Chapter 12

                                    

                                          
It was a trap. 
Xenophilius Lovegood - It was a trap, all of it. 
Stupidly, Hermione had voiced the idea that she wanted to go and see Xenophilius Lovegood in the interim since they had no clue where the next Horcrux was. While she was reading the book about Dumbledore, she saw a letter he wrote to Grindelwald with the same mark she'd found in Beatle and the Bard and on the graveyard in Godric's Hollow. Harry even saw it outside Gregorovitch's wand shop. And he'd seen it first around Xenophilius's neck at the wedding.
When Harry had been hesitant, Ron had idiotically suggested a vote and he was the only one who voted.
They went anyway and Xenophilius was kind enough to inform them of the mark's meaning. The symbol of the Deathly Hallows. 
The Deathly Hallows were a legend that came from the story of the 3 brothers. 3 brothers used magic to cross a river and were greeted by Death who'd been angry that the brothers had been clever enough to evade him as travellers usually drowned in the river. As a reward, the brothers could ask for anything from Death. The first brother asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. The second brother asked for the power to recall loved ones from the grave. And the third brother asked for something that would allow him to go forth without being followed by Death. 
The symbol represented those 3 objects. The Elder Wand. The Resurrection Stone. The Cloak of Invisibility. Together they make the Deathly Hallows. Together they make one master of Death.
And then suddenly everything started to make sense. Everyone thought the Hallows to be legend, but they were real. Harry had the Cloak of Invisibility and as for the Elder Wand...that had to be the wand Voldemort was looking for, the wand that Grindelwald stole. What else would a dark wizard want so desperately other than the most powerful wand ever made? Draco's theory was right. She had to tell him if he didn't already know. 
They'd got what they'd come for, but as they tried to leave, Xenophilius wouldn't let them. It was then that he'd revealed that Voldemort had taken Luna because the Death Eaters had been angry with him about what he'd been writing in the Quibbler, and as angry as they were, they wanted Harry more. 
The house was attacked and subsequently destroyed by Death Eaters in the minutes following the revelation. 
The trio escaped then. They escaped only to be caught again. 
They'd Apparated to the same part of the forest they'd stayed in when Ron left, except people were waiting for them.
"That treacherous little bleeder! Is there no one we can trust?" Ron asked after they landed.
"They kidnapped her because he supported me," Harry defended. "He was just desperate." 
"I'll do the enchantments," Ron volunteered. Except, as he walked down the hill, someone emerged from under the camouflage they were hiding under. Three someones.
"Hello, beautiful," said a Snatcher as he leaned against a tree near Hermione and she flinched back. 
How could she be so stupid?! Could she be any more of an idiot?! This was the same Snatcher who'd smelled her perfume through her enchantments. This was the same Snatcher who now wore the scarf that Hermione tied around a tree as a marker for Ron. This was the same Snatcher who was now going to kidnap them. She was so stupid. 
And they ran for their lives. 
"Well don't hang about. Snatch them!" 
And the Snatchers gave chase, firing Incarcerous curses as they pumped their legs and swung their arms as fast as they could go. 
Ron was the first to fall as chains were wrapped around him.
Hermione had never been more scared as she ran down a hill to see three Snatchers running at her. There was no choice. They were going to get caught. But if they were going to get caught, she could at least buy them some time before they realised who they caught.
Hermione whirled as Harry came sprinting down behind her. And she fired a Stinging jinx at his face as he fell to the floor. 
Hermione was quick to snatch his glasses from his face as she stuffed them into her bag before sliding the emerald ring off her finger and tucking it into her bra. But she didn't put her ring away without first screaming, "DRACO! Draco, if you can hear me, I need your help. We've been caught by Snatchers. Draco, please!" 
"The Hallows exist!" Harry blurted as he sat up. "But he's only after one of them, the last one. He knows where it is. He's going to have it by the end of the night. You-Know-Who's found the Elder Wand." 
Hermione didn't get a chance to process what he said as someone grabbed her arms and forced her to her feet. 
"Don't touch her!" Ron growled as he was hauled towards them and Hermione bucked in the arms of her captor as Harry was lifted to his feet. 
"What happened to you, ugly?" the Snatcher asked Harry but the creature that held him also turned to answer. "No, not you. What's your name?" 
"Dudley. Vernon Dudley," Harry answered, his face swollen by Hermione's jinx which was a bloody clever move on her part.
"Check it," ordered Scabior, the Snatcher, before he approached a struggling Hermione. "And you, my lovely, what do they call you?" 
"Penelope Clearwater, half-blood," she answered, feeding them a fake name of a real witch since everyone only tended to care about what Harry looked like and not the two friends he kept for company. 
Hermione held her breath. She didn't dare move as Scabior cupped her cheek before he leaned in close and sniffed her. And it felt nothing like when Draco inhaled her scent. 
Her one saving grace was when another Snatcher looked up from the tiny book in his hand and announced, "There's no Vernon Dudley on here."
"Hear that, ugly? The list says you're lying. How come you don't want us to know who you are?" one of the Snatchers asked Harry. 
"The list's wrong. I told you who I am," Harry strained.
Hermione began to fight again as Scabior moved one of his Snatchers out of the way to finally get a good look at Harry's mangled face. His wand lifted the locks of hair that covered Harry's forehead where you could see the faint outline of a scar. 
"Change of plan," Scabior said. "We're not taking this lot to the Ministry." 
********************************
Hermione's heart was in her throat as they walked the stone pathway between the aisle of hedges. 
Malfoy Manor. That's where they were being taken. 
The undiscovered emerald ring dug into Hermione's skin as she hoped Draco could hear her even if it weren't on her finger. "Draco, please hear me. We're at the Manor. They're taking us to the Manor. They don't know they've got Harry Potter but they suspect it. Please, Draco. Please hear me." 
She may have been there, but before, Bellatrix's beady stare was never on her. Now, as the crazy witch stood on the other side of the ornate metal gates, Hermione couldn't help the fear that began to build. 
Harry was forced towards the gate as they lifted his hair for Bellatrix to see. "Summon the Right Hand. Summon Draco, now," she ordered as she touched her wand to the gate that sprung open.