Prisoner !

The grey and cold of autumn enveloped a reclusive and forgotten village in England. No one could have imagined that such a place could hide a place as important as it was strategic : the headquarters of one of the greatest black mages of all time.

Few people knew about this place, and this man who walked the halls of this estate was one of those exceptions. He was dressed in black, a hood over his head that camouflaged a thin silver mask. He moved with a steady, even hasty pace through the corridors and staircases of this castle.

This Death Eater had to waste no time, he had to take advantage of the absence of the Dark Lord and his servants to act. He had to seize the opportunity to strike a decisive blow against his Lord, to perhaps tip the balance in his favour.

Lord Voldemort had regained his full power and since then had been wreaking unprecedented terror on England. Whether it was on the wizarding or muggle side, no one escaped it. It all began when the dedicated Severus Snape eliminated Albus Dumbledore from the top of the astronomy tower at Hogwarts.

From that day on, Voldemort's loyal servants were able to commit a multitude of crimes with impunity. No one was spared, no mercy was shown, no matter if it was children, women or men.

The Dark Lord had made it clear that anyone who opposed his rule and refused to serve him would simply be executed. The wizards had, according to him, had enough time to consider his offer. As a result, Death Eaters had been sent out across the country to rally as many wizards as possible to the Dark Lord's cause or else be eliminated.

The battles were numerous and gruesome. They left countless corpses and ruins in their wake. With each victory, the Mark of Darkness darkened the grey sky, irrefutable proof of their passage.

This climate of terror became unbearable and many people sided with Lord Voldemort, swelling his Death Eater ranks. After all, the Dark Lord was not known for taking prisoners, and some wizards chose to save their lives rather than lose them in agony.

With Dumbledore's death, no wizard was safe. People began to distrust each other. Moreover, with no leader left, organising the fightback had been complicated. The Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic had been quickly overwhelmed. The few people still ready to defend their freedom had been sent to the four corners of the country. But it was this decision that undermined the entire resistance. While the Order's members were scattered across the country, the Death Eaters attacked the Ministry of Magic. Only this time, nothing could stop the attack.

The Ministry had simply been annihilated, leaving a pile of ruins and corpses.

This event was the death knell for the resistance : the Order was too weakened and could not fight the battle alone. The fight was now totally unbalanced and lost.

Voldemort's power was growing by the day, leaving a world of chaos and terror. The citizens of England were no longer safe if they did not support the Dark Lord.

The members of the Order of the Phoenix had to make the difficult decision to flee. They contacted various wizards in various European countries to organise their retreat and decided to establish their next base of operations in France. But as they made their escape to France, they were surprised by a Death Eater attack on the Order's headquarters.

Who could have betrayed them ?

But it was too late to worry about that, the members present had to face the attack. Many of them were able to escape and save themselves, but the majority were simply eliminated and some were captured.

And this is what happened to Hermione Granger.

After her hunt for Horcruxes with Harry and Ron, the young witch had joined the Order as soon as the Dark Lord came to power. For the next three years, she did nothing but fight his followers. She had witnessed many horrific scenes, had lost many of her comrades, but had always remained strong in the face of adversity. She had no choice but to toughen up.

But now she was a prisoner of the other side.

She had lost count of the days that had passed since her unfortunate capture. She had remained prostrate and huddled in her cell for a long time, minutes turning into hours and then into days. But nothing had happened since she had been thrown in there. Nothing. No torture, and yet she was terrified that this moment would come.

How many cruel reports had she read since the resistance began ? She knew, oh so well, that Death Eaters could enjoy practicing the Doloris spell on their victims. But it wasn't just this spell that was wreaking havoc on the minds of wizards. Hermione knew that some of the Dark Lord's servants could be inhuman, even complete psychopaths.

But no Death Eater had come to her cell. Especially since all the other cells around her were empty. The only living presence had been the house elf who appeared and disappeared after dropping off the daily food tray she was entitled to. The rest of the time, Hermione Granger was alone in her cell and there was no sound around her.

Today, however, something seemed different. For the first time in days, she heard a noise. She concentrated on the sound she heard and recognised the sound of footsteps coming forward. The pace was fast : who could be in such a hurry to get to her ?

