And The Devil Said Her Name

Hermione Jean Granger, the new Minister of Magic, slowly walked down the sinister corridors of Azkaban. Her steps echoed through the hallway, making the aura of the scene around her even more frightening.

Her Patronus kept the Dementors in check as she walked. It felt like an eternity to her, every second like an hour. As she finally arrived at her destination, Hermione had goosebumps all over her skin. All she had to do was knock on this door, ask her questions and leave this place forever. But the thought of what waited behind that door petrified her, her hand still frozen in midair. She had waited for this moment of closure, to finally get rid of her nightmares.

"In moments like these, I ask myself if you even know how to knock."

The voice coming from behind the door was light, like honey. But the mocking words spoken had her shivering. She slowly opened the door, peering inside. He sat there, sitting as if he had no worries in the world. As if the man wasn't chained to the wall like a wild animal. Because that's all he was now. He was handsome, far too good looking for his own wellbeing. But his eyes, striking emerald green shone with unimaginary madness.

She could still remember their fifth year, when Harry Potter had begun to distance himself. The boy had begun talking to Malfoy, started to detach himself from Hermione, Ron and all the other friends he had. And as the DA went to the ministry of magic to help Sirius, only to discover it was only a farce, that's where it happened, she thought. Ronald had already begun to suspect Harry, but Hermione wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Had wanted to believe in the boy she had grown so close to. But as soon as the veil swallowed Sirius, she saw it too. The girl saw it in his eyes, that in that exact moment, something in his mind, had snapped irrevocably. It was frightening, to see the change in his eyes, the change in his stance.

(It would haunt her some nights, how she couldn't see that all this time Harrys mask of sanity started to slip and crack, and she only noticed it when it shattered.)

She opened the high security cell, stepped inside, and took a stance of cold superiority. Not wanting Harry (this madman, she reminded herself, this would never be the boy she loved again) to see how she shuddered because of every word he spoke.

"Hello, Minister Granger, what brings you to my lovely abode?" He continued to mock her with his light hearted tone.

"I have questions."
"Ah, straight to the point as always, but you have to be a little more specific than that."
"What did you mean with:"Your reality is only an illusion?"

After the war ended, after Neville killed Voldemort, Harry had been dragged to Azkaban screaming. That one sentence was the last thing anyone heard from him before he was imprisoned. Declaring his ever-lasting love for the dark lord Voldemort and then this choice of words. It irked her for a long time now. If it was a code for something, it wasn't written down in any books she could find.

"You're the smart one, figure it out. After all you've always been the one sticking your nose into things where it doesn't belong! But then again, I believe this is why we were friends…" he trailed off. She began to think he was only playing with them. With her. That his choice of words wasn't a code or something alike, just him toying with their minds like he always did.

"... If you don't have to say anything anymore, I'd like to enjoy my solitude. Or what do you want to do now, play a game of chess, or drink tea?"

She didn't answer him. Instead she only stood before him, mustering him. This couldn't be her childhood friend anymore. Harry wouldn't have murdered so many innocents, killed so many of their friends and he wouldn't have become intimate with him. With that monster that led the war. She had almost puked at the thought of them being with each other, doing those kinds of things.

"Or do you want to talk about the good old times. With Cho, Luna, Creevy…"
"You killed them.“ Her voice was colder than she imagined it would be, which surprised her. The response came out before she thought of it, but then again, he always knew how to press her buttons.
" I did indeed." he chuckled slightly, as if remembering a cute scene of him and someone else, not murdering their friends. "You know, someone once said people show if they're cowards right before they die. Do you want to know how many of your friends were cowards?"
He smiled while saying that, and she snapped. Her whole composure broke. She ran towards him, throwing a punch right at his face to wipe away that annoying smirk and Hermione paused in midair. He wanted her to snap, and she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of him knowing that he could control her.

The minister felt a strong hand on her waist. "Now now, what's the problem princess, scared that one of your nails will break off?" He gave her a fake pout.

She was practically sitting in his lap. Her hand being still in the air as she stared into his intoxicating green eyes. Where she once saw love, now all there was was insanity and amusement. But still, they were this emerald green that had intrigued her from the start. And she slowly leaned forward. Her lips on his. She didn't know why she did it, it was purely based in instinct. They were moving in perfect sync and she supposed this is what she had wanted all this time. Until she broke out of her stupor, jumped from the Death eaters lap and tried to regain her composure with  a barely passable result. And the bastard in front of her was smirking.

"Indeed, that was far more interesting than a game of chess or tea!"

Taking this as a cue, she backed towards the door,closing it, and making a mad dash towards the exit. In case anyone asked her what happened, she told them Harry Potter had given her no answer and she left right afterwards.

And even then, as she ran towards the front doors, she could still hear the cold, harsh and insane laughter echoing through the hallways. Overwhelming her senses and she knew, right then, that there was new material for her nightmares now.

_______________

"Dobby is free"

Harry chuckled, the three prison guards laying dead around him. It was just so easy! All he had to do was get Granger close to him and steal the second pair of keys straight out of her pocket. He could still use his Patronus, so the Dementors wouldn't be a problem. And so, the Death Eater walked right out of the Prison, apparating to the Brittain border. His Tom had to be resurrected somehow after all!

Britain didn't know what would hit them.