LUST | dramione

25 | Furnunculus

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C H A P T E R  T W E N T Y - F I V E | Furnunculus

spell. produces boils on opponent.

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SHOUTING PRECEDES A BLINDING LIGHT.

Hermione rubs her eyes and curls instinctively into the corner of the chamber where she's been held for what seems like a lifetime. Astoria has given her two meals in this unknown time span, both consisted of the same dry, crusty bread, some hard cheese, and a soup made from a meaty broth. She's scarfed down every bite, despite the bland saltiness, but Baby G continues to kick restlessly.

So, when the bright light floods the chamber for a third time, she demands freedom as loudly as she can muster.

"Merlin, Greengrass. She looks awful."

A darkened figure blocks out the radiant glow as it drops down in front of Hermione. The touch of cold flesh on her forehead is unexpected, but a relief. She leans into the hand, ignoring the fact that she recognized the accusatory voice as that of Y'Zara.

"It's not like she's dead. I gave her enough food to survive." Astoria sighs and stalks off, taking her intense light with her.

Y'Zara steals back her hand and sighs.

"Would you like to leave this place, Hermione?"

Her stomach aches as she ignores her own wants and instead demands to know where Theo is.

"For the stunt he pulled, hiding you away from the pack, he had to be punished. I assure you that he is alive, though. So, what do you say? Want to help us end this mess?" She rises and extends a hand down.

Hermione stares at the offering and finally takes the other woman's hand in hers. For the first time in conscious memory, she sees the interior of the place where she has been held. A ramshackle structure built from rotted wood and ancient stones. Dark straw litters the floor as if they were in the Middle Ages and a roaring fire burns in the enormous mouth of the hearth.

"Hey, Granger. Come eat." Y'Zara calls her over to the makeshift kitchenette across the room.

Beside the fire is a couple of trestle tables, a few opened crates and some dishes litter the uneven surfaces. A young girl, younger than even Hermione, stirs a large pot that hangs over the fire. She points her wand at the flames and with a flick of her wrist, the flames begin to lick the pot eagerly, and after a final stirring, she flicks her wand again, dousing the flames to embers with an unspoken spell.

"The supper is ready, ma'am." The girl's eyes are dark, the exact shade of her tangled hair. Her gown was once white, but through the grime and filth, it has taken on a shade of muddy water.

Y'Zara has the girl serve everyone before sending her away. To where? Hermione isn't sure, but she ascends the staircase and does not return, even when the dinner has been eaten.

With bellies fuller than they were thirty minutes past, Y'Zara reiterates her plans for capturing Lucius.

"We have yet to find Draco or Lucius, and with you and Narcissa in our safe house -"

"Narcissa is here?"

She has no clue where the Malfoy matriarch could be, but Hermione rises with great speed, intensely worried that Narcissa has experienced a fate worse than her.

"Astoria brought her to us just a few days before she captured you. She has yet to yield results that are satisfactory, though, so you were necessary for our success." Y'Zara picks at her teeth with a toothpick as she listens to Hermione's next question.

"Why her? Astoria, I mean? What's her role in all of this? I don't recall what I ever did to deserve so much hatred from her." Hermione hasn't seen the girl since she was released from the chamber.

"What she wants is simple - to marry her beloved Draco, but in order to do that, she must make sure that he is safe and alive. She joined our cause to protect him in exchange for his father. Not so much unlike yourself. You may be having his child, but she plans on clamping him down with the good old ball and chain method." Y'Zara flicks the toothpick onto the floor to be buried amongst the rushes.

Looking away, a sudden aching pierces Hermione's heart, similar to the first time she saw Draco after the winter holiday ended; angry, bitter, and hurt.

Y'Zara turns the conversation to Lucius.

"Now, Lucius was last seen by our trackers in Hogsmeade that claim they saw the weasel slithering up to Hogwarts late last night. I obviously cannot enter the grounds, so I am sending you and Astoria to find him. It will be a joint operation. However, should either of you find him, the orders are the same. Disarm him, Stupify the sorry son of a bitch, and bring him to Malfoy Manor."

Y'Zara rises from her chair and she extends her hand to reveal Hermione's wand. As Hermione tries to grab it though, the other woman pulls it out of her reach.

"I must warn you, though. If you fail to uphold your end of the bargain, I will not be there to save you, and Merlin knows Astoria won't take too kindly to that type of cowardice. I'm willing to bet that whatever she does to you will be worse than what you dealt with in the chamber." She extends the wand once again, a wicked grin crosses her face.

Hermione snatches her wand back before DisApparating to Hogsmeade, a bitter taste forming in her mouth. Under the cover of darkness, she finds herself on the border between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. The second that her foot falls on the other side of the threshold, wailing erupts from above, sirens alerting someone and everyone to her arrival. When she attempts to flee to the castle, she finds that her feet are stuck to the bricks beneath, as if glued to that very spot.

Her heart pounds as she searches around for the culprit of this trap, unsure of whether she should run or not. She doesn't have to because her captors reveal themselves shortly after her initial struggles.

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