Instinctively, all her senses went on alert, she didn't know whether to be reassured or frightened that someone was approaching. She held her breath as the door to the dungeon opened to reveal the dark figure of an individual. He was definitely a Death Eater by the look of his outfit as he stood motionless in the doorway.

After a brief moment, he entered the room and made his way to the only occupied cell. He stopped in front of the bars and watched the prisoner for a few seconds without saying a word.

Hermione didn't know when she had started breathing again, but being watched like this made her feel uncomfortable. She felt as if time had stopped and it was taking forever. But the wait suddenly ended when the Death Eater drew his wand.

The Gryffindor held her breath again as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. Was this the end of her fate ? Destroyed by an unscrupulous Death Eater ? What could she do to defend herself ?

Her mind was thinking of a thousand and one possibilities as she kept her eyes on her tormentor. But against all odds, he made a simple flick of his wrist and the door unlocked. He lowered his wand and stepped into the cell before crouching down in front of the young woman.

The latter was scrutinizing the individual's every move, her terror growing in her heart. Had she come across a psychopath who wanted to see her suffer ?

The man, for by his build he could only be a man, pulled back his hood before grabbing his silver mask and placing it on the ground. He thus revealed his face to the prisoner who went from terror to fright when she recognised him !

Him ! So he was her tormentor : Draco Malfoy ! Her worst enemy ever ! One of the Dark Lord's right-hand men was going to subject her to the worst punishments he was capable of !

The young man had changed a lot since they had left Hogwarts. His features were much harder, more mature. There was no doubt that Draco Malfoy was scarred by the war : there was no longer anything innocent or childish about his facial expression or his eyes. Even his hair had lost its blondness and had become almost white. His usually sleek hairstyle had disappeared in favour of short, messy hair. Seeing him like this, Hermione saw that he was nothing like the teenage Malfoy she knew.

— "Malfoy !" She exclaimed irreverently as her eyes darted to the wizard crouching before her.

As she recognised the individual, all terror in Hermione vanished and was replaced by an entirely different emotion. Perhaps it was the pride of being at the mercy of her worst enemy after the Dark Lord, but the young witch allowed herself to be overcome by the contempt and hatred she felt for the Slytherin. If she could have had the ability to kill him with a single glance, Hermione would have used that spell against him.

— "You come to do your master's bidding. And like the good dog that you are, you're going to obey him ?" She added angrily before spitting at him.

Draco Malfoy dodged the brunette's spit but did not retaliate. He remained unmoved, royally ignoring her sharp retorts. Being in the service of the Dark Lord had hardened him. He had learned never to react to the insults of opponents.

— "You either follow me or you die. It's up to you Granger," the blonde replied neutrally before reaching out to the witch as he stood up.

Hermione was shocked and even perplexed by the Death Eater's proposal. When she recognised her worst enemy, she had expected to see his haughty, narcissistic smile. She had even anticipated the torture he would inflict on her by calling her a Mudblood. But none of that was happening. On the contrary, there he was, with his hand outstretched, offering her to flee.

Was this a trap to bring her more terrible suffering ? Could he be telling the truth and really want to free her ? But if that was the case, then why ?

She was thinking fast, but had no way of getting answers to her questions. The only thing that came to mind was that she had a potential chance to leave this place, even if the help came from this despicable individual she hated.

It was then with great mistrust and self-control that Hermione grabbed the hand Malfoy was holding out to her before standing up. Malfoy seemed pleased with the witch's choice and said briskly :

— "Get ready to run like you've never run before."

No sooner had the young man finished this sentence than he heard someone enter the dungeons. The Slytherin reacted quickly, giving the person no chance to do anything against them. He held his wand out towards the torture devices on the wall and flicked his wrist. The blades, hooks and all the sharp implements went straight into the man's body and he had no way of avoiding the attack. His body was thrown backwards by the force of the impact of the weapons, which pierced many of his vital organs. No human could have survived such violence and his body fell lifeless in a pool of blood from his wounds.

— "Let's go !" Malfoy ordered before running towards the exit without a glance at the corpse.

Hermione had seen death before, but to witness the brutal death of a human being like this turned her stomach. She was glad that the wounds were hidden by clothing, but she could get a pretty good idea of the extent of the damage when she saw the lifeless body.

She didn't have time to think anything else as they heard more footsteps coming towards them. But that didn't stop Draco, who continued to run straight ahead followed by Granger. The former Slytherin held his wand out in front of him, ready to act.

