The room soon grew contaminated with the reek of whiskey. To be precise, the exact fume erupted when Malfoy stepped foot.
It didn't really come as a surprise.
Yet Hermione noticed the apparent problem in overconsumption, yet that was probably the least of Malfoy's worries.
"Alright, the dark lord wants us to ask an array of questions, so here we ask away." Andromeda spoke before Malfoy got the chance. She huffed out and rolled her eyes, as if this were the last place she wanted to stand.
Hermione couldn't help but notice the distaste in both their expressions. It wasn't just one, but both stood in front with looks of dullness for days. It was inevitable that they practically dragged their feet with every move. They didn't look alive, yet quite the opposite. Lifeless in fact.
Yet Hermione had a hunch that would happen when one serves for Voldemort himself.
There was slight similarity with every soul present from war. Yet the ones who caused all the havoc themselves shouldn't have looked as they did. They should have been striding along with bliss, yet the hue of grayish purple under their eyes was inevitable.
Malfoy's was darker shade of purple. An abnormal one.
Hermione was almost astonished by the lack of energy they radiated.
They were copies of the dark lord, they should have been celebrating the win of war.
Yet they looked awful, Malfoy especially.
~-~
"He looks different don't you think? Draco, he looks I'll."
"Hermione, what difference does it make?"
~-~
She remembered that moment with Harry in the hall. She had flashbacks from that time to now. Draco looked awful just as he did then. Yet somehow slightly worse.
"Right then, we better start now or we will never get a word out from this one." Andromeda spoke, signaling to where Hermione sat still and steady. She still hadn't spoken a word.
She wondered how long she could keep that going.
Andromeda grabbed a piece of parchment along with a quill as she sat in front of Hermione on the slightly rustic sofa.
"Lets start this simple, and I urge you to not turn it into anything more." Andromeda stated, almost warningly as she gave Hermione a cold stare. She was definitely not one for anything less than punctual.
Thats how Hermione once was, punctual, put together in a sense. Yet now she was barely able to let out a mere word. She never kept her mouth shut before. She always fought, and spoke her mind, whatever she pleased. Yet now she was shaking in her stance, she couldn't decipher if it was the current situation of deep interrogation, or the moments of battle, and blood shed that clouded her mind.
She just wanted it to stop. All of it in her mind to stop replaying on a spiral, she already lived right through it. Was that not enough?
Her mind of course said no.
She tried all she could to focus on her current state, yet the past was still taking its toll. She didn't want to catch herself staring off into the blank wall of nothing, yet it was either that or her gaze shifted to her arm, with apparent battle scars, in which she hated the look.
Especially the one that clearly spelt out mudblood. She constantly tried to cover it all that she could. It still stung at times.
"Alright let's start with basics." Andromeda spoke vividly, as Hermione slowly backed away to the furthest end of the seat.
"Tell me about the Horcruxes, what you know, about their location, anything that comes to mind."
Andromeda demanded an answer, yet Hermione did not have one that would please her.
She kept her gaze fixed on the ground underneath, as she considered the question. She did indeed want to know herself. She didn't, she couldn't. Any spare moment that took place with a Horcrux hunt, she was oblivious to. She barely knew a single piece of information about the objects, just simply what they were.
"Well, go on." Andromeda rapidly spoke, barely giving Hermione a minute to think.
She was highly impatient.
"Is this how you muggles talk? You all need days to mend a single sentence?" She asked slightly confused, yet regardless in a bitter manner. It wasn't a sincere question, but rather a blatant insult.
Hermione pierced her lips to speak, yet she gave thought before continuing. An amount of thought that apparently took up far too much of Andromeda's time.
"Listen here, I haven't all day to sit with you not helping in the slightest." She roughly announced as she used her pointer finger whilst she spoke.
"I will crucio it out of you If I must." She let out, with no ounce of hesitance in her words.
Hermione knew she would. She wouldn't think of it twice. Perhaps would even enjoy seeing Hermione squirm.
In that present moment she felt the burning eyes of Andromeda and Malfoy both staring at her all at once. The room grew heavy with the aggravation, as Hermione started running out of options. Andromeda scowled at her as she pierced her eyes as Hermione sat still.
They wouldn't let her keep quiet for long. She knew that.
"So help me, you do not want to keep playing smart." Andromeda practically threatened, as she inched closer to Hermione's being, to provoke a more startling stance.
No matter the words that Hermione spoke, it would not be a statement either one of them wanted to hear. They wanted answers she did not have to give. Even if she did, something told Hermione that she wouldn't even speak the truth.
