILL wake Master up, do you hear me?!”
Again, her nipple was twisted and pulled. “Yes! Yes! I hear you! Please, don't hurt me! Please! I'll wake up Master! I will!”
She turned herself onto her side as soon as she felt her limbs loosen up. Kreacher grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the bathroom and through the living room, over towards Sirius, forcing her to scramble on her hands and knees.
“I'm giving you the wand. If you do anything but wake Master, I'll punish you so hard you'll truly wish you were dead.” He shoved his face into hers, his growled words coming out through clenched teeth. “Understand?”
“Yes! Yes! I understand, I understand!”
He thrust Remus' wand at her, then stood, staring at her, his hand at the ready to inflict damage if need be.
Tearfully, fearfully, shakily, Hermione pointed the wand at Sirius. “Rennervate!”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Remus stood up, frightened as to what to do. He couldn't tell anyone about Sirius and Hermione, he couldn't discuss what had happened, he couldn't get down to the basement room to help Hermione. He was completely helpless. His mind was conjuring up all kinds of things that Kreacher could be doing to Hermione, his main worry at that moment was for her physical safety, her sanity after being so close to freedom, and the baby's welfare.
“Shit, what do I do? What do I do?”
'Could Dobby to take me back there? No, no, he won't know where to go. He was a Malfoy elf so he won't know the secrets of this house. How would I tell Dobby where to go? I can't tell anyone about this problem. Is an elf considered part of the Vow? I can't risk it. I can't risk talking to him or Hermione will be completely alone with the mad man once again. Damn, Sirius, what's happened to you? Is all this from Kreacher? Is that possible?'
Anguished, Remus got off his knees and stumbled to the couch where he collapsed miserably. He couldn't believe he was so close to rescuing her, so close and yet so far. And, now, what was the girl going through? Was she being punished, something she feared above all else?
“I'm so sorry, Hermione, I'm so sorry!”
One thing was certain, Sirius was bound by the Vow to take him downstairs each week, so he'd see her within seven days. He'd see her and find out if she was okay. Find out what they did to her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Author's Notes, you may freely skip:
My purpose for this chapter was to show the continuing deterioration of Sirius as well as Remus' convictions. And to give everyone hope for Hermione's future. It seems that everyone will need a psychiatrist or a padded cell by the end of the story. Kreacher will need to be taught a big, 'gihugic' lesson before the end, now won't he? Who do you suppose will give it to him?
*
Spells in the Harry Potter books:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spells_in_Harry_Potter
*
Other links I've used for this story:
http://www.stoprelationshipabuse.org/signs.html
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/domestic_violence_abuse_types_signs_causes_effects.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/domestic-violence/WO00044
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Story: Cherries
Author: bubblybabs
Email: bubbalilly@gmail.com
Beta: Periculum
Total Word Count: 7,027
Chapter 23 Edit Date: 02/22/2009
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
WesleyY7 – I do believe Sirius is having trouble holding it together, and it's showing more and more – that was one of the purposes of this chapter. He's finally lost it a bit in front of Remus, how much further will he unravel in front of others? And, yes, Hermione's hold on sanity is cracking – you'd be amazed at what you can deal with in life (though, of course, some people deal with it better than others). Sirius would have been okay if it hadn't been for Kreacher, an elf who is expert at mind games It's a shame, really, because the way the story began, you could tell there was true chemistry between Hermione and Sirius, and Sirius' feelings for her were true. He would have been a good man if Kreacher hadn't worked on him.
*
morganabythesea – I'm sorry you think the story is going downhill! The reason you feel this is due to Hermione's attempt to fight back? You don't think she eventually would? You fail to see how it is in an abusive relationship. Fear is a huge factor, and it's difficult to overcome. The abused will be 'wishy-washy', then try to fight, then become 'wishy-washy' again. They've been brainwashed. But, I think, the victim is truly optimistic in their own way, no matter how misguided they may be. You see this all the time as women flee to abuse shelters, then go back to their abusive partners, get fed up again and go to the abuse shelter, then go back to their abusive partners. I showed Hermione attempting to fight back, ineffectively, but she still tried. The cycle begins. I tried to show that Hermione had had enough at that point, when Kreacher was tormenting her, with Sirius masturbating as he watched, and she reacted without thinking or rationalizing by yelling at and smacking Sirius. She tried to keep fighting, but her fear took over. Maybe I didn't write that well enough and need to redo it – sometimes a reader can spot something that isn't quite right and help the author along due to the comments they left for a story. I also showed Sirius' taking control over her once again, and her allowing him to. I don't think you guys want to read a story that spans many years of abuse and the slow fight back, so I'm having to condense things a bit. In her place, would you know what to do to get out of that particular situation? Anyway, many thanks for your review, I do appreciate it – you'll have to let me know what you think of the story as it progresses, I'm wondering if this chapter will answer some of your concerns as to which way Hermione is going – or not going.