And by the way, it was all happening very quickly, for no sooner had two Death Eaters appeared at the mouth of the corridor than they were buried under a pile of stone from the ceiling. Draco had not waited, when he saw them he immediately cast a spell towards the ceiling, causing the joints holding the stones to break. The stones crashed with a crash into the Death Eaters who succumbed without being able to avoid anything.

Draco showed no emotion as he stepped over the mangled remains of his mates without a hint of regret and continued his advance through the corridors. Hermione followed suit, but she struggled to suppress a gag as she spotted a bloody arm sticking out of the rubble. How could Malfoy not be sensitive to this sight ? The wizard really had changed since they were teenagers. He had become much darker, much crueler... and much more confident. Was it because he had become one of the Dark Lord's right-hand men that he had lost all humanity ?

Of course, Hermione had changed too. The war had made her tougher, more confident. But she had not become cruel and merciless to her opponents. No, Hermione had been imbued with Dumbledore's philosophy of giving everyone a second chance. And even though she had had to defend herself against servants of the Dark Lord over the past three years, it had always been difficult for her to accept that she had to take their lives, even in self-defence. But to see Draco act like this without any conscience only reinforced his dislike for the wizard and what he had become : someone cold, without moral conscience.

Several minutes passed without the two wizards encountering anyone else. They were still running through the long corridors, but Hermione began to feel out of breath. After all, she had been kept in this cell for several days with very little food to sustain her. She was not in as good a shape as the Slytherin who did not seem to be affected at all by this endless race. On the contrary, he was still able to regulate his breathing through his nose.

Yet Hermione took it in her stride and continued without complaint to follow the other wizard through the corridors with occasional stairs that seemed to go down instead of up, as if the exit was in the floor.

Suddenly, Draco Malfoy stopped his and Hermione's run with his arm. He didn't give her a single glance, making it clear that he would not answer the silent questions she was already formulating as a result of the sudden stop. The wizard was focused on the turn in the corridor, watching for the slightest noise or movement. He was on his guard because he thought he heard something.

He moved slowly forward, wand held slightly forward, and tilted his head to see the other corridor they were to enter. But he drew back sharply and brought his head to safety. No sooner had he made this movement than he was displeased to see a green spell brush past him before crashing into the opposite wall.

A damned unforgivable spell ! It had been a close call. Hermione had not moved a millimetre and had watched the scene in silence, even holding her breath when she saw the deadly spell pass her by.

— "Show yourselves !" Shouted a Death Eater. "Show yourselves ! Avada Kedavra !" The man repeated again, casting spells in front of him without a target.

Unconscious, Malfoy thought inwardly. This Death Eater was just a low level soldier and the way he was acting showed perfectly well that he was not very sure of himself. And that suited Draco just fine as he had much more experience in terms of fighting and strategy. That was the difference between the categories of Death Eaters in Voldemort's pay. Those in charge of the prisoners were woefully inexperienced, as the prisoners were rendered completely harmless and the likelihood of any of them rebelling was close to zero.

But Death Eaters of Draco's ilk were on a different level. They had proven themselves in numerous raids against the Dark Lord's opponents. The Dark Lord had even personally trained Malfoy to remove all consideration of compassion for others. Opponents of Lord Voldemort's supremacy did not even deserve to be treated as living beings, they were worthless and should simply be eliminated from the world, magical or not.

Draco took advantage of his opponent's attitude to think. He had the advantage of experience, but he had learned never to underestimate a cornered animal. So he waited for the right moment to strike, as his Master had taught him.

— "Close your eyes, Granger," Malfoy advised in an authoritative voice.

The Death Eater had stopped casting spells and silence had finally returned. Draco took a deep breath before running out of his hiding place towards his enemy. As soon as he stepped into the corridor, he cast the spell he had in mind, blissfully unaware of whether the brunette had heeded his earlier advice.

— "Lumos Maxima," Draco whispered before an extremely bright light appeared at the end of his wand. Being in the dark, the Death Eater's pupils took the light in stride, forcing him to close his eyes.

— "Argh, my eyes !" Complained the opponent, totally surprised by the burst of light.

