hidden years

Chapter Seven

Towards the end of the year
Year 7

Hermione blinked harshly, apparating had always made her feel uneasy. She recognized the large mansion in front of her. She let out a breath.

The malfoy manor. She was here, and he would see her in this state. She bit her lip as the snatchers nails dug into her skin.

She saw Bellatrix Lestrange waltz up to them, slowly. She held her breath, unsure if she was going to outlive this. She gripped the black gate and smirked.

"Get Draco." Two words that meant more to her than anyone would realize. Two words that crushed her soul. Two words that she knew would crush her spirits, knowing he would be upset she had made it this far only to die in his sight.

The snatchers snickered and pushed the three of them towards the path to Draco. Hermione silently prayed to anyone that she would be able to make it out of this.

She walked up the steps slowly, pushed by the snatchers to move quicker. She had tried to disguise Harry's face with little time she had. He looked unrecognizable to anyone who hadn't spent more than five minutes with him.

Bellatrix's heels clicked on the floor and with each step Hermione grew more anxious. She let out a breath and Ron shared a nervous look with her. She wanted to hold his hand to feel some kind of hope.

"Line them up, Cissy, bring Draco down." Hermione tried to hold tears back, she didn't want to see him. Not like this, not right now. She wanted the next time she saw him to be happy and joyful. Not at her death sentence.

She recognized his footsteps coming down the stairs and she closed her eyes. However, when she opened she saw his eyes wide staring right at her. She looked away ashamed.

"Go on, Draco. Have a look, is it him?" Bellatrix nudged him towards Harry but he couldn't focus on anyone else but Hermione.

She was dangerously thin and had bruises all over her skin. He blinked and looked at Harry, knowing it was him.

"I-I can't be too sure." He muttered out looking back at Hermione, who wouldnt meet his eyes.

"Idiots! You brought me three random hooligans!" Bellatrix screamed making Hermione jump. Draco looked angry. Angrier than Hermione had ever seen him.

"N-no Maam! The girl had this in her backpack!" One of the snatchers pulled out the sword of Gryffindor and Hermione knew she wasn't making it out alive. Bellatrix laughed and walked up to Hermione.

"Take the boys away, we're gonna have a talk. Girl to girl." She said inches from Hermione's face. She didn't dare breathe.

"Hermione! No-Mione!" Ron called after her as the other snatchers took them to the dungeons.

Draco stood next to his mother, fearful of what his aunt would do. He knew what she was capable of.

"Where did you get this? Hm! Steal it from me did you?" Hermione shook her head unable to speak. She gasped when Bellatrix grasped her neck tightly.

"I would hope you weren't going to lie to me." She muttered throwing Hermiones body to the floor. She laughed at how weak she was.

Draco felt useless. His heart pounded as his aunt screamed at her.

"Liars deserve punishment." She said before casting the first of many crucio curses on Hermione. She screamed out feeling every bone in her body ignite. She could barely even breathe.

Draco cringed as she screamed louder each time his aunt set another round of the curse on her.

"Maybe now you'll tell the truth, Mudblood. Where did you take it from?" She screamed straddling the basically limp Hermione.

"I didn't take anything!" Hermione cried out and her aunt looked at her murderously. Draco took a step forward, but his mother pulled him back.

She shook her head at him, knowing how much this was killing him. She knew he fancied Hermione Granger since first year.

As Bellatrix began to go at her skin with a knife her screams filled the room. Hermione wished she were dead, then to endure this pain. She heard Rons screams and tried to focus on the sound of his voice.

When Bellatrix decided Hermione was worthless, she removed herself from her and walked away preparing to perform legimens on her.

Draco watched her fall in and out of consciousness. He wanted so badly to hold her, tell her everything was going to be alright. That she was going to be alright.

He never felt pain like this before, not even receiving the death mark. Nothing would compare to this pain.

He looked over to where the dungeons were to see Ron and Harry secretly escaping. He let out a breath, she was going to live.

Bellatrix quickly held up Hermione by her hair and a knife to her neck. Things began to move so fast, he didn't even notice Dobby the house elf, on top of the chandelier. All he knew was Hermione was safe again.

He wanted their eyes to meet, but she was practically unconscious when they apparated. And just like that, she was gone from him again.

He turned and walked to his room, afraid tears of his own would spill. Narcissa followed after him quickly.

"Mother," He said when walking into his room. He turned towards her and she wrapped her arms around her son.

"Shh I know." She whispered as he cried into her blouse. He could of lost her forever. In his house, she could have died.

"She is alive, Draco. You will see her again." She said placing her head on his, wishing she could take the pain of love away from him.

"I need her, she —she can't die." He sobbed clutching her arms and she nodded thinking of something. She cast a spell to show Draco where she was. He looked to see her on a bed, being treated. She looked almost peaceful—like she was sleeping.

"Is she breathing?" He heard someone from the vision ask.

"Yes, she's just been through so much." The caretaker said dabbing her arm to get rid of the blood reminents spelling out the word 'Mudblood'.

He gritted his teeth. A war was about to begin.