Chapter IX

                                    

                                          
Human nature will not easily find a helper better than love.
- Plato (Symposium)
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"Corker..absolute corker." Hector was exclaiming, while Vladislav paced around in the foyer, impatient for the man to arrive. 
                          
Hermione was roaming about the room freely, since she was so out of her senses her captors weren't afraid she was going to make a run for it. 
                          
"Maybe you should do masks!" she said excitedly.
"That's actually a pretty good idea." Hector said confidentially to his friend.
                          
"You knobhead, do you still think we're gonna give her back?" Vladislav bared his teeth at him, annoyed at his dumbness, "Although, from what she revealed, she is a mudblood, but I don't have the liberty to be picky at the moment." 
                          
He looked around at her and his eyes burned as his mouth watered. Hector followed his gaze and there was a different kind of hunger in his eyes. 
"V.D. , before you juice her...could I have a go at her?"
                          
"Hells naw!"
                          
Before the two men could get into an argument, there was the sound of movement outside the door and they readied themselves to attack any intruder, or if it was the man with the ransom. But it was only one of their fellow thugs- Mundungus Fletcher. 
                          
"Whaddup, faggots?" He chewed a bit of tobacco and spit. "What do we have here?"
                          
"Check it out, we caught a real good fish." Hector pointed to Hermione. "We have already made the ransom call. He is gonna arrive with the money and we're gonna flog him too!" Vladislav added. 
                          
"I wanted to take her once before V.D. could suck her dry, but he won't let me-"
                          
"I don't fuck with your food, do I?"
                          
Mundungus looked at them impressed, "Wow, you managed to do this and in such a time as this? I have my fare share of crimes, little looting and blackmailing here and there but I ain't done no kidnapping before. And a girl no less-"
                          
But when he got a good look at Hermione, his words choked in his own throat and he doubled up in fear and shock. "Blimey! What the devil have you done?!"
                          
"What? What are you on about?" The two other men asked, confused.
                          
"You two wankers have got us in a real fix! Don't you recognise who this is? She's that Hermeeone Granger, or something like that, I don't remember. But the point is, she's friends with the Boy. Harry Potter! She is one of the Golden-trio. Oh and should I mention, she played a key role in bringing down You-Know-Who!"
                          
The three of them looked at each other with horror written on their faces, while Hermione continued to grin, enjoying their strife.
"What have you done with her? Why is she looking like she has lost her marbles?" Mundungus inquired, inspecting the oddly-behaving girl.
                          
"We gave her some Veritaserum..."
                          
"It don't look like no Veritaserum..."
                          
Vladislav shot Hector a look who helplessly rounded on Mundungus. "I only made her drink the potion that you sold me, bruh."
                          
Mundungus slapped a hand on his bald head. "Oh, that's no good. That was an adulterated concoction." He shook his head and bustled off to another room. "Let me see wha I can do..."
                          
Since the two men were looking towards the third to bring them some solution to this problem, they didn't hear another man entering the house through the open door. 
                          
As they turned around again, they were too shocked and surprised to move. Standing in front of them was Severus Snape; his expression a mixture of confusion, curiosity, frustration and indignation.