*
soniab – This chapter will answer some of your musings, though the next chapter will be a difficult read for Remus lovers (that's a hint). Kreacher is so much more than people expected, isn't he? You are sort of close on your thoughts on what will happen to the baby. Chapter 25 is the labor and delivery, I'm anxious to see if you're surprised by the story line it contains. And, is that your story I'm currently reading on Petulant Poetess??? The signature of the author is suspiciously similar to yours...
*
JorkenK – If you would, please email me so I can ask you something. Last chapter showed many things, one of them Lupin's good character. Kreacher's been trying to 'teach' him for months now, and his body reacted in Chapter 22 due to the teaching, but this chapter shows his true self. I think the next chapter will be one of the saddest to read thus far, especially in regards to Lupin, but gets a little bit better with chapter 25 when Hermione gives birth. This story has many twists and turns, ups and downs, like a roller coaster – and the ride isn't over yet.
*
morganabythesea (again x4) – Hmmm... I appreciate your stating I'm talented, truly, I do. I'm wondering about your negativity in regards to the direction this story is going. I hold by what I said to you above – an abused victim will often get to the point of fighting back, as I showed Hermione doing. Then they will allow things to go back to the way they were for various reasons (fear, hope, the kids, whatever) before getting fed up again and either fleeing or fighting. Hermione can't flee. You don't think there would be fighting between the person who's losing their sanity and the person who still has his, as well as some morals? I'll mull over your statements a bit, it's hard to be objective about your own story so it does help to have the input of the readers. I appreciate your input...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 23 – So Close, And Yet So Far
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Previously:
He glared at Hermione, his irritated voice hissing through his teeth. “Kitten, quit that damned crying and disrobe. NOW.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Story Date: April 7, 1996 (part 3 of 3)
Sniffling, Hermione looked up at Sirius, her hands coming up to wipe away her tears. “Please, Sirius, please, I don't...”
Sirius leaned forward, his hands coming to rest on either side of her shoulders, his face inches from hers and following her as she sat back against the couch hastily, her hands coming up to rest on his chest. He spoke through gritted teeth. “I don't care what you want. Now, take off your clothes. I'm warning you, Kitten, each act of defiance means additional punishment later tonight. Oh, yes, it will. Do you understand?”
Hermione nodded silently, her lip quivering. Sirius grabbed her hands and roughly pulled her into a standing position. Not daring to look at Remus, she slowly removed her bathrobe and laid it on the couch, then reached haltingly for the hem of her nightgown and began to pull it up. From the corner of her eyes, she watched as Sirius continued to remove his clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor.
“Remus, what did I tell you? Take off your clothes.”
Still fully dressed, Remus addressed the mostly naked man before him, now clad in only his boxers. “Sirius, I think it perfectly obvious Hermione and I don't want to join in on this fantasy of yours. Wouldn't it be more fun for you if we both wanted this?”
“No, Remus, no, it wouldn't. Well, for you, yes, I want you to enjoy sharing her with me. You fail to see how much fun this is going to be. It doesn't matter what she wants, not right now, not with this. She'll get used to the both of us using her just like she got used to me and Kreacher. Besides, she does what she's told or she gets punished.”
Sirius turned to look at Hermione as she stood quietly, holding the dark green nightgown in front of her, bashfully hiding her body. He grabbed at the satiny material and tugged, but Hermione clung on to it stubbornly.
“Please, Sirius! Please, don't!”
“Son-of-a-bitch! Let go of the mother fucking nightgown, now!” Sirius grabbed the nightgown and yanked it away from her. With a cry, she fell to her knees, trying to cover herself with her arms.
“Sirius, I'm warning you, don't talk to her like that.” Remus grabbed Sirius' wrist and pulled him away from Hermione. 'Good Lord, he's lost it. This isn't the Sirius I know! How long has he been so demanding and disrespectful with her?'
