Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or HPverse. JK does. I do, however, own the plot and the OC's.

Chapter Three

"Stupid Mudblood, can't you do anything right? Bloody late... again! CRUCIO!" Hermione clenched her hands into fists as she writhed on the floor. "Give in and scream, Mudblood, because this won't be over until you do."

"I... will... never... scream... for... you... Malfoy," she managed to choke out.

"I told you to call me Draco, or have you forgotten?" Malfoy scowled. "Shall we revert back to master?"

"You are not my master," Hermione panted out, still feeling the fading curse rippling through her body.

"CRUCIO! I am and always will be."

"Please..." Her voice broke, and her lip began trembling.

"Please what, Mudblood?"

"Stop! I can't do... this... anymore."

Malfoy laughed, his cold eyes glinting as he flicked his wand. "Scream for me, Mudblood. CRUCIO!"

"No!" She barely bit back a scream as he intensified the curse again.

McGonagall and Snape, who had both been frozen in shock, moved towards the door, trying desperately to get through the wards set there.

"My sweet little Mudblood. You have so much to learn; when I tell you to scream, you scream." Hermione stumbled to her feet only to be knocked back by a punch in the stomach. "Now, what shall be your reward?" Malfoy smirked. "Maybe knowing what awaits you will persuade you to obey me."

"Let me go. Please, let me go," Hermione whimpered as she fell back against the wall.

"You have obviously not learnt enough yet to know what pleasures I can give. CRUCIO!"

Outside in the outer chamber, the two worried teachers continued to try and break through the wards, their wands moving so fast they were a blur.

"How is it he can cast an Unforgivable without alerting anyone?" McGonagall said, her voice strained, trying desperately to hide the panic she felt.

"The wards in this room were put up by Salazar himself. Only a Slytherin can access it unless another is invited, such as yourself. Furthermore, it can only be accessed when a Muggle-born is present. It is the... the torture room."

"Why can't we get in?"

"I don't know. Usually it is set so the Muggle-born cannot exit, but spectators can enter."

"CRUCIO!" A barely contained scream was heard.

"She is strong," Snape muttered in awe.

McGonagall glanced quickly at Snape before returning her concentration to the wards. "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever had the curse cast upon you?"

"No, but..."

"It is like every bone in your body is breaking, the muscles are being ripped from your skeleton, your blood is boiling and your skin is pulled tight to the extreme. Your eyes feel like they are burning and..."

"Stop! I don't need you to be that graphic."

"Obviously, I do, Minerva. You need to understand why it drives people mad if it is used too much. Because none of that is actually happening to the victim; it is purely psychological. It is amazing what the mind can do to the body in which it is encased."

"But..."

"I don't believe she will go mad. She is resisting it. I'm just surprised she hasn't passed out."

"Maybe... maybe this isn't the first time this has happened."

"I don't believe it is either. Even I screamed the first time it was cast on me."

If they had been in any other situation, McGonagall would have found it funny how vain he was about his control.

Malfoy was starting to get annoyed. Hermione usually gave in by now. She wasn't ordinarily this strong. "CRUCIO!"

"Stop," tears ran down her face as she choked on her words, "please."

"Scream, Mudblood; scream like the whore you will become as soon as you have learnt your lessons."

"I'm not... going to scream... and I... will. never. be. your. whore!"

"CRUCIO!" Malfoy smiled as Hermione almost screamed. "You will learn, my dear Mudblood. I mean that is what you like to do: learn. Well, now you shall learn to serve me. CRUCIO!"

"You can't make... me do... anything!"

"Really?" Lifting the curse, Malfoy laughed. "How would you like to dance? Tarantallegra!"

"No, don't..." Hermione stopped talking as her feet began moving on their own. She could no longer slump, saving her strength. Angered with herself for letting this weaken her, she tried to keep eye contact with her tormentor.

"For a Mudblood, you're a pretty good dancer."

