1

AN: First, this chapter includes the depiction of torture. A good portion of this chapter comes from the Malfoy Manor chapter, only from Hermione's point of view, so the torture is right there. Should you be squeamish, I suggest you skip to the next chapter.

Third, thanks again go to Septentrion and Ayerf for the proofing. Any mistakes are mine. Or JKR's. ;-)

Hermione struggled against the bonds that bound her and the others together, trying to fight the panic that was threatening to overtake her. They needed to get out of the Malfoy's house, but she couldn't see any way of doing so.

"What is this?"

Hermione saw Lucius Malfoy enter the drawing room, and it became even harder to breathe. She felt Harry stiffen beside her and hoped he had an idea of what to do. He always managed to get them out of tight situations, and she hoped that this wouldn't be an exception. She doubted she'd get out of it alive if Harry couldn't pull something off, not with the way Greyback was looking at her.

"They say they've got Potter," a cold, feminine voice said. "Draco, come here."

Hermione's stomach plunged, and she felt Harry tense further. She saw movement from the corner of her eye that presaged Draco's arrival. Greyback grabbed hold of her shoulder, and pushed, rotating the group so that Draco could see Harry better as he got closer, and then pulled her to stop them.

He didn't let go of her as he said, "Well, boy?"

Draco was well out of her sight now, but the tension in the room seemed to increase the longer Draco kept his silence. She wondered why he was delaying, as she knew the stinging jinx wasn't so good a disguise as to hide all of Harry's features.

"Well, Draco?" Lucius asked excitedly. "Is it? Is it Harry Potter?"

Hermione almost gasped when Draco answered, "I can't ... I can't be sure."

"But look at him carefully, look! Come closer!"

Hermione had heard the reluctance in Draco's voice. She waited breathlessly to see if he withstood his father's excitement, as there was no way he couldn't have recognized Harry by now if he were really looking.

"Draco, if we are the ones to hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be for--"

"Now we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy?" Greyback growled, squeezing Hermione's shoulder painfully as he did. She worked to keep herself still, to not try and squirm away as she so desperately wanted to.

"Of course not, of course not!" Lucius shifted into Hermione's view as he approached Harry, observing him as if he were an interesting insect he'd just pinned to a board.

"What did you do to him?" he asked, looking at Greyback. "How did he get into this state?"

"That wasn't us." Greyback's hand tensed again, and Hermione could feel his claws digging into her.

Lucius had turned back to Harry. "Looks more like a Stinging Jinx to me." He edged closer to Harry's face, and she thought she heard a small intake of air, like a gasp, before he whispered "There's something there. It could be the scar, stretched tight... Draco, come here, look properly! What do you think?"

Hermione could almost see Draco now as he edged in close for a better look. She unconsciously held her breath, waiting for Draco's words.

"I don't know."

Hermione concentrated on keeping her breathing even. There was hope. Even if it was slim, there was hope.

"We had better be certain, Lucius," that feminine voice said from the direction Draco had walked. "Completely sure that it is Potter, before we summon the Dark Lord... They say that this is his but it does not resemble Ollivander's description.... If we are mistaken, if we call the Dark Lord here for nothing... Remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov."

The claws dug even deeper into Hermione's shoulder. "What about the Mudblood, then?" Greyback growled and shoved her the other way so the light was shining on her more directly.

Hermione saw Draco toying with something in his hands near the fireplace and frowning. Narcissa was close by, and her posture had suddenly grown far more alert.

"Wait. Yes – yes, she was in Madam Malkin's with Potter! I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look, Draco, isn't it the Granger girl?"

Draco briefly looked up from the object in his hand. His expression was far more reluctant than Hermione had expected. "I... maybe... yeah."

Hermione winced, feeling betrayed for some reason, although she knew it was completely irrational for her to feel so. She was jarred out of her thoughts when Lucius yelled, "But then, that's the Weasley boy! It's them, Potter's friends – Draco, look at him, isn't it Arthur Weasley's son, what's his name--?"