Throwing Remus' hand off his wrist, Sirius pivoted and advanced on the other man. “You're warning me? You're warning me?” Sirius jabbed Remus in the chest with his fingers as he yelled indignantly. “What the fuck do you think you're going to do about it? I'll talk any way I want to her and you can't stop me!”
Sirius never saw the solid, explosive punch that Remus landed on his right cheek. He suddenly found himself on the floor, the room swimming alarmingly for an untold number of seconds. He was pretty sure he heard screaming for a few moments before everything became silent. His jaw felt as if it had been shattered. Gingerly, he reached up and rubbed it, then opened and closed it several times, finally deciding it wasn't broken after all. After a while, the room stopped spinning and he felt able to try and sit up.
“Don't.”
“Wha- what?”
Sirius tried to sit and found a heavy, booted foot firmly planted on his chest, pushing him down onto the floor. He looked up and saw Remus standing over him, a wand pointed directly between his eyes.
Sirius smiled. “You can't use your wand against me, Remus.” He went to push Remus' foot off. “Remember, the Vow?”
Remus pushed his foot down harder onto Sirius' chest. When he spoke, his voice was flat. “I said, don't.”
Sirius's eyes darted around, looking for Kreacher. 'Where the fuck is Kreacher? Stupid fucking elf, where'd he go? Why didn't he take care of Remus after he clobbered me?'
“I've Stunned the elf. He's over there.” Remus indicated somewhere near the bed with a nod of his head. He took his foot off of Sirius and backed up, the wand in his hand never leaving Sirius. “I guess it's a good thing for me he was busy getting the bed ready instead of paying attention to what was going on between us, huh?”
'Son of a bitch, damn it, Kreacher! What a time to let your fucking guard down!'
“What do you think you're going to do, old friend?” Sirius slowly stood up while rubbing his jaw. “Stupefy me? Avada me? What?”
“I don't know just yet, Sirius. One thing I can do though, is break your wand.”
“You wouldn't dare!”
“I would, and I will, if you don't get us the hell out of here. Hermione and I, now.”
Sirius stood staring at Remus. He definitely did not want to confess to the fact that he wasn't able to get them out, that only Kreacher was able to. He rubbed his jaw some more, opening and closing it a few times in an attempt to work the soreness out. 'Fucking Remus. Shit. I never expected him to fight Muggle. And with his left hand, too. He's a right-hander. I'm impressed.' He chuckled as he remembered that Remus had done the same thing several months ago when confronting him about Hermione the first time. 'You'd think I would have learned from that, but nooooooo, I didn't. I must remember to expect Muggle fighting from Remus from now on.'
“No.”
“Sirius, don't force me to restrain you. Tell me how to get us out of here.”
“I said, 'no', Remus.”
“Hermione, put your nightgown on and come here, hon.” Remus spoke kindly as he beckoned for her to come to him. She stared at Remus a few moments before grabbing the nightgown that lay nearby on the floor in front of her, pulled it on, stood, and began to numbly amble towards him.
“Kitten, don't. You come here with me. You belong to me.” Sirius brought his hand up, beckoning to her as well.
Remus couldn't believe it, but Hermione stopped and started to gravitate towards Sirius, her arms folded over her chest, a blank, almost dreamy, look on her face. “Hermione, no!” His voice was sharp as he stepped forward, reached out, and grabbed her arm, swiftly pulling her against him.
Hermione stood still, feeling Remus' arm come around her, above her belly and just below her breasts. She looked at Sirius tearfully, simply unable to make a coherent choice as to what she should do. 'I should go to Sirius or I'll be in trouble, but I want to go with Remus, but I should stay with Sirius. Should I fight Remus? But I don't want to be with Sirius! He hurts me! If I don't go to him he'll punish me for staying with Remus. But I want to stay with Remus!'
Sirius' eyes were riveted on Hermione, his body tight, as if ready to spring. “Leave her go, Remus. She's mine.”
“Oh yes, forgive me, she's your sex slave, isn't that right, Sirius?” Remus' voice was tight, he felt he'd never be able to put the proper amount of loathing that he felt for Sirius into his voice. “How could you do that to her? To Hermione? To any woman? It's one thing to love her, but to abuse her like that? And with a house elf? Gods, Sirius, how sick can you get?”