— "Avada Kedavra !" Draco incanted, aiming at his enemy's chest. The green spell crossed the distance between the two wizards before striking the blinded Death Eater full force.

His feet flew off the ground under the power and his body flew across the corridor before crashing into the far door with a loud bang.

Between the time Draco had stopped to think and the time he had launched himself at the Death Eater, Hermione had been wondering about him. She had heeded his advice to close her eyes and still recognised the dazzling spell he had cast. She had no doubt that he had become a much more powerful wizard than before. And from what little she had seen since their mad dash, Hermione was somewhat reassured that she was not, for the moment, his opponent. She had serious doubts about her ability to match the Slytherin's magical power. Still, she told herself that sooner or later she would have her answer, because even though he seemed to want to get her out of this prison at the moment, he was still an enemy in the Dark Lord's pay. And for that reason alone, the witch knew that their confrontation was inevitable.

But for the moment, she put these thoughts aside and resumed running behind Draco when he ordered her to follow him again. They moved quickly towards the new room, which was plunged in darkness. Only Draco's knowledge of the place allowed her to know exactly where they were.

The end of Malfoy's wand was still glowing from the previous spell, but it did not illuminate the room they were now stopped in. He made a slight movement of his hand and the small glittering sphere detached itself from his wand and went to attach itself to the ceiling of the room. The cold light revealed that it was in fact a cave. The cave stretched for a good kilometre and was a hundred metres high. But what was most surprising was the huge lake that separated the entrance from the exit. The water was dark and seemed to have no bottom. The light produced by the spell was barely reflected in it.

But as the dim light made it possible to see the surroundings, Hermione couldn't suppress her stomach from turning over and throwing back what little it contained. Indeed, the cave was damp, the walls covered in mould, but what was most repulsive were all the corpses scattered on the bank and around.

Hermione could now picture the smell she had smelled when she entered this room. She hadn't been able to put a name to what she had smelled, but now that her sight was making the connection, it was unbearable.

The whole cave reeked of death and decay. One only had to look at all the corpses to understand that some had been there for years while others were quite recent.

How could Draco stand this sight ? The witch really wondered what he had endured to not be bothered by the suffocating smell and all those emaciated or skeletal bodies.

Malfoy didn't seem to be bothered for a moment by his surroundings. On the contrary, he was always focused, and this time his attention was precisely on the opaque lake. He held his wand out towards the water and waited patiently for something to happen. He didn't seem to be worried about the fate of the girl he had just delivered. From the beginning he had not been concerned about Hermione's condition. He had only had their survival in mind and as long as she was able to keep up with him, he had not taken the time to be interested in her state of mind. He hardly realised that she had just thrown back the contents of her stomach at the stench of the cave. After all, he had no time for childishness : time was running out and he wanted to reach his goal. This was surely his only chance and he couldn't waste it on unnecessary consideration.

Hermione managed by force of will to calm her own body's reactions and she concentrated again on the more than destabilizing actions of the blonde. She definitely did not understand anything anymore and she was someone who needed to understand. Why was he doing this ? What was his purpose ? To torture her better afterwards ? And why was he standing there in front of that gloomy water ?

But she observed the silence, letting the seconds tick away into minutes... too long minutes for her taste that she finally broke.

— "Why ?" Hermione finally asked.

He may have been her enemy, but her rational mind always took over. She wanted to know why he was acting this way since he had come to free her. But as was to be expected, he didn't even deign to answer her or even turn his head in her direction.

Hermione was used to getting answers and always made sure that the puzzles she faced were solved. But Draco was behaving exactly as he had when they were at Hogwarts : he ignored her and despised her. And that had a way of annoying her greatly.

— "I'm talking to you Malfoy !" The brunette added coldly.

After all, she didn't have to be nice or polite to him. He was a mass murderer, had tortured hundreds of people on behalf of his Lord. Moreover, since the beginning of their flight, she had seen him in action : killing people from his own side in cold blood made him totally inhuman in her eyes. So what was the point of being socially correct with him when he was just an abject being.

Draco finally turned to her, keeping his gaze impassive, before replying coldly :

— "If you're not happy, go back to your cell. Otherwise, shut up !"

— "Don't take me for a fool Malfoy ! If you wanted me back in my cell, you wouldn't have let me out ! Now, why ? Why would you, such a scoundrel in Voldemort's pay, take such risks ?"

