Manacled

Summary

A/n: I do not own any of the characters or the plotline, It all belong to JK Rowling and SenLinYu.

This is a SUMMARY of the first twenty-five chapters of Manacled. It is compiled under the assumption that the story has already been read at least once. This simply a recap in order to refresh the memory regarding the main plot points. However, I do recommend actually rereading the first 25 chapters if you can, the readers who have reread say that the recontextualization of the flashbacks makes rereading the story an entirely different experience, there are a lot of details interwoven specifically for that purpose.

"Sixteen months in solitary confinement with light and sound deprivation! By all counts she should be entirely insane, if not dead. There aren't even any records on her! As if you dropped her into a bottomless pit! Look at this file. Prisoner 187 in the bed next door! Do you see how many pages there are? Checkups! Blood reports! Mental health sessions! Prescribed potions! I even have pictures of her to see how she looked before you maimed her. This one here—nothing! She was recorded as being assigned to this prison, and then she vanished! No one has seen her! There isn't even any record of her eating anything! For sixteen months! Explain how this happened!"

Umbridge's simpering voice began wheedling, "There are so many prisoners here. It can hardly be surprising if one or two manage to fall through the cracks as Miss Granger did."

"Miss—Granger—," the other voice was suddenly horrified and stuttering. "As in THE Granger? You knew it was her! You tried to kill her."

"What? No! I would never—It is for the Dark Lord to decide their fates. I am merely a servant."

"Did you really think our Lord would forget about a prisoner like Hermione Granger? Do you think he will be forgiving if he learns what you did?"

"I didn't mean for it to go on so long! It was meant simply as a temporary situation. You don't know her. You don't know what she's capable of. I had to be sure she couldn't escape or reach out. The castle was still being re-warded. Then—then by the time all the preparations had been made—She—she had slipped from my mind. I would never defy our Lord!"

"The success of the enterprise our Lord has assigned rests upon your head and mine. If I discover so much as a hint that you have done anything else to undermine his agenda, I will report you immediately to him. As it is, Granger is now entirely under my jurisdiction. You are not to go near her without my permission. If anything else happens to her, by anyone else, I will assume you were responsible for it."

"But—but she has many enemies." Umbridge's voice wavered.

"Then I suggest you oversee your prison carefully. The Dark Lord named her specifically in his plans. I will throw you before him today if that's what it takes to succeed. I have worked longer and harder to get where I am than you have, Warden. I will not let anyone get in my way. Go process the rest of them. The Dark Lord expects a report on eligibility numbers tonight, and I've wasted half my day fixing your mistake."

✤

"You'll be here in the infirmary until the side effects from your torture sessions are fully relieved. I will also be bringing in a specialist to figure out what happened to your brain."

Hermione's eyes snapped open. "Is there—," she hesitated. "Is there something—wrong with me?"

The healer stared at her contemplatively before waving her wand over Hermione's head.

"You were kept in sensory-deprived isolation for sixteen months. The fact you're lucid at all is a miracle. The effects of such an experience can hardly be avoided, especially given the circumstances prior to your arrival. I imagine you studied some healing during the war?"