“I do love her, Remus. Now let her come to me.” Sirius brought both arms up, his hands gesturing for Hermione to come. He looked at her, his voice lowering, becoming a soothing drawl that reminded Remus of Lucius. “Come on, Hermione, come over to me. I won't punish you for this, I promise.”
Remus felt Hermione push back against him, her head shaking slightly as she grabbed at his arm.
“What do you mean you won't punish her for this? She's not a two year old in need of punishment! Where do you come up with this stuff?”
Sirius shot Remus an impatient glance before his attention turned to Hermione again. “Come here, Hermione. Now.”
“No, she stays with me. Get us out of here, Sirius. Now.”
Sirius' face became redder as he struggled to keep his anger in check. “No, Remus. She's mine! Come here, Hermione, I told you to come to me or I will be forced to punish you.”
Remus tightened his hold on Hermione as he felt her pull away weakly, her body jerking slightly against his torso when his arm pulled her back, the wand in his hand still positioned on Sirius.
“Hermione, am I hurting you?”
At his gentle words, she shook her head, then backed up against him once again. “No, sir.” She turned her face up so she could see him, feeling secure for the first time since she was brought down. She smiled when Remus looked down at her briefly before turning to face Sirius again.
Seeing Hermione smile at Remus as he held her made Sirius see red; all he saw was his possession being held by another man, being taken away from him by a competing male. Seething with anger and emitting a low growl, Sirius began to stalk towards Remus.
“Back off, Sirius.”
Sirius' voice was a snarl, his face menacing. “No, she's mine, Remus. Give her to me.”
Remus backed up, pulling Hermione with him. “I said, back off, Sirius.”
“Give her to me, she's mine. You can't have her.” Sirius stopped advancing, his voice becoming a bellow as he shook his fist at Remus. “I'll fucking tear you apart, you bastard! She's mine! Now give her to me, Remus! Give her to me, NOW!”
Remus' expression was sad, his voice barely above a whisper. “Stupefy.”
A beam of red light shot out of Sirius' wand, Remus' aim true; a look of surprise coming over Sirius' face as the light hit his chest, his body crumpling silently to the floor.
Instantly, Hermione was screaming, trying to pull away from Remus. He let her go and she ran to Sirius, her hands grabbing at him frantically as she began to cry hysterically. “Sirius! Sirius! Is he all right? Sirius! Answer me!”
Remus walked over to them and crouched down, uncomprehendingly watching Hermione as she cried over a man who had been abusing her for months. He thought about what Hermione was like before she disappeared, knowing that, back then, she would have fought Sirius instead of going to him when he beckoned for her. But, now? What had been done to her to make her so whiny and fearful? Would 'Dora be like this if the tables were turned? Or Ginny? Molly? He snorted, wondering if Minerva would have broken down so thoroughly.
“Hermione.”
Unable to get her attention as she grieved over Sirius, Remus grabbed her upper arms gently and pulled her up as he stood, then guided her to the couch, sitting her down carefully. He walked over to Kreacher and bound him with invisible ropes, levitating him over to where Sirius lay. Invisible ropes were soon wrapped around Sirius as well. Once his new enemies were secured, he turned and watched Hermione, who, by now, was lying down on the couch, sniffling. Walking over to her slowly, he conjured a handkerchief and handed it to her, which she accepted gratefully. Remus sat on the coffee table and leaned forward so his arms rested on his thighs, his hands dangling between his legs, his tired eyes trained on her.
“Are you all right, Hermione?” His normally quiet voice was spoken with extreme gentleness, his face showing his worry over her condition.
Hermione nodded as she wiped her eyes with the handkerchief. “Y-y-yes, sir.” A few seconds later she began to cry again.
Remus watched her thoughtfully, then reached up and rubbed her belly, his hand splayed out as he felt for the baby.
“Does the baby feel okay to you?”
“I, I guess so. I doe-doe-don't know. Y-y-yes, I g-guess so.”
He rubbed his thumb on her belly, hoping it would somehow help her feel better. “Hermione, we need to get out of here. How do we get out of here? Do you know?”
“Master Kr-Kr-Kreacher. He's th-th-the only way.”
“Kreacher? Are you sure there's no way for us to walk out?” 'Surely there's some other way out. It can't possibly be only Kreacher who knows how to get here, could that be?' Remus thought about it some more, then realized that it probably was true.
Hermione sat up, still hiccupping from her crying. “N-n-no, the on-only way out i-i-is with [gasp-sigh] Ma-ma-ma-master Kr-Kreacher.”
