Pendulum

Chapter 1

Hermione refused to scream. The curse hit her viciously, tearing into her flesh as she struggled against invisible chains. Hermione's cracked lips parted in a plea as her torturer released her spell. The young woman sagged against the dungeon.

There were obvious tear marks trailing down her cheeks but she was too tired to wipe them away. The blade sank into her skin like butter and the cursed knife she so hated carved words into her body.

Worthless.

It wasn't anything different that what she already knew. Blood trickled down her back as Bellatrix drew it into her spine.

Repulsive.

A wry smile tugged at her mouth, but it quickly disappeared. She wondered who else shared those views on blood purity.

Mudblood.

The word would haunt her for the rest of her days. The slur was the whole reason she was in this mess. Hermione questioned for the thousandth time how Voldemort had been deemed 'Bringer of Justice' by the Ministry.

Despicable.

And the list went on.

Dimwitted, Dirty, Gryffindor.

Her lower lip trembled as she strained for her wand. A mere five feet away, splayed across the floor from where it had fallen.

Gryffindor. Was that a bad thing? Hermione couldn't bring herself to care. She vaguely heard somebody snarling in the background and felt little pinpricks along her arms. It was as if she had become immune to the pain.

"Where is he?" Bellatrix hissed, yanking her head back. "Where is Potter?" Hermione's bushy hair seemed to protest, blood and dirt falling from her matted locks.

Hermione steeled herself.

Another bout of the Cruciatus slammed into her, and she finally sobbed into the ground. Her arms dropped uselessly to her sides and she let out a piercing shriek, her voice cracking every second. She clamped her twitching arms over her mouth and Bellatrix frowned.

"Scream, little mudblood," she huffed as she throttled her neck. Bellatrix almost sounded sane. "You will be begging for death by the time I'm finished with you." She drew her lips back in a sneer, exposing her putrid teeth.

Hermione couldn't help but shudder. Her wand... Another inch... Her hands closed on empty air and she silently willed it to come to her.

"Oh silly little girl," Bellatrix cooed. "You think you can use wandless magic here? My lord has had some lowly followers suppress your core. It wasn't hard. You are only a mudblood after all." Bellatrix kicked her in the ribs and Hermione cried out, her throbbing chest screaming in protest.

Her cruelty knew no bounds. Her wand sat there, on a small pedestal, mere centimeters away from her outstretched fingers.

Hermione willed the wand towards her. Perhaps it was a mirage, perhaps she was finally hallucinating, but she saw it moving. Blood from her head leaked into her eyes and she thought she'd finally lost it. Her vision clouded, her fingers twitched uselessly and...

The wand flew into her hand.

Bellatrix's head whipped around, her piercing violet eyes catching sight of the weapon immediately.

"Impossible," she gasped reverently. "My lord... he said this would work..."

"Silencio," Hermione hissed quickly. Bellatrix's eyes conveyed her rage, and she reached for her wand.