Chapter Text
here’s a link to the art piece for Imprisoned, done by Imperiness
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cap2-pNJyFQ/?utm_medium=copy_link
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They’re coming for me.
Hermione lay on her side on the stone floor of the dungeon, the cold sinking into her body. The cell was almost pitch black with no lights, not even a window, save for the faint stream of light from the stairwell.
She clung on to the hope she would be rescued. Her throat was raw from the screams that had been ripped from her body. The bleeding had stopped on the wounds Bellatrix had inflicted on her. Dried tears stained her cheeks.
They’re coming for me.
Her thoughts were in disarray as the night played through her mind.
The forest. Snatchers. Bellatrix.
An agony she had never felt before as the knife pierced her skin. They way Bellatrix had gleamed as she carved into her flesh as if she were made of clay. Ron, as he had broke out of hiding from and charged at Bellatrix in a desperate attempt to save her.
They’re coming for me.
When the chandelier had crashed down, Bellatrix hadn’t released her grip. She had her fingers twined into Hermione’s hair and she had dragged her back with her. Hermione tried to twist away but she couldn’t break her hold.
The gap between herself and her friends had seemed enormous.
“Go!” Hermione had screamed at them, begged them to leave her. They needed to save themselves.
And so they did. They left her, their pained expressions burned into her memory. Unspoken promises they would come back for her.
With a crack, they disapparated with Dobby.
Bellatrix's fury was unleashed onto Hermione. Pain had erupted through her body from the cruciatus as Bellatrix screamed “Crucio!” over and over again.
Fresh tears rolled down Hermione’s cheeks as she remembered how her body had twisted in agony as the spell ripped through her. It had felt like her muscles were going to rip themselves apart, her body convulsing from the agony.
And as Hermione was in a broken heap on the floor at the witch’s feet, she had been faintly aware of Draco Malfoy finally moving to stand between them. She couldn’t hear what he had said, but his low words it seemed to appease the furious woman.
They’re coming for me.
Her body still throbbed in lingering pain from the cruciatus. Her fingers twitched on their own accord.
Quiet footsteps could be heard descending the stairs, but Hermione remained motionless on the floor.
There was a heavy silence.
“They aren’t coming for you,” she heard Malfoy say quietly from the iron door. His steps retreated and she turned her face into the stone, hot tears pricking her eyes.
They left me.
The silence of the dungeon was so quiet it was deafening. The darkness seemed to push on her senses from all sides. She was completely entombed in her thoughts, alone. How much time had passed?
Had they forgotten about her? Her chest ached as she thought of her friends. She prayed they were trying to find a way to help her escape, but her rational mind knew they had to focus on finding the remaining Horcrux.
And what about Bellatrix? The Malfoy's? Maybe they planned to leave her in the dungeon to rot.
Hermione didn’t know if it had been hours or days since she was put in the dungeon. Since that first night no one else had come down the stairs. She only lifted her aching body from the floor to relieve herself in the bucket that was shoved in the corner, before dropping back down into a heap.
The room was enchanted; she could feel the pulse of magic around her. The room seemed to repress all of the magic from her body and she felt its loss. She knew she couldn’t apparate even if she had wanted to. Even if she could, she was to weak to do it safetly.
By the third day – or what she assumed was the third day- she finally heard steps descending the stairs. The metal door swung open, scraping across the floor. The sound grated her ears and her head throbbed from the harsh sound.
The steps approached and paused behind her. There was a clatter of something being set on the floor behind her. The steps retreated and she was once against alone.
Hermione slowly rolled over, looking at the object that had made the noise.
A plate of food; it appeared to be bread and soup. The steam from the bowl wafted around her and she closed her eyes tightly as her stomach growled. Her eyes stung again with unshed tears as she rolled back over, tucking her hands under her head to keep it off the stone floor.
Hours passed in mind numbing silence and she awoke to the sound of the gate grinding open again.
Steps approached.
They halted behind her somewhere. She could hear the rustle of their robes as they bent to pick up the plate.
Hermione reacted on impulse; she flipped over to her back and her hand snatched the robes of the person behind her. She used their weight counterbalance as she pulled herself to her knees, swinging her fist through the air blindly in the dark. Her hand connected with their face and when they grunted, she swung again. They fell backwards to the ground as they dodged her hand. She briefly caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the dark as she launched herself past him, her eyes set on the open door.
“GRANGER!” Draco roared as he grabbed her ankle, sending her slamming to the ground face first. Her head spun it collided with the stone floor, tasting blood in her mouth. She tried to kick her leg free, but his fingers gripped harder. His other hand caught her other leg as she kicked at him.
“LET ME GO!” Hermione screamed at him as he dragged her back towards him. She bucked her legs in a desperate attempt to free herself, staring at the open door just feet away.
Her fingers dug into the cracks of the stone floor. His hands roughly grabbed her shirt and jerked her further away from door. She snarled at him as he released her legs and then forcibly rolled her on to her back, his hands snaring her wrists as she swung her fists at him again. He slammed them to the ground, hovering over her.
“Fucking stop,” He hissed as she bucked under him, twisting her arms until the pain exploded in her shoulders.
“Stop it, Granger.” He warned her again and she ignored him, blind with rage and panic. The adrenaline pushed her through the pain as she lifted her head and slammed it into his face. He cursed and quickly rose to his feet, her wrists still in his iron grip. He dragged her across the floor unceremoniously as she flailed.
“Let me go, please!” She cried, terror ripping through her body as he shoved her against the wall. He transferred one of her wrists so his long fingers wrapped around both of her wrists, and with his free hand he reached up to the wall.
Metal grated against the stone wall as he pulled down a pair of iron cuffs, which he deftly put on her wrists. As soon as he released her hands, they fell to the ground next to her body from the weight of the heavy chains.
Draco stepped back from her and pressed the back of his hand to his bloody nose. She could barely make him out in the dark, his blonde hair seeming to glow of its own light and the blood on his face stood out harshly against his fair skin that was pale like the moon.
“Please, Malfoy. Please—“ Her voice broke as she looked up at him.
“Try something like that again and we are going to have problems,” Draco said darkly, his eyes glinting dangerously through the dark.
He turned on his heel and strode over to the plate and bowl, which had been knocked over during her attempt to escape. He withdrew his wand and waved it, the discarded food disappearing. He picked up the dishes and looked back at her once more before striding from the room.
The gate slammed shut behind him, the lock grinding into place.
A wry smile touched her lips as she stared at the door and listened to his receeding footsteps. She felt the cold metal against her wrists. He could have left the cellar door wide open and she would not have been able to do a damn thing about it.
As she slunk against the wall, her body felt heavy with new pain and a sense of dream. Her head throbbed from head butting Draco. Her knuckles hurt. Her ankles burned from where his cold hands had gripped them.
Her whole body was screaming at her.
They’re coming for me.
She didn’t when she drifted to sleep while sitting against the wall, but she heard the door open again. How long had she been asleep? She was losing her sense of time.
Steps approached her, this time pausing several feet from her. She finally opened her eyes to stare at Draco as he set down another plate of food, shoving it towards her. He reached into his robes and pulled out a small glass jar, sliding it towards her as well. Without another word, he rose to his feet and left her alone in the darkness again.
Hermione turned away from the plate and jar, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, desperately holding on to the glimmer of hope that rang in her mind.
They’re coming for me.