Remus put his hands on her trembling shoulders, giving them a slight reassuring squeeze. “All right, let's just take some deep breaths until you can talk right. I want you to calm down, okay?”
“Y-y-ye-yes, sir.”
“Deep breaths, go on.”
He watched as she took in several deep breaths, then let them out slowly. He truly worried she'd go into labor with all the excitement that had just occurred and was desperate to get her to calm down sufficiently enough that she could talk normally and think straight.
“Are you cramping or anything?”
“N-no more than usual.”
Worry furrowed his brow and permeated his voice. “What's that? You are cramping?”
“No, I mean, yes, bu-but I've been having little crampings for a month or so [gasp-sigh] now. I think. I don't know what today is, I doe-don't know the date.”
“It's April 7th.”
“Yes, since around Ron's birthday. I've been cramping since around then.”
“Ron.” Remus paused a moment as he thought of the red-haired boy becoming a man sooner than expected. He placed a hand gently on her knee. “Hermione, does Ron know about the baby?”
Hermione looked down at her hands in her lap and shook her head. “Sirius Obliviated him. He Obliviated Ginny, too, when Master Kreacher brought her down.”
Horror-struck, Remus struggled to get the words out, his voice a hoarse whisper. “Ginny? He brought Ginny down? What did he do to her?”
“You, you don't want to know.” She covered her face with her hands and shook her head back and forth. “I don't want to talk about it. Please, Remus? Please?”
“Okay, okay. Shhhh, we don't need to talk about it right now.” He grabbed her hands and squeezed. “But, Hermione, you need to tell me how to get us out of here.”
“Master Kreacher. He made it so that no-one can leave or enter but an elf. I guess any elf can come or go, I don't know, I've only ever seen him in here.”
“Kreacher. Shit.” He turned to look at the elf, wondering how he'd get him to remove them from the room. 'Can an elf be Imperiused, I wonder? I guess I'm going to find out, aren't I?'
“Hermione, why did you start to go to Sirius when he called for you?”
“I, I, I don't know. All I could think of was how much trouble I'd be in if I didn't. I don't want to be punished! You don't know what they do to me! Please, Remus! Don't let them punish me!” He voice was shrill, her face showing her desperate fear.
“I won't, Hermione, I won't. But if that happens again, I have to depend upon you to come to me, do you understand?”
She stared at their hands, her fingers twisting around his nervously.
“Hermione, my God, I can't have him using you as leverage against me, do you understand? I don't know if he'd hurt you to make me do certain things. Look at how close he came to making me.... to making us.... Merlin, Hermione, you do know how close it came to him forcing us into a sexual relationship, don't you?” He leaned forward, trying to look into her down-turned face.
She started to shake her head. “I know, I know. He's, he's hinted that he wanted to have you come down before, but I never thought he would. Never. He's, he's mentioned other people, too. He'll make, make a comment here and there, during, while we're, you know, busy. If he finally brought you down, that means he'll eventually bring them down. I, I don't want to have to, to, to do things with them.” A few tears fell as she spoke the last few words.
“Hermione...” Remus didn't know what to say to comfort her. How do you comfort a girl who's been forced to do despicable things against her will? He couldn't promise things would stop, not until he got them out of there.
“Besides, he, he, he [gasp-sigh] wouldn't hurt me, not like you think. He hurts me to punish me, but he'd never hurt me permanently. He does love me, he does. He's, he's just, he just feels the need to keep me, to...” She shrugged her shoulders, not sure what to say.
Remus sat up straight, a look of surprised shock on his face. “Merlin, do you hear yourself? Come on, Hermione! The Hermione from before wouldn't have said that! You need to fight with me so we can get out of here. Don't you understand that?”
“That's just it, Remus. I'm not the Hermione from before the cherries, I'm not. I'm different. I'm scared and I don't want to be punished!” Her voice increased in intensity until the last word was shrieked.
“Shhhh, shhh, shhh, shhh. Okay, I know you are frightened, but we need to work together if we are going to get out of here. Please, Hermione, just calm down, we need to work together.”
She looked up at him, tears still in her eyes. “I'll try, Remus, I will.” 'He's right. I have to fight them. That's the only way I'll get out of here. Ever. I'll be here forever if I don't fight my way out. I just have to summon the courage. Can I do that? Before Sirius brought me down here I would have said 'yes' without a second thought, but now? I don't know. It's so scary, I'm not sure I can. Oh, I want to see my mum! She'd know what to do!'