Hermione saw Draco's face twitch as he put the object in his pocket and looked their way again. "Yeah. It could be."

Just then, the drawing room door opened from behind Hermione, and another female voice asked, "What is this? What's happened, Cissy?"

Harry twitched in recognition, and Hermione felt her stomach plummet. If there had been any hope before, it was gone now. Bellatrix Lestrange circled her way into Hermione's sight, and stopped right in front of her.

"But surely this is the Mudblood girl? This is Granger?" she said quietly, eyes remaining focused on Hermione.

"Yes, yes, it's Granger!" cried Lucius. "And beside her, we think, Potter! Potter and his friends, caught at last!"

"Potter? Are you sure?" Bellatrix shrieked, looking over at Harry. At Lucius' quick, excited nod, she said with palpable excitement, "Well then, the Dark Lord must be informed at once!"

She pulled back her sleeve and was on the verge of touching the ugly mark on her forearm when Lucius grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"I was about to call him!" Lucius said. "I shall summon him, Bella, Potter has been brought to my house, and it is therefore upon my authority--"

"Your authority!" Bellatrix sneered as she tried to free herself from Lucius' grip. "You lost your authority when you lost your wand, Lucius! How dare you! Take your hands off me!"

"This is nothing to do with you, you did not capture the boy --"

Greyback suddenly released Hermione and advanced on Lucius and Bellatrix. "Begging your pardon, Mr. Malfoy, but it's us that caught Potter, and it's us that'll be claiming the gold--"

"Gold!" Bellatrix laughed, still trying to tug one hand free, while the other hand went for her wand. "Take your gold, filthy scavenger, what do I want with gold? I seek only the honor of his-- of--"

Something seemed to catch her attention, as she stopped struggling even as her voice trailed off. Lucius, seeing his chance, revealed his own mark and made to touch it with his wand when Bellatrix screamed, "STOP! Do not touch it, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now!"

Lucius started slightly but obeyed. He looked at Bellatrix suspiciously. She, however, wasn't looking at Lucius, but at whatever had caught her attention moments before.

"What is that?" she said softly.

"Sword," grunted one of the Snatchers.

"Give it to me."

"It's not yorn, missus, it's mine, I reckon I found it."

A loud bang and flash of light made Hermione jump.

"What d'you think you're playing at, woman?" someone yelled.

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" Bellatrix shrieked. She came into view again when she rounded on frozen, kneeling werewolf, the Sword of Gryffindor in her hand. Hermione thought that, for all her wrath, the Dark witch looked terrified.

"Where did you get this sword?" she whispered fiercely as she took his wand from his frozen hand.

"How dare you?" he growled. "Release me, woman!"

"Where did you find this sword?" she repeated, bringing the blade close to Greyback's face. "Snape sent it to my Vault in Gringotts!"

"It was in their tent. Release me, I say!"

Bellatrix waved her wand and Greyback jumped to his feet, although he kept his distance from Bellatrix, taking refuge behind an armchair.

"Draco, move this scum outside," Bellatrix ordered, pointing to the other side of the prisoners. "If you haven't got the guts to finish them, then leave them in the courtyard for me."

"Don't you dare talk to Draco like --"

"Be quiet! The situation is graver than you can possibly imagine, Cissy! We have a very serious problem!"

Draco looked at his aunt and mother before quietly moving to follow his aunt's orders. Bellatrix, meanwhile, had started muttering to herself. "If it is indeed Potter, he must not be harmed. The Dark Lord wishes to dispose of Potter himself.... But if he finds out... I must... I must know...."

She turned to Narcissa again. "The prisoners must be placed in the cellar, while I think what to do!" There was a desperate edge to her voice, making her sound more than a little unstable, but Narcissa wasn't fazed.

"This is my house, Bella, you don't give orders in my--"

"Do it!" Bellatrix screamed. "You have no idea of the danger we're in!" Her eyes were wide, and she looked as if she had crossed over into madness right then. A thin jet of fire was issuing from her wand, burning into the carpet by her feet.

Narcissa hesitated, but, eyes glancing down at the hole in the carpet, turned to the werewolf. "Take these prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback."

Greyback moved toward their group, but stopped when Bellatrix snapped, "Wait. All except... except for the Mudblood."

Hermione froze in terror as Greyback gave a grunt of pleasure. She felt Harry tense up beside her, but knew there was nothing he could do.

"No! You can have me, keep me!" Ron yelled from the other side of Harry. Hermione let out a very low moan.

"If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next," Bellatrix said. "Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book. Take them downstairs, Greyback, and make sure they are secure, but do nothing more to them – yet."

She threw Greyback's wand at him and then took a short silver knife from under her robes. Hermione instinctively tried to back away as the witch got closer, and flinched when Bellatrix flicked the knife through the bonds, freeing her. Before Hermione had a chance to do more than blink, Bellatrix had grabbed her hair and pulled ruthlessly, dragging her away from her friends. Hermione caught a brief glimpse of the others being herded out of the room, but her attention was quickly pulled back to the witch who had a hold of her.

Bellatrix didn't say anything for a long moment, but just looked at Hermione through narrowed eyes.

"You probably think you're so special, don't you?" Bellatrix murmured, though Hermione wasn't sure whether it was directed at her. "We've all heard tales of you. Top in your class... friend of Potter... Even Snape is under your spell..."

Hermione felt a shiver of fear at the way Bellatrix had said Snape's name, as if she was naming the devil himself, although she didn't understand what the black haired witch meant.

Her thoughts were quickly diverted from Snape, however, when Bellatrix brought the silver knife up and trailed it lightly down Hermione's face. The shiver of fear turned to dread and sat heavily on Hermione's stomach.

"Well," Bellatrix whispered softly into her ear, in a sick parody of a lover, "I don't see the appeal. And I bet your blood is just as dirty as that skin of yours."

She drew back with a cruel smile on her face and raised the knife.

"Bella!" Narcissa shouted. "Don't!"

Hermione was confused by the look of resentment that crossed Bellatrix's face as much by the command of her sister's. She guessed there was much more going on than she was privy to, but didn't know where to look for clues.

"It's just a little fun, Cissy," Bellatrix said, mad eyes still fastened on Hermione.

"Tell us why we can't summon the Dark Lord right now!"

That brought Bellatrix's eyes back into focus and her expression showed a hint of fear again, although she otherwise ignored Narcissa's plea. Hermione shivered as the beast showed through Bellatrix's stare.

The witch's voice was almost sweet when she softly said, "But it's so rare to get such a perfect opportunity, Cissy. How often have we had a chance to play lately?"

Narcissa shook her head. "I don't like it, Bella."

Bellatrix smiled viciously and pulled Hermione to her so forcefully, Hermione whimpered. "My sister doesn't have the same taste for playing that I do. She's no fun at all, is she?"

Bellatrix forced Hermione to shake her head. Although the urge to beg Bellatrix to stop, to let her go was strong, Hermione bit her tongue. She did not want to encourage her.

"So, we'll just have to play by ourselves, won't we?" Bellatrix continued in the same sickly tone. "We'll just have to show her what she's missing out on, won't we?"

Bellatrix forced Hermione's head forward and back in a brutal parody of a nodding puppet. Hermione was appalled that she had started crying.

"So," Bellatrix said calmly before throwing Hermione to the floor, "let's have a little practice, shall we? Get in the right mood?"

Hermione tried to edge backwards away from Bellatrix, but the witch stepped on her hand, crushing it to the floor. Hermione whimpered, causing Bellatrix to smile. She lifted her foot, and Hermione snatched her hand away, but before she could bring it to her chest, Bellatrix had her wand pointed at her.

Without further warning, Bellatrix yelled, "Crucio! and pain enveloped Hermione. She felt as if the skin was being torn from her body, and her nerves were being flayed. It lasted forever, and when the curse was finally lifted, she lay on the floor, panting and shaking, unable to move.

Bellatrix came to stand over her. "Now that you've had a taste of the game, perhaps you'll be cooperative? So tell me, where did you find the sword! How did you get it!"

Hermione moaned and shook her head again. "We found it."

Draco walked in just as Bellatrix raised her wand again. "Aunt Bella?" He sounded shocked and more than a little afraid. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get the Mudblood to tell me where she found the sword!" Bellatrix gave Hermione a sharp kick in the ribs, punctuating her sentence.

"But, Aunt Bella, the Dark Lord--"

"--Need not know!" Bellatrix snarled, not looking at Draco. "If you value our lives, you will keep silent and let me work!"

Draco backed up, but he was shaking his head. "But Snape--"

Bellatrix turned on Draco fiercely. Draco staggered back several steps, fear distorting his face as his aunt advanced. "Snape be damned, boy! Do you not understand that this is a life and death matter for us?"

Draco nodded his head and Bellatrix sneered at him. "Unless you know of a better way to get her to talk, I demand you keep your mouth shut!"

"Bella!" Narcissa scolded, anger and fear infusing her voice. "I know you are angry but--"

Bellatrix shot her sister a glare that silenced her, then walked back over to Hermione, who had finally stopped shaking quite so much.

"Tell me, Mudblood, where you got that sword!"

Hermione shook her head. "I -- we found-–"

Bellatrix hit her with the Cruciatus again, cutting Hermione off. Through her own screams, Hermione could hear Bellatrix screaming something at her, but she couldn't understand. The pain went on for ages, draining her of every thought and every sense but that of her nerves on fire.

Bellatrix lifted the curse and yelled, "I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?"

"We found it – we found it!" Hermione saw Bellatrix aim her wand at her again, her face a mask of fury. "PLEASE!"

The curse got worse every time it was cast. She felt like her body would explode. She had known intellectually that her life was at risk by continuing with Harry, but until that moment, she had never really thought she would die.

When Bellatrix finally lifted the curse, Hermione tried to roll over onto her side, but the dark witch wouldn't let her. She kicked Hermione in the gut and then forced her onto her back with her booted foot.

"You are lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it!" Bellatrix screamed at her. "You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth! Tell the truth!"

Hermione screamed again as the curse descended once more, racking her nerves more forcefully than before. She felt like she was going to pass out from the pain, and desperately hoped that she would, but just as she felt the tendrils of oblivion reaching for her, the curse stopped, leaving her shuddering on the floor.

Bellatrix bent down and picked her up by the hair until she was sitting upright. Her scalp screamed at her to stop the pain, but her arms were too weak to lift. Suddenly, Bellatrix's face was in front of her, and she was brandishing the knife again.

"What else did you take?" Bellatrix yelled, spittle flying onto her face. "What else have you got? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!"

Hermione could do nothing more than mutter the word 'nothing' over and over again, but that wasn't an answer Bellatrix would accept. She dropped Hermione back onto the floor and cast curse after curse. Only when she canceled them could Hermione feel how raw her throat had become from screaming.

But she wasn't given time to assess her wounds. Bellatrix was in her face again, screaming at her.

"What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!"

Hermione wanted to detach herself from the pain. She wanted, so much, to just let her body writhe and suffer while her mind went elsewhere, but the thought of the Longbottoms made her come back and suffer through it all the way. If she did make it through, she needed to be there for Harry. She was nothing without her wits.

"How did you get into my vault?" Bellatrix screamed the instant she stopped cursing. "Did that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"

"We only met him tonight!" Hermione sobbed. "We've never been inside your vault... It isn't the real sword! It's a copy! It's a copy!"

"A copy?" Bellatrix screeched, raising her wand again. "A likely story!"

"It is something of a relief that you never could conceive, Bella, if this is what you think of as 'care'." came a deep voice from the doorway.

Hermione, barely aware of life outside her painful aftershocks, registered that Snape, of all people, was there. The cursing and screaming had stopped, so she supposed she was even grateful for his presence.

She wanted to laugh that Severus Snape, of all people, was now her hero, but the world went black before she could muster even a wry smile.