As soon as Hermione said the word rotten, she could see Draco's eyes harden and his blue pupils lit up faintly for a fraction of a second : a testament to his magical strength.

— "I'm not going to repeat myself a third time Granger, shut up ! Or I swear I'll gag you," Draco replied before resting his gaze on the horizon, his wand still outstretched.

Hermione wanted to tell him the truth, but she thought better of it. She hated the wizard but she wasn't stupid to provoke him too much. After all, she was wandless and knew Malfoy was capable of such an act. And losing the use of speech was the last thing she wanted right now.

Another minute passed without anything happening. The wait was becoming unbearable for the Gryffindor and she was not letting up in her quest for answers.

— "Malfoy, where are we ?" She replied in a much calmer tone.

— "In a cave, can't you tell ?" Grumbled the young Malfoy who didn't seem at all inclined to make small talk.

He had changed in many ways since they were young, but this side of his personality had not aged a bit. Hermione felt offended that he would say something so trivial to her. Of course she had seen that they were in a cave, even a cave troll would have noticed ! But the witch didn't want to leave it at that, she counted to ten to calm herself down before saying :

— "I have the right to know, if you won't tell me why, at least tell me where we are."

Hearing the brunette insist that he speak to her, Draco let out a long, rather theatrical sigh so that she would understand how exasperating she could be. Then he decided to speak :

— "We are underground... under the Dark Lord's headquarters to be exact."

— "Is it big ?" Hermione asked, glancing around from time to time. She felt as if the corpses were looking at her and moving from time to time. She really didn't feel comfortable in this place, there was something oppressive about it and she was inwardly grateful that the Slytherin had finally agreed to talk.

— "There are about two hundred metres between us and the surface. The Dark Lord was determined that his prisoners should have no chance of escape. And as he ordered the dungeons to be enlarged, he discovered this underground air pocket under his house and that gave him this idea."

— "Where in the world is that ?" Hermione tried to find out.

— "Be smarter than that Granger," Draco replied neutrally.

— "What do you mean ?"

— "Are you able to tell me where the Order's quarters are located ?" He asked naturally.

Listening to his question, Hermione understood how silly her own question was. Of course he couldn't tell her where Voldemort's headquarters was, it had to be under the Secret-Keeper spell just like the Order's headquarters.

— "No," she confessed soberly.

Malfoy rolled his eyes at the obvious answer, but he didn't want to tell the brunette. He added, however :

— "Just so you know... and unfortunately for us, the part behind us was the easy part. The Dark Lord is a very meticulous and paranoid person."

— "What do you mean ?" Hermione worried at this admission.

— "It means there are traps in our path," Malfoy finished as a boat rose from the surface of the water and came slowly in their direction.

There was silence again as the boat docked on the shore. So this was what Malfoy had been doing all this time, staring at the water with his wand. But the witch was now preoccupied with the wizard's last words : she realised that her chances of getting out and surviving were almost non-existent.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not see Draco get into the boat and settle in.

— "We don't have all day Granger !" The Slytherin exclaimed forcefully.

The brunette immediately came to her senses and climbed into the boat without taking notice of her enemy's sharp tone. No sooner had she settled in than Draco threw an oar at her.

— "Do you think I'm your slave or what ?" Hermione retorted as she saw her interlocutor with the other oar.

— "I just think you're a person who will row with me if they want to get to the other side," Malfoy said calmly before plunging the oar into the dark water of the lake.

This action surprised Hermione greatly. Seeing Draco Malfoy get his hands dirty like a simple Muggle was surreal. Why didn't he use magic like any good wizard ?

— "Why not use magic ?" She asked aloud, too shocked to see him do so.

— "A good wizard only uses magic when it is necessary," he replied wisely.

If Hermione was surprised, that was an understatement. Never in her life would she have expected to hear Draco Malfoy say such things about the use of magic. She even wondered if it was her old classmate. After all, he had hardly made any derogatory remarks about her and her status as a Mudblood. And he had even behaved like an adult and not like a spoiled brat.

They began rowing in silence, only the sound of the water as it passed by disturbing the relative calm of the place. However, Hermione had never had the opportunity to use oars in her life and she didn't know how to make the boat go straight ahead. This forced the blond to redouble his efforts to compensate for the brunette's gestures.

