Venom and Its Cure

Chapter 5

The difference between the warm sunshine from the forest and the frozen air of wherever they were was immediately felt. Grass turned into flat, rough stone. There was a stale breeze floating past and through her, erupting goosebumps down her spine. Most unsettling of all, it was quiet. Silent. The only sound was her heartbeat thumping in her ears and her strained breathing.

Then someone was forcing her to stand up, she could feel their cold hands on the small of her back. She recoiled at their touch.

Her eyes opened. The sight of the Great Hall greeted her.

It already looked different. The tables were gone, the banners replaced with something different that swayed in the wind, the ceiling a dark black. The windows had been smashed into pieces; Hermione could feel some of the glass from the panes digging into the palms of her hands. It was still light outside when they had disapparated, but it was darker than midnight in the Hall. In the center of the room was Lucius. He wore an expression that was shockingly similar to the smug one his son often wore.

Behind Lucius was some sort of structure. It was so dark in the Hall it was hard to tell what it was made out of, or what it was. But as Hermione was shoved closer, she realized it was wands. Dozens of them. She couldn't tell what the structure was but her stomach still twisted into tight knots.

Malfoy was behind her. Hermione wanted to run, but as soon as the thought entered her mind she felt a sharp stab on her back. His wand. Deciding that if she was going to be humiliated that it would happen on her terms, she walked faster, head held high.

Other Death Eaters were in the room. Not only could she see them out of the corner of her eye, but her skin prickled with the amount of Dark Magic filling the air.

It felt like it was smothering her.

Despite the fact that there were at least seven other people in the room with her, it was completely silent except for the echoes of her footsteps and the faint sound of someone screaming below her. Hermione wasn't sure if the screams were her imagination or not, but there was no time to think about that. She was now standing directly in front of Lucius.

He was sitting but his frame seemed to tower over her. His lavish jewelry sparkled in the bit of light that managed to shine through the dark. She could see his wand resting beside him on an armrest, making her realize she had no clue where her own was.

"Miss Granger. How nice of you to join us," Lucius smiled. Hermione did not.

"Found her deep in Wyre Forest. She's injured, Rookwood got to her before I did," Malfoy said.

"Is that so?" Lucius' polite smile dropped. He stood up from his makeshift throne, which was covered in a fur that looked suspiciously similar to Fluffy's. "Rookwood! Why don't you come and join us?"

Rookwood came forward, looking like he could give many reasons why he shouldn't. Hermione was inwardly pleased to note his arm was still missing, the stump still bleeding. They had not given him anything to stem the blood flow with, though she guessed magic stopped him from bleeding out. He was looking down at the floor. Dragging his feet. Blinking rapidly. His hands were shaking, similarly to the way Hermione's were. He's nervous, she thought.

"I thought you said you lost your arm from a witch in Diagon Alley." Lucius no longer looked smug. His eyes were unforgiving, angry. Dark. Hermione was almost scared for Rookwood. Almost.

"I-I did, Your Grace. The mudblood was in Diagon Alley, I found and attempted to capture her but-"

"But you failed," came the younger Malfoy's voice from behind her. "Tell me, you fucking halfwit, why you thought to use not one but two unperfected spells on her? Are you so stupid that you couldn't remember what your orders were?"