"Can't you think of anything else to call me?" Hermione screeched.

Ignoring Hermione's comment, Malfoy sneered. "How about we add a twist, Mudblood? How about we have you dancing with pain?"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione snapped.

"For a know-it-all, you really are quite thick."

"I don't..."

"Finite Incantatem."

"I thought..."

"Oh, don't celebrate yet, Mudblood. Here's something you can thank my father for... TARANTALLECRU!"

Hermione let out a blood-curdling scream, the Cruciatus Curse ripping through her body as she was forced to dance.

"Finally, you learn, but I think I will leave it on a bit longer. It might help you remember..."

Malfoy was thrown back against the wall as Snape and McGonagall broke through the wards and burst through the door.

Hermione clenched her teeth in pain, her eyes brimming with tears of frustration; if only she had lasted that little bit longer.

"Finite Incantatem," McGonagall spoke clearly, fighting the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her. Nothing happened. "Severus!"

"Malfoy, remove it immediately!" Snape growled.

"Finite Incantatem," Malfoy muttered, glaring darkly at Snape.

Hermione fell to the floor and curled into a tight ball. She lay there silently, trying to fight the shakes caused by the Cruciatus Curse. McGonagall rushed to her side and laid a hand on her shoulder, but Hermione flinched away, curling into an even tighter ball.

"Mr Malfoy, go to my office immediately and do not leave until I give you leave to do so."

"Shouldn't he..."

Snape sent McGonagall a meaningful look, hoping that she would understand his actions, before turning his gaze back to the young Slytherin...now leaning arrogantly against the wall. "Now!" He glared at Malfoy as the young man scrambled out of the room.

Turning his gaze back on Hermione, he spoke. "Miss Granger..." Hermione was still. "We do not have long before the shakes return... Mobilicorpus."

Hermione's body rose in the air and floated after Snape as he strode out of the room towards the Hospital Wing, with McGonagall following in silence.

When they reached the Hospital Wing, Snape gently lowered Hermione onto a bed.

"Poppy! Poppy, where are you?" McGonagall called out.

"What is it, Minerva, dear?" Pomfrey walked calmly out of her office, reading a sheet of parchment. Finally, she looked up. "Merlin! What happened to Miss Granger?"

Before McGonagall could reply, Snape answered sharply. "Highly irrelevant information...can you help or not?"

"I need to know what happened, Severus, so that I can help in the best way possible."

"Cruciatus Curse."

Pomfrey gasped, but quickly set to work examining the young Gryffindor. "Severus, can you go to the Headmaster? I need his help."

"Why on earth would you need..."

"Do you wish to question me? Are you a qualified..." Pomfrey cut herself off; Snape was gone.

"What's wrong with her, Poppy? Why do you need Albus?" McGonagall questioned, gripping Hermione's hand.

"I need him to cast Rennervate... I'm not strong enough. Not in this case..." Pomfrey sighed. "And we can't afford to take her to St. Mungo's; the press would have a field day."

***

Snape burst through the Headmaster's door, robes billowing behind him.

Dumbledore looked up and smiled. "Severus, how delightful to see you...care for a lemon drop?"

"No. I regretfully inform you that Miss Granger is in the Hospital Wing. She is suffering from repeated bouts of the Cruciatus Curse." Snape turned back towards the door before muttering a few words. "She was very strong."

The twinkle from Dumbledore's eyes was gone. He stood slowly. "Who performed it?"

"Malfoy, sir. But..."

"You must protect him; I understand. Let's just hope that this war is over soon so that..."

"Yes." Snape hurried out the door ahead of Dumbledore, arriving in the Hospital Wing several minutes before him, despite the fact that the aging Headmaster had used the Floo.

***

AN: Sorry for the delay in updating, folks. Took a bit longer than I thought to get RL sorted enough to be able to re-edit the chapter. And of course, thank you, snarkroxy, for going over it for me.