“Okay, that's good, sweetie, that's good. But I don't want you to merely try. If he calls for you, you stay with me, no matter what.” He paused, taking a moment to look in her eyes. “Hermione, you've been down here all these months with a madman and an errant elf, obviously always in fear for your physical well-being. That's a type of torture, to instill constant fear. It's also a way to brainwash someone so they will become compliant and do what the abuser wants. Do you understand?”
“Sirius wasn't, isn't an abuser. He, he, he just...”
“Hermione, he's been abusing you. You may not see it now, not clearly, but in time you will.” He looked around the room, taking it all in. His eyes rested for a long while on the wall that held Sirius' sex devices. 'Are those whips? He said he was whipping her but, for some reason, I didn't really take him seriously. What the hell is that thing? What's it used for? Merlin, do I want to know?'
Hermione turned to look at what held Remus' gaze for so long, then blushed deeply as she hung her head and pulled her hands away from him, wrapping them around her in a hug. Remus looked back at her, his eyes softening.
“Hermione, I know you couldn't help what was done to you. You had to do what you needed in order to survive. I didn't realize Sirius was so, so, uh, so.... I didn't realize he was so particular in his sexual tastes.” He sat up straighter, his hands rubbing his thighs for a few seconds. “There's nothing wrong with his sexual preferences, mind you. Many people enjoy that type of sex. The problem is that he forced himself and his ways on you; he caused you fear, grief, pain, and despair. Sex should never be forced upon another. Never.”
Hermione nodded slowly, not raising her head, too embarrassed to look at Remus. 'But, my body responded to him. I orgasmed. Was it really forced? I guess, yes, it was. But, still, I responded to him. What does that mean?'
Reading her feelings, Remus tried to comfort her. “It's understandable if you responded sexually. You aren't dirty if you did. If done correctly, you're body won't be able to fight the sexual stimuli that it's being subjected to. Your youth and inexperience also played a part. I also believe there were other factors involved that we don't need to discuss right now. Sweetie, you never had a chance, is all I can say. You're body didn't betray you, nor did your mind. Okay?”
Hermione hesitated a moment as she thought about his words. He didn't seem disgusted with her, or angry, and she was so relieved. She had feared his response once he found out what had been going on down here. She still hoped to get free, and worried constantly over what the reaction of the others would be when they found out what had been happening to her. She thought about Ron, worrying over what he'd think most of all.
“Yes, sir.”
He smiled tiredly. “I'm going to see if I can retrieve your wand, then we'll see if we can work from there. Okay?”
“Yes, sir. Oh, I do want my wand back!”
“If I can't get it, I'll give you my wand. But you must promise me you won't give it to Sirius, do you promise?”
“Yes, sir, I promise.” She nodded her head enthusiastically.
“Even if he asks for it?” Remus looked at her critically, trying to size her up for the task.
“No sir, I won't give it to him, I promise.”
“You do realize why I'm keeping Sirius' wand, right?”
“Yes sir, Sirius made you promise not to use your wand against him during the Vow.”
“Precisely. I cannot use my wand against him, but I can use another person's wand.” Remus looked over at Sirius, thinking about how peaceful he looked at the moment. “Obviously, he didn't consider that point when he forced me to make the Vow with him.” He looked at Sirius' wand, then at his own. “It's a good thing both of our wands are made of similar wood or he would have realized sooner that I was using his wand against him. I don't know, maybe that would have been better.”
“How so?”
“Maybe he would have been a little more careful, instead of coming at me like he did.” He considered what had happened thus far. “Hermione, is he always so volatile with you?”
“No, sir. Usually he's very loving.” Remus gave her a skeptical look. “Really, he is! He holds me and hugs me. Sometimes, he, well, he likes things his way.” She looked down at her hands. “Things I don't like. I just, I do them to please him, and because I don't have a choice. Not really. But, mainly I do them to make him happy. He's very nice to be with when he's happy.” Her voice became very low, almost a whisper. “I, he, I've, he's never called the baby a brat before. I knew he wasn't happy that the baby was Ron's, but I didn't know he was so angry about it. I think he really wanted a baby of his own.”
“How do you feel about the baby?”