Then again another voice told her that it didn't matter what happened here on out, she lost regardless. Either she helped them or lied beneath the Manors cellars for eternity. She with no doubt had a dark clouded perspective on the future.
Yet no one could possibly blame her, not after everything.
Her mind raced with the harsh words Andromeda spoke, accompanied with the lingering potent stench of alcohol Malfoy carried high. Smelt as if two bottles were poured out, and a window was closed shut, trapping in the fragrance.
It was aggressively potent.
She felt quite nauseous, she didn't know if it were the whiskey or the nerves building up. Either way she felt her fingernails dig into her skin, and jaw clench as her heartbeat spiked. This never used to happen, not even occasionally.
"I will rip right through you're brain right now, yet I am giving you the choice to share what you must, you have merely a minute more." Andromeda rapidly spoke once again, as she insinuated using legilimens on Hermione, yet now Hermione became more afraid. Her own mind started to scare her own self, the last thing she wanted was another pondering around.
Not after all the plotting and scheming she had grained within her core. She's probably had more than a dozen escape plans pondering through, and there were many that still poured there way in. Anywhere from merely running out, to climbing out the highly raised window. She even had the urge to attempt at reaching out for one of their wands and sprinting on foot right after.
All useless, and utterly unrealistic.
Yet they still played in her thought.
Several times.
Hermione took a stride to action. All that truly meant was she slowly shook her head in no.
Andromeda practically almost threw the quill across the chilled room.
"Do you not use words? What is a bloody subtle gesture going to tell me?" Andromeda announced aggravated as ever. Hermione could practically sense her hand ball into a fist, and the other reaching behind for her wand.
"I don't know." Finally, she spoke. Not words of bliss to either of their ears. Yet for the times being, Hermione assured herself that it were enough.
"Thats it? That is all you have to say?" Andromeda gestured out in a poor manner. She hovered over the pieces of parchment without a single thought to write down.
Hermione looked down at the deep creases her fingernails had imprinted. She did it now casually without even realizing the act, she easily bruised her palms as her nail tip harshly pressed down. She hardly felt a thing. Yet occasionally it was far too aggressive to where slight blood jolted out. Never anything extreme, yet still a shock when she glances down. Still hardly surprising to her at this point. It was quite familiar.
Still a distasteful sight.
"Dolohov told me your state from what Pomfrey had inspected, yet I don't trust her or your word for a slight moment." Andromeda spoke in defense. Even if she were to dwell into Hermione's thoughts a mere idea of a Horcrux most likely would not be uncovered.
In that sense even if legilimens were to be used she would most likely not struggle through. There wasn't much she could do if that was what they wanted to proceed on with. It was either that or they would turn to use torturous curse until she talked it all. Although she knew they were going by Pomfrey's word, since she took the full official inspection of her state. She explicitly stated using any form of physical persuasion, such as crucio would do nothing but make matters worse.
She had been showered with unforgivable curses to the point where the sensation was familiar yet rattling to the mind. She felt the apparent distaste as she could almost let out whatever she had eaten at the simple thought.
"I hardly even recall what that Dolohov spoke of. He said a million remarks Pomfrey had spoke of in regards to you're state." Andromeda huffed out, as she rested her head on her hand in agony.
I guess she wasn't aware that some had it far worse than she did.
She was in no shape to be the one who stood frustrated.
"Are you and that Pomfrey in on this rubbish together? lies is all she's feeding Dolohov, in which he then chats off to me?" Andromeda questioned, yet Hermione deems her clueless. Her and Pomfrey didn't do anything of the sorts. She was simply ordered to analyze her state since she had experience in that era of knowledge, yet even though she was on Hermione's side she didn't let out a word of untruthfulness. Hermione saw her look as the death eaters interrogated her for days, in which she immediately responded with all the answers. Pomfrey did indeed take a favoring to Hermione, yet not enough to risk her own life. Hermione didn't blame her one bit.
"Well, since you seem lost, use legilimens already, will you? It will save us both the time." Malfoy scoffed out to Andromeda, as he kept his view on the clock.
"That has already been tried, it was said that it did no use. If she hardly knows what a horcrux even is, what's the use in looking into her clearly empty head?" Andromeda bickered back, as she didn't take any regards to her voices volume.
She in fact did know the bases behind what a Horcrux was.
"I suggest you dig deeper, you have already lost the war, theres not much else going for you." Andromeda spoke down to Hermione. As bitter as they were there was slight truth beneath her statement.
"What was it again? That airhead Dolohov spoke to me of Pomfrey's exact analysis, although I deem it completely untrue, what were the potential reasonings?" She in utter aggravation asked Malfoy, he stared at her with complete boredom.
