December 18; 4:13am
Hermione fully believed she was floating in an abyss of darkness, until the sound of waves broke through her muted ears. There was a line of grey at the bottom of the darkness, disappearing as she furrowed her brow in pain. Her body felt drained and useless, head under in a well of exhaustion, and she ached. The world lurched with a sudden wash of water and she could feel wetness dot her cheek. There was a constant woo-chuh, woo-chuch from what she knew were the paddles, and the boat she must be on lurched again.
She opened her eyes to sunlight, dark brown wood, and the length of an arm. She breathed in deeply, tasting salt, and something squeezed her hand. The sensation brought a sting of pain, and she blinked furiously, clearing the haze to focus on the hand slipping away from hers. Both hands were dirty, brown embedded within the wrinkles of knuckles and lining fingernails. Their palms were deep shades of red, inching onto the back of their hands in dried rivers, and almost black in the webbing of their fingers. It didn't work, she knew. She could tell by the thickness of the fog settling into her brain, and the slow stuttering of her heartbeat.
"What are we going to do with them?" She froze at the voice, shutting her eyes, and his hand stilled against her fingertips. She needed a plan. She needed to move.
"As soon as we're past the enchantments, we're going to clean them so there's no evidence. They'll be dead in an hour, tops, I reckon. We'll throw them over, and we'll go...wherever or whenever we want." Rich laughter followed, joyous and triumphant, and Hermione could feel the anger begin to swell inside her stomach.
"Think they'll swim to shore?"
"Haven't got a chance. We'll Obliviate them in case any of the local lot find them before they hit the bottom, but look at 'em. Not a way they're reaching the island. Try your wand."
There was a brief flash of color, and she could feel the weight of grime leave her, her shirt no longer sticking to her skin. She could feel something wet slide across her chest and down her side, and knew it was blood coming from her numb shoulder and ribs. Pain blistered out around that merciful numbness, but these wounds were meant to spread and could never heal. She and Malfoy would be skeletons within
- 6 -
hours, and it was all his fault.