“Me?” She looked at him in surprise, for Sirius had never asked her for her opinion on the baby, and she didn't expect anyone else to ask her either. “Oh, well, it was a surprise. I never planned on having children until I was much older. I had so many plans for myself. I guess, I don't know, I guess my only plan anymore is to get away from here, to get out of this room.” She paused, looking around the room before turning her eyes to him as she expressed her current greatest fear. “I'm afraid of going into labor.”
“I'm sure you are. All woman fear it with their first pregnancy. You'll be all right, though. If I can, I'll help you through it, okay?”
Remus gave her a sad smile as she nodded her head. He reached up to tweak her cheek, then stood up and walked over to the kitchen, his eyes on the cabinet that contained her wand. He tried several different spells but was unable to get the doors to open. He walked over to the cabinet door and put his hands on them, his eyes closed as he tried to figure out what spell he could feel through his hands, but came up empty.
“It must be a Black family spell and not one used by others. How clever.” Remus stood back and yelled, “Confringo!” The whole room shook with the fiery explosion as the curse hit, but the door was untouched.
Remus stood, staring at the cabinet doors for a minute before turning to face Hermione. “Well, it looks as if your wand will have to stay put until Albus comes down. Being a far more skilled and powerful wizard, I'm sure he'll be able to retrieve it somehow. I'm sorry about that Hermione, truly, I am.” He looked apologetically at Hermione, and gave her a small smile.
“That's okay, Remus. You tried.” She looked at Sirius and Kreacher. “Now what?”
“Well, I'm going to Rennervate Kreacher just before I try to Imperius him. I have no idea if that curse will work on an elf so I don't know what's going to happen. Hermione, I'm going to need you as back-up. If he tries to escape I want you to stun him. His attention will be on me so you should have a clear shot at him. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir. You want me to Stupefy him.”
Remus nodded slightly. “Yes.”
“Your wand will work for me well enough for me to stupefy him?”
“It will, it may feel funny to you, but it'll work.”
Hermione stared at Kreacher, her eyes leery of the form even though he was unconscious. “Remus, why would a Stupefy work but not an Imperius?”
“I don't know. Some spells work on other creatures, and some don't. It's as simple as that. Some spells work on other creatures but only if hit by several people at once, such as dragons. It can take more than half a dozen men to down a dragon with the Stunner.”
“Oh.”
Remus pulled his wand out of his back pocket, then handed it to Hermione. She held it in her hand lightly, a frown on her face.
“What's wrong?”
She swished his wand around, a few sparks sputtering from its tip. “It does feel funny to me.”
Remus chuckled as he shook his head at her words. He turned his head towards Kreacher, then walked over to him, making sure he stood a few feet away from the elf's body.
“All right. I'm going to awaken Kreacher now.”
Remus watched as Hermione walked around the furniture so that she had a clear shot at Kreacher, his wand in her hand pointed directly at the elf. He was relieved when he noticed her steady hand, he just hoped it stayed that way if things went wrong. Remus pointed Sirius' wand at Kreacher.
“Rennervate.” A moment later, as Kreacher lay on the floor blinking stupidly, he commanded, “Imperio!”
Remus watched Kreacher closely, watching for signs the Imperius took. 'He looks peaceful enough, I guess. Hard to tell with an elf.'
“Kreacher, do you hear me?”
“Yes, I hear you.” 'Good, his voice sounds far away, kind of dreamy.'
“Kreacher, I want for you to take Hermione and I out of this room. Now.”
Kreacher looked at Remus blankly. “Of course. To do that, my hands will need to be unbound.”
Remus stared at Kreacher, trying to gauge how under the spell he was. “Imperio!” He hit the elf with the spell again, just for good measure.
Without turning his eyes from the elf, Remus beckoned to Hermione with his free hand. “Hermione, come here, please.”
Hermione came over immediately and grabbed his hand.
“Kreacher, I'm going to remove the magical ropes from you, then I want you to take our hands and transport us out of here. I want you to bring us to the Library upstairs. Do you understand?”
“Oh, no! No! Not the library! Not there!”
Remus jerked his head around to look at Hermione before quickly turning his head back to watch the elf, a curse under his breath. “Why not the library, Hermione?”
“Because, just.... because. Bring us to the kitchen instead, or the living room. Please?”
“All right. Kreacher, bring us, the both of us, to the living room at Grimmauld Place. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“You are to do nothing else but bring us to the living room at Grimmauld Place.”
“Yes.”
Remus pointed Sirius' wand at Kreacher, his body relaxing as the ropes disappeared.