"Why are asking me? You just said Dolohov spoke to you." Malfoy said with cold blatant bitterness, as his expression remained the complete same, still and low.
"You are of no use as well." She rapidly huffed out, as he shook his head at the statement.
"The dark lord put me up with this task as well, I don't exactly think he would do such a thing If it wasn't completely necessary." He immediately fired back, as he bit back his teeth, taking complete offense to Andromeda's remarks.
"Well when I am not here, you need to do more than stand back and watch." Andromeda lastly said, as the sentence sent Hermione with a slight shiver down her spine. Being in the presence of the both of them were agonizing enough, yet now the possibility of being with one or the other alone were to mean a more secluded space, in which eyes would be on her and there was no way out of it. Not a distraction present.
At least with the both of them, they bickered on with one another which took her slightly out of the light, then again that was only if she were lucky. She hardly ever was.
At the end of the day she were there main goal. If the dark lord wanted something out of her, he were to get it. With the amount of loyal subjects he obtained, that was for certain.
She feared she hadn't seen the half of them, considering the amount that were present on the battlefield, he most likely recruited many more after the war to spare lives. Those whom he did not kill he took hold of and used to his advantage, that was the truthful thought.
"Then again how can I possibly put trust into the hands of a Malfoy who needs therapy." Andromeda rapidly spat forward, Hermione raised a brow looking down in confusion.
She thought she heard wrong. There was no possible way the statement lied truthful. Malfoy out of all people needs help in the mental department? He was the one who stripped the lives of those who did nothing wrong of the sort. The one who spilled blood for days, as he had no look of remorse afterwards. The one who stood by the dark lords side, and fought right by his every angle and stand.
He was the last person to need help recovering.
The ones who lost those who they held close needed help to heal. Those who fought on the right side--the decent side, they needed help in guidance to peace.
Not a Malfoy, they were a vast part of the problem.
"Well maybe if you weren't a coward you would know what war is like." Malfoy abruptly spoke in response, as they practically gave one another death glares. They didn't seem to favor eachother.
His tone was blunt and chilling. He was with no doubt utterly baffled by the statement. It looked as if he had just seen a ghost right when the words slipped Andromedas tongue.
Yet in no position was he quick to denounce the words she spoke of. Defensive? Yes, but in any moment were he to say it was not true? No. Hermione tried to conceal her shock. Therapy? She did not believe therapy would benefit on a worker for the dark lord. She matched it to be completely absurd.
"Isn't that what the daily prophets say? Draco Malfoy, the youngest murderer of his time, now hopeful to guidance in mental recovery, in hopes to be of useful service in the dark lords reign."
Malfoy looked as if he could run a blade right through her chest.
She was quoting the paper. How would information of such even get out?
Hermione did not obtain any recent daily prophets, yet by the statement, it seemed as if Malfoy having assistance in mental guidance, wasn't an option, yet an order.
By the looks of it he clearly had other instances besides being a murderer that were going on. Yet not even for a second did Hermione choose to believe that therapy would be beneficial. How does one who has shed as much blood as he get any sort of help? She had war marks as well. Every therapist in the world's capacity could not relieve an ounce of it.
Yet by the looks of it he were ordered to get guidance. It appeared it were an obstacle in the way of his dark work. Hermione scoffed at the idea.
"Why do you think the dark lord has us both on the job? He knows you can't handle it on your own, that you remain unstable. Thats why unfortunately I'm here." Andromeda spoke signaling the end of the conversation, as she rolled her eyes and placed them forward, back on Hermione.
Hermione was spiraling in a loop herself, yet she were piecing together Andromeda's words, trying to make sense of every minuscule event that surrounded.
"You are clearly not getting very far yourself, so what does it matter?" Malfoy snapped, as Andromeda didn't even bother to turn his way, she simply concentrated, as her forehead rested upon her fingers.
"Back to you, if you are simply going to sit still and barely mutter a word, at least tell me what you last remember." Andromeda demanded, as she kept her stance fixated on Hermione right across.
She did in fact have a vivid memory. Many to be exact. The one from war, they were still as raw as ever. As if the cuts and scrapes on her skin were new and fresh. As if the word mudblood was engraved upon her skin merely seconds ago. The memory of that mark forming was although quite hazy to her.
Yet it was still clear and present upon her skin. It occasionally bled at unforeseen times.
She remembered seeing her own peers fall flat--the sound on the very grounds, rattling from one ear to another, as it stung to bear. Realizing the life she once possessed, the one she grew familiar with was stripped away in a matter of days. Any familiar face she wanted ever so badly to turn to is now distant. The fact that it was just her, and she knew it was to be that way the moment she saw her best friends light leave his eyes. That in fact was a prominent memory that embedded within her mental capacity.
"You must have something in that useless muggle brain of yours." Andromeda ignited, as she proclaimed in frustration for an immediate answer. Hermione knew she could not go around the demand for answers.
"War, I remember war, thats it, thats last I see." Hermione eventually announced as Andromeda didn't look quite pleased. That wasn't going to suffice for Voldemort, he wanted specific answers, ones she did not have.
"Nothing more, not even a damn thing of a Horcrux?" Andromeda desperately executed as she looked at Hermione with wide eyes.
She did nothing but shake her head in no. She could practically feel Andromeda's jaw clench and parchment crumple up. The anger and despair she examined upon both Malfoy and Andromeda, composed fear in a sense. She truly did not want either one to perform the act of taking a glance from within her brain.
She indeed held schemes.
They would see escape plans running loose.
Internal screams being content, she didn't dare let them out.
They would find Hermione in a state that she never believed she would ever come to.
Not only did she get an idea of escape, yet she also thought of death being better than where she sat still. It was quite startling. It even scared Hermione herself. She was frightened by the loss of control over her every own mind. She constantly believed she was going mad.
The absurd amount of thinking she acted upon made her practically have a concussion.
"Well then, that doesn't help me in the slightest bit." Andromeda spoke, as she scoured the room in frustration.
"You are simply wasting time, I could have had every thought in her head placed out right in front if I just take a look." Malfoy demanded, as Hermione's body tried to shiver. She stopped it, yet at one point that reaction was out of her hands.
"No, Severus already had tried, she doesn't even obtain a useful thought in her dense brain-- that is completely useless." Andromeda fought against, yet at that point it appeared as if she just wanted to rebel against every idea Malfoy had.
Hermione was relived.
She still had the belief that it were to happen soon enough.
"Right then, I don't think I can go another second with this nonsense, not today at least." Andromeda spoke.
Hermione didn't believe she were done for the day.
She wouldn't rest for a second.
"I will go get Dolohov, see what nonsense Pomfrey fed him." Andromeda spoke as she abruptly rose up from the sofa and began down the corridor.
For a second Hermione felt a sense of relief as she didn't have someone bickering down her back. It made her tremble slightly less. She still wasn't alone, yet Andromeda was the one doing most of the talking.
She kept her gaze forward and low, as the room fell silent. The only apparent sound was the rush of heartbeat, and her occasional heavy pants. Her nerves acted upon all hours of the day, no mater the circumstance. She despised the feeling.
Malfoy stood off on the corner, as his whiskey stench filled the rooms space. Hermione now knew whom all those bottles belonged to.
Soon Andromeda waltz's in with Dolohov quickly following behind.
"I can't get a damn word of use out of this one, tell me everything Pomfrey inspected." Andromeda loudly announced, as Dolohov looked upon Hermione with utter distaste.
He took a good minute to scramble for words.
"She went on about how the dimwitted muggle could have either experienced an injury which resulted in memory loss, or some other nonsense." Dolohov spoke as Andromeda looked drained out at the mere sound of his voice.
"What else--go on." Andromeda rushed.
"The bickering woman also went on about how trauma is often suppressed in which one forgets moments slowly as their mind desires to simply--forget them." At this point Dolohov pulled out a crinkled piece of parchment, in which he just recited Pomfrey's prior words.
"Well in the midst of her rubbish did she give a mere suggestion? Mine will only result in this manor echoing with screams." Andromeda loudly spoke, as Hermione sat as still as one could.
"Not really, nothing useful that is." Dolohov scoffed.
Pomfrey's analysis confused Hermione. She didn't know which were to be true, yet the second depiction seemed a whole lot more realistic.
"I can't sit here all day, as she just sits without a thought in head." Andromeda spoke as she paced the cold room.
"I will bring the therapist--whatever her name was, I can't bare to sit here any longer for today, I will see if she could do anything useful."
Hermione practically huffed out at the remark. A therapist was not what she had In mind, she did not want to sit through that if she was anything like Andromeda.
"Since she is not sitting with Draco today, she must be free." She said as she turned to Malfoy, in which he shot a death stare in return.
"Of course you can't do a thing so you just call in help." Malfoy sneered as Andromeda clenched her jaws as if she practically had to restrain herself from drawing out her wand.
"At least I am mentally sane, unlike you." She snickered as she stormed out and headed down the hall as Dolohov went along with.
