The Tune Of Time

Chapter 1

In hindsight, Hermione Granger, the muggleborn friend of Harry Potter, would have been fortunate if she were captured by Voldemort. The Dark lord wouldn't have dirtied his hand with her and would have simply gave her a quick and easy death. He would have mocked , humiliate and torture her for a few minutes. Distracted by more important matters, there would be a simple Avada Kedavra, and her life would end with a flash of electric green. But one thing that she wasn't, was fortunate. No, she was going to have a slow painful death. She had seen what this sadist bitch had done to Frank and Alice Longbottom. They were tortured to insanity. She bore a first hand account of her torture. The cursed Mudblood  on her arm hadn't healed.
Hermione looked up for a moment, to see how close Bellatrix was. Her light hazel brown eyes locking with the perfectly black eyes for a brief second. But it was long enough to fill Hermione's body with fear. Bellatrix smirked mischievously at her before casting a nasty cutting hex on her leg, she had lost her footing and stumbled towards the ground before her.
The Death Eaters around her laughed enjoying the show. She pounced onto Hermione before she had the chance to realise what happened and pulled both arms behind her back, also pressing her knee ito her spine, to prevent her from escaping. She watched as the witch beneath her squirmed, screaming for help.

"Too late now, mudblood. They are gone now".

Shivers shot down her spine, feeling Bellatrix's breath in her ear, hearing her harsh words. But it was true. They were gone. Everyone was gone. Harry had sacrificed himself in hope that he could rid the world of the darkness. Ron died trying to protect his mother who was killed afterwards. The members of Dumbledore Army and the Order of Phoenix were slaughtered mercilessly. And she was left alone to painfully scumb to death.

"Draco, take her wand." She commanded.

Hermione looked up at the face of her former classmate. His face was ashen and eyes filled with fear. For a moment , she felt that she saw moisture in his eyes but her thoughts were lost as intense pain shot through her body. It was like every nerve in her was filled with burning acid and she screamed out. After what felt like ages , the cruciatus was removed.

"You should know better Mudblood than to look up at someone so above you."

Hermione kept quiet.

"What's the matter filth? Don't feel like talking?". Hermione's head was jerked  up, as Bellatrix pulled her hair. She had to bite down her tongue to stop from screaming. But the pain must have shown on her face as Bellatrix sneered , "Not so brave now ,are we?"

"I have nothing to say to you and nothing, you do will make me say otherwise".

Bellatrix's hand came straight down, and struck Hermione's cheek. Her nails, catching her skin and left scratchmarks. "You do not speak to me like that! You will speak with respect to a woman of high class and the purest of bloods like mine!. Not like you deserve the right to speak to me at all, with a blood like yours".

Hermione winced slighty, her cheek stinging from the slap. But she looked up at Bellatrix again and said confidently. "I don't have to speak to you any different from anyome else. My blood is exactly the same as yours and I am proud of who I am.

Bellatrix stared, madly down at her. Bewildered at the thought of someone being proud of being a mudblood. "Well you shouldn't be. You may think you are being brave and couragious. But you are just very stupid. Your blood is disgusting and it makes me sick to just be in the same room as you".

She smirked then kicked Hermione in the throat, to stop her from saying anymore. She cackled evilly before grabbing onto the rope, binding Hermione's hands together. Pulling her up to her feet, to drag her around so that she was within the circle of death eaters, Voldemort sitting on the front on a transfigured Throne. Without even looking at her, he stood up and started addressing his men who showed their enthusiasm on their victory. Sometimes he would cast cruciatus on her though she lost the count after the twelfth time. She lay take painful breath on the ground.

Although she remained silent, Hermione was screaming her lungs raw inside of her chest, a constant noise vibrating through her ears that made it extremely difficult to think clearly. Over the years she had found herself in a great deal of tricky situations, and with luck, skill and talent, she had always managed to get herself out of them (with a little help from Harry and Ron, of course) even when it appeared to be a case of achieving the unachievable. Nevertheless, the fact remained that she had not been facing the impossible back then; just immensely difficult circumstances. It had dawned on her that this, here and now was the absolute definition of impossible.

She had no wand.

She had no weapon.

She had no friends to protect her.

No Harry. No Ron.

Screw the legendary Gryffindor bravery; death suddenly seemed like the most appealing option in the world.

"My Lord." She heard a familiar voice which pulled her out of her unconsciousness. It was the same haughty and aristocratic voice, she had heard so many times.

"What do you want , Young Malfoy?"

"Revenge." He said in a voice full of malice. "The MUDBLOOD has dared to stand against me several times and I wish to punish her myself."

It wasn't unexpected for Hermione to expect such thing from Bellatrix or Lucius Malfoy. But she had not expected Draco to take part in her torture. At least, he could give her an easy death . He wasn't like Bellatrix.

"I can do that.." Bellatrix was cut short by Voldemort.

"Bella, you have had your fun. Let Draco have his." With a final crucio  which lasted longer than the other Hermione heard Bellatrix move farther away from her. She took a long breath in her aching lungs as another pair of feet approached her.

Draco knelt down on his hinges as he pulled her hair to lift her face so that she was looking in his eyes. There was something in it that she hadn't seen before. Regret, apology , two things that didn't go well with Draco Malfoy.

"I am sorry." He whispered before sending a bone breaking hex on her wrist. She screamed out in pain.

The pain she understood but the apology she didn't. With her hair he pulled her on her feets. As his hands slid under her bloodied shirt, Hermione's eyes grew wide. Not because he was assaulting her but because she felt him tuck a wand on her jeans waist and her beaded bag. He smirked at her and whispered, "Good Luck, Granger. Make the world a better place." He kissed her forehead,  pushed her back and raised his wand as a golden light shot through it.
She saw everything in slow-motion. Voldemort screaming and sending a green light at Draco, his body hitting the ground as the golden light surrounded her and enveloped.

The last thing she remembered before losing herself to death was a face. It had to be death since, there was no other way she could have seen him.

"Remus."