“Grab his hand, Hermione.”
With each of them holding a hand and without hesitation, Kreacher brought them both to the living room at Grimmauld Place.
Excitedly looking around the room, Hermione breathed in a huge sigh of relief as she went to release Kreacher's hand, but found she could not let go. Alarmed, she turned to look down at Kreacher and saw a huge smile on his face as he made a show of letting go of Remus' hand. She started to scream, “No!” just as she found herself back in the slave room, her scream that had begun in the living room echoing around the room decorated in blue. Suddenly, she discovered that she was able to let go of Kreacher's hand, and she did so as she backed up and continued to scream in panic before turning and running into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
“Oh, my God! Where do I go?” She stood in the middle of the bathroom, her fingers over her mouth, tears spilling down her cheeks, her eyes wide with fright, turning on the spot as she cried.
When the door exploded, she screamed, backed up against the sink, and fainted at the sight before her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Remus was so relieved to see Grimmauld Place's living room. He felt Kreacher let go of his hand and turned to speak to Hermione, to tell her that everything was going to be all right and that she was safe now, only to see the elf clutching her hand as she began to scream, then saw them disappear with a Pop!
“Fuck, no! Hermione!” He ran forward, trying to grab her, but he was too late. He slumped down to the floor on his knees, tears in his eyes, his voice anguished.
“Oh, my God; oh, my God; oh, my God!”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hermione felt someone slapping her face. She looked up and saw Kreacher, his eyes venomous. He grabbed her nipple and twisted it hard as he growled at her through his teeth. “You WILL wake Master up, NOW!”
Screaming with the pain, she tried to push his hand away but found her limbs frozen in place. “No! No! Please, don't! Don't!”
“You WILL wake Master up, do you hear me?!”
Again, her nipple was twisted and pulled. “Yes! Yes! I hear you! Please, don't hurt me! Please! I'll wake up Master! I will!”
She turned herself onto her side as soon as she felt her limbs loosen up. Kreacher grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the bathroom and through the living room, over towards Sirius, forcing her to scramble on her hands and knees.
“I'm giving you the wand. If you do anything but wake Master, I'll punish you so hard you'll truly wish you were dead.” He shoved his face into hers, his growled words coming out through clenched teeth. “Understand?”
“Yes! Yes! I understand, I understand!”
He thrust Remus' wand at her, then stood, staring at her, his hand at the ready to inflict damage if need be.
Tearfully, fearfully, shakily, Hermione pointed the wand at Sirius. “Rennervate!”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Remus stood up, frightened as to what to do. He couldn't tell anyone about Sirius and Hermione, he couldn't discuss what had happened, he couldn't get down to the basement room to help Hermione. He was completely helpless. His mind was conjuring up all kinds of things that Kreacher could be doing to Hermione, his main worry at that moment was for her physical safety, her sanity after being so close to freedom, and the baby's welfare.
“Shit, what do I do? What do I do?”
'Could Dobby to take me back there? No, no, he won't know where to go. He was a Malfoy elf so he won't know the secrets of this house. How would I tell Dobby where to go? I can't tell anyone about this problem. Is an elf considered part of the Vow? I can't risk it. I can't risk talking to him or Hermione will be completely alone with the mad man once again. Damn, Sirius, what's happened to you? Is all this from Kreacher? Is that possible?'
Anguished, Remus got off his knees and stumbled to the couch where he collapsed miserably. He couldn't believe he was so close to rescuing her, so close and yet so far. And, now, what was the girl going through? Was she being punished, something she feared above all else?
“I'm so sorry, Hermione, I'm so sorry!”
One thing was certain, Sirius was bound by the Vow to take him downstairs each week, so he'd see her within seven days. He'd see her and find out if she was okay. Find out what they did to her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Author's Notes, you may freely skip:
My purpose for this chapter was to show the continuing deterioration of Sirius as well as Remus' convictions. And to give everyone hope for Hermione's future. It seems that everyone will need a psychiatrist or a padded cell by the end of the story. Kreacher will need to be taught a big, 'gihugic' lesson before the end, now won't he? Who do you suppose will give it to him?
*
Spells in the Harry Potter books:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spells_in_Harry_Potter
*
Other links I've used for this story:
http://www.stoprelationshipabuse.org/signs.html
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/domestic_violence_abuse_types_signs_causes_effects.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/domestic-violence/WO00044
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *