Perfectly in Pieces

Chapter 15: Hermione

He hex's her mouth open as wide as it can go and ties her arms with the rope always attached to the posts of the bed.

"You love me, pet. I know you do."

Once he is sure they are tight enough, he moves over her, looking angrier than she has seen him in a long time.

She screwed up. She hesitated. Her voice had broken as she said the word, making it sound more like lurk than love. And he was now punishing her for it.

She can't even beg as he liked sometimes. She can't even scream with her mouth hexed like this.

He comes back into her vision and has a tool that she knows all too well due to her parent's occupation.

No, No, he isn't going to... No, please no.

Her thoughts are cut off as she feels the cold metal press into her gums as he situates the device around one of her molars.

"You love me, pet. I know it. Your body tells me every day, now we just need to train your mouth to do the same."

She starts screaming.

"Granger! Granger, wake up!"

She feels someone shaking her body, and she opens her eyes.

She is still screaming.

It was just a dream.

It was just a dream.

No pet. It was a memory.

She shuts her mouth as her eyes adjust to the dark, seeing Malfoy looking down at her. His blonde hair is all over the place from sleep, and he must have torn down the thin sheet divider between their sections of the tent.

"You're okay; it was just another nightmare. You're safe, you're safe, Granger." His hands wrap around her face and wipe away the tears. "Come here."

He pulls her into his lap, and she takes a deep breath of his mint scent as she wraps her arms around him.

He pulls away from her for a second to hand her a Draught of Peace, and she takes it.

This was now the 8th night in a row she had a nightmare.

The first one happened the night Theo left to cover Blaise's position at the base due to the France attack, and now it seemed they would be a nightly occurrence.

She had been hopeful at the beginning that she wouldn't have nightmares. She had gone two weeks without one. But it seemed like the less she heard the other hers voice in her head during the day, the more nightmares she had. Theo told her to take a dreamless sleep potion before falling asleep, but she was trying hard not to rely on potions. She was almost at her breaking point tonight, though. Maybe tomorrow, she would just take the damn thing before bed.

Her limbs start to shake less as the potion kicks in, and her crying settles to silent tears as she continues to see Dolohov's furious face staring down at her as pain radiated through her body at what he was doing.

"I'm here. I got you, Granger."

She feels his words against her neck at the place he always went to while holding her.

"It was the same one as yesterday."

"The tooth?"

She nods her head into his bare chest. He started sleeping without a shirt on, to her wonderful surprise. He admitted that usually, he didn't sleep with much on but had changed his sleeping attire since she had been joining him at night. She didn't think curling up in his arms could get better, but being pressed against his bare porcelain skin... yeah, it was better.