Hermione could practically sense Malfoy go ever more cold, if that were even possible. She could sense the rage spring off and reflect across the widespread room. His mental state triggered him into spiral, he hated being reminded of it, that was apparent.
"I should just take a look into you're minuscule brain myself, it will be a hell of a lot easier." He huffed out as Hermione kept her stance still. She despised that idea being brought to light, especially if a Malfoy were behind it.
"She just said it wouldn't even work." Hermione spoke up, as she had to defense against it, somehow.
"Yeah, well that witch doesn't know a thing, something you both apparently have in common, since you both agree." He snarled out as the insults grew more and more with her time being in that manor.
"That therapist doesn't know a thing either, she will only deem your brain dense as well." He spoke as Hermione took offense to every word he announced.
He would know much about the therapist, she attended to him as well. It still was a slight shock to Hermione.
~-~
"Draco, I think he's a death eater."
"Harry, thats quite the bold assumption, you don't know for sure."
"It makes sense."
~-~
Harry was always a step ahead.
She didn't believe it quite at first considering they were practically the same age, and it was by far a bold assumption, yet now the circumstance simply proved Harry to be correct all along.
"Just because you are afraid of one using legilimens upon you doesn't mean it won't happen, do not fool yourself, it's only a matter of time before it becomes an order." He bitterly spoke, as Andromeda's steps could be heard from the echoing halls.
Yet before she reaches, Malfoy eagerly steps to the other side of the room where the bottles lied. He rumbles through them all, till he finds one thats full to the brim. With no thought he pops the top and turns away as he gulps down practically half the glass bottle. He removes his lips from the opening, as he wiped the last drop that lingered upon his lip.
He chugged it ever so quick.
Hermione could see disgust fill his face as he takes the last swallow.
He didn't even take a stumble, nor a slip. That state was merely a normal one for him.
The rooms scent grew more potent, as the whiskey bottle stood more empty.
"We haven't a time to waste, Anna I gave you the background of it all, she's all yours till I can bear it again." Andromeda spoke as the woman appeared next at the doorframe. She resembled a slightly kinder approach, as her heels clicked against the cold floor, as she held herself high.
"Give me the report afterwords." Was last Andromeda spoke as she and Malfoy exited the room. As he went past Anna, she gave him a familiar smile, as he acted as if he didn't know the woman. He were ashamed to know a therapist. Hermione was ashamed that they shared the same one.
"Right then, I assume you are miss Granger." She spoke with a slight attempt at a grin, she looked drained as well, yet tried to cover it. Anyone who roamed the manors grounds had the same look. Hermione even adopted it herself.
"Right then, as Andromeda has told me you have memory loss, is that right?" Anna spoke as she sat down, and placed her sack right beside. Hermione gave a nod in yes.
"Well, there can be many reasons for that, hopefully I can uncover it, before someone else does in a more--forcefull way." She spoke nervously as the thought was clear.
"Lets hope you are slightly easier to comprehend than my other patients." She said in a stressed manner. Hermione couldn't uncover what she meant.
Did she have other patients bedsides her and Malfoy?
She considered the thought of their being other students, yet she didn't know who would exactly need immediate mental attention, in which would regard in assisting Voldemort's reign.
"Unfortunately most of them turn to substance for relief rather than I." Anna spoke as her eyebrows raised at the pile of empty,--half empty, and full whiskey bottles in the far off corner.
"Its a shame that it's what keeps some of them merely sane." Hermione noticed as she kept referring to them in a sense of that there were more, she wondered how many.
"Although I must admit some's state are worse than others." She spoke, as Hermione was intrigued to ask questions, yet didn't know how to form them out.
"Notice who left the room smelling the way it does." Anna almost whispers, as Hermione turns her gaze to the glass bottles.
She turns her glance back to the clock she constantly checked.
Time went by ever too slow.
She noticed Anna had documents of questions, in which they were filled out.
Malfoy's lied on top.
Some words in response were quite questionable.
She tried to make out the names on the other documents that lied beneath, as Anna scurried through all the pages. To see who else Anna was attending to, she was curious to see if they were someone she were familiar with.
She thought she could hardly make out the letter P on one of the names--perhaps a T on the other. She wasn't for certain.
Parkinson? T and N were perhaps the other initials. B and Z? The names were hard to see in the midst of it all.
They were vastly tossed around, yet she squinted and tried to piece together words. Tried to form names.
"Alright miss Granger, I am meant to give a proper statement by the end of our sessions to see you're overall progress."
She fiddled with her fingers as she itched the scrapes, and checked the clock tick as it rang in her ear.