Hermione's P.O.V
“Hermione, I found a countercurse. You can tell me what happened,” Draco said, waving his book around.
“How does it work?” I asked, moving to his side.
“This says it's painful for a few seconds. You're supposed to lay down first then I'll say the indication,” he replied.
“H - how bad is it?”
“I'm not sure, but it won't last too long,” he replied.
I took a deep breath, mustering up what was left of my courage, and laid down. He muttered the indication a few times before looking back at me.
“Ready?” He asked.
“As I'll ever be.”
He quickly muttered the indication. I felt a sharp pain in my head, but it only lasted a few seconds.
“Did it work?” Draco asked.
“Ron went evil,” I said quietly. “Yeah, it worked.”
“Will you tell me what happened?”
I fidgeted a bit with my fingers. I knew this would come. He’s wanted me to tell him since I got here.
“I'm gonna cry if I tell you,” I stated.
“That's alright.”
I took a deep breath.
“It all started when Hagrid carried Harry's body out of the forest. Once I heard Harry was dead… I tried to get some comfort from Ron. He realized we lost the war, and he was a pure blood. He would be safe if he got the mark and found a way to help the dark lord.
“Well, he had an idea. When I went in to hug him, he threw me to the ground. I didn't know what to do. My wand dropped a few feet away from where Rob pinned me down. I ended up being captured and Ron made a deal with the dark lord.
“He started his company. I was the first Mudblood, then more came, and more. He named the company 394, to ruin every last good memory we had together. All of the Mudbloods were kept in cages, like dogs.
“We were beaten every day, over and over. I saw many of the others go to complete insanity. I was Ron’s favorite, as I was the only one to survive this long. I think he did that on purpose, but I really couldn't be sure.
“We had to follow rules. If we slipped up, hours upon hours of torture. Some rules were simple, easy, while others, not so much. The number one rule was your always fine. The list of rules go on forever.
“One day, I got lucky. I was able to escape by stealing a hair pin from the girl next to me and picked the lock. I didn't even make it to the door before I was hit with the cruciatus. After that, Ron started to brand everyone with the numbers 394. If one of us would get lucky enough to escape, we would be brought right back. Since that moment, I got tortured far more often. Each slave there was also tattooed with their owner's name.
“Beaten, cursed, cut, broken, they got pretty creative with the torture. All until I escaped again. I made it a block, before Ron slammed me to the ground. He told me I was going to be killed that day. The pain I felt in that moment, realizing I would have been done, never felt pain, then throwing it away. I was taken to an auction and sold.
"This is the longest I've been without being tortured to the brink of death in years."
I'd already had tears streaming down my cheeks. I pointlessly wiped the tears away just to have more come in it's place. Draco wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. He let me cry, something I was not allowed to do with Ron.
I cried silently and tried not to shake too much. I felt somewhat safe in Draco's arms. I cried for a while before I slowly started to fall asleep.
~ * ~ * ~
Something shook my shoulder. I shot up on the bed, breathing heavily.
“Hermione?”
I looked up to see Draco's confused face.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
I sighed in relief.
“Yeah, I'm fine,” I breathed.
“Mother wants you to come to dinner,” he stated.
“Me? Why?” I asked in a panicked tone.
“She wants to see you, as proof that I have you here. I've already got clothes for you,” he replied.
“A - alright.”
He left a dress for me on the bed before he left the room. I quickly changed into the dress. It went down to my feet. It was emerald green with silver lace.
It was a few minutes before Draco came back in, holding a pair of muggle crutches.
Before I could question him, he used a spell on my hair. It straightened completely.
“Take these,” he ordered, handing me the crutches.
I took them and stood up with only a little trouble.
“Hermione, we need to go in a minute so I need to tell you a couple things. I won't be nice to you when we go out there, if worse comes to worse then I might have to hurt you. Just know, I don't mean any of it. I will explain more later. Only speak when your spoken to and always answer. Lastly, only call me sir or master, nothing else. Now we need to leave,” he rushed.
We left the room. I struggled a bit with the crutches as we went downstairs. When we made it to the dining room, I was trembling.
“Calm down a bit,” Draco whispered.
We went in. I was completely shocked when I saw Luna next to Narcissa. She didn't look too well at all, just as bad as I did. I pulled out the chair for Draco and one for myself.
I ate the little food I was given throughout the meal. Luna and I stared at each other until Narcissa spoke.
“Do you two know each other?” She asked.
“Yes, Ma’am,” we replied at the same time.
“Oh, you may talk if you-”
“No, no they may not,” Lucius cut in. “They are merely slaves. They may not socialize.”
He stood from his seat and pulled me from mine. I was suddenly terrified.
“This thing is not a person. It is nothing. I can do what I want to it because it does not matter. Observe.”
I hadn't seen it coming. His fist collided with my jaw, making me fall to the ground. My lip busted, I choked on blood for a moment.
“Pathetic,” Bellatrix sneered.
I slowly made it to my feet, grabbed my crutches, and left the room without a word. I rushed back to the room. I went to the bathroom and let the blood spill from my lips. I looked in the mirror. I had a huge bruise forming on my jaw. My lip got cut on my tooth making it bleed.
Once I got it to stop bleeding, I went back to the room. I hid my face in my hands and tried to keep from panicking.
It was around twenty minutes before Draco came in. He shut the door, put up a silencing charm, and sat by me.
“Are you alright?” He asked, gently lifting my head from my hands.
“I'm fine.”
“Just… don't say that. It makes it harder for me to tell if you are okay,” he told me.
I nodded.
He winced a bit, seeing the bruise. He used a few charms and the pain vanished.
“Good as new,” he muttered.
“I don't understand how you came from a line of such psychopaths,” I stated.
“Is that your way of saying you like me?” He asked with a smirk.