After a moment, the Slytherin couldn't help but make a comment.

— "Granger...," Malfoy began with an exasperated sigh. "Could you make an effort and row better ?"

— "Easier said than done," Hermione retorted.

Malfoy sighed once more and continued to row harder to compensate and especially to speed up their journey. After a few minutes, Hermione began to get the hang of it by copying the Slytherin's strokes. But despite her efforts, the witch was not comfortable. Something was bothering her, but she didn't know what, and the further they walked across the water, the more anxious she became.

The glowing sphere that Draco had cast followed them above and continued to illuminate the cave. Hermione was not reassured by what she saw around her. She had this feeling that she was being watched, scrutinised by the corpses all around her. So much so, that she couldn't help but glance in their direction repeatedly : looking for movement that didn't belong.

— "Stop," Draco ordered after seeing her glances.

— "What ?"

— "Stop staring !"

— "Why ?"

— "A hunch," Draco replied, feeling that something was wrong. Until now he hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings, but sensing the brunette's panic, he began to think again. What could he have forgotten before getting into the boat ?

— "But... they seem to be watching us," Hermione added without hiding her anxiety.

— "All the more reason."

They continued their journey and as they reached the centre of the underground lake a noise made them stop immediately : something had plunged into the water. There was no doubt about it, they had both heard that characteristic sound of someone or something diving underwater. A few seconds passed before a slight ripple of water approached them. Then suddenly the boat was hit by something.

— "Damn it !" Malfoy swore coldly, having just thought of the trap Lord Voldemort had set.

— "What ? What is it...," Hermione worried before being cut off by the slight rocking of the boat.

She saw several hands clutching at the edge of the ship before an advanced decomposing corpse emerged. Hermione was stunned by the sight, the creature's face was eaten away by worms, bits of flesh dangling from its mandibles as its empty eye sockets glowed with green light.

Hermione was unable to react and was roused from her stupor far too late. She felt a phenomenal grip on her shoulder which caused her to squeal in surprise. Malfoy was already fighting with his oar against one of the creatures. The creature had also grabbed her and was trying to pull her into the water.

Hermione struggled to get the creature to let go, but the undead was of considerable strength, strength amplified by a spell, which the witch was no match for. The brunette was suddenly drawn into the water and she had just enough time and reflex to take a deep breath before she was pulled down.

The underwater spectacle was just as gloomy as on the surface. Thanks to Draco's sphere of light, Hermione could see what was going on underwater, though she wished she had never been confronted with such a horrific sight.

The undead was not alone in the lake, others like him were present and their hands were reaching for Hermione's body to pull her further under the surface.

The witch tried to struggle but her strength was reduced by the pressure of the water around her and her ability to stay under was running out. She knew it was all over for her when one of the corpses grabbed her throat and she felt the skeletal fingers close around her. It was trying to strangle her and she struggled with all her strength not to give in to the pressure to open her mouth and drown.

Hermione could feel her vision blurring all around her. A few more seconds and she would be gone from this world, swept away into the shallows of a sordid lake in the Dark Lord's headquarters. But then something unexpected happened.

A violent orange and red light was swirling on the surface of the water over a huge area. The light suddenly began to rush through the water towards her, or rather towards the creatures that were drowning her. She was surrounded by flames and felt the grip on her disappear. Her survival instinct took over and she swam with all her strength towards the surface to reach the edge of the boat.

She had hardly taken her head out of the water when she began to spit out the lake water that she had started to swallow for lack of air. She also regained her breath and her senses. But then her attention was caught by the sound of flames all around her and especially by the guttural screams coming from the undead who were succumbing to the powerful spell. Hermione looked up and saw who was doing it : Draco was standing in the middle of the boat as flames shot out of his wand in a maelstrom of magic around them. The wizard had a focused face as all the creatures in the cave and in the lake were being burned by the Fiendfyre spell.

It was only then that Hermione recognised the horrible monsters they had just faced : Inferi. An abomination that only those with dark magic would even consider using.

Hermione finally climbed back into the boat, breathless but relieved to be alive. The Fiendfyre spell continued to ravage the corpses above and below the surface, leaping from body to body like a watery firework. When Draco judged that they could resume the crossing, he did not bother to end the spell he had cast. Few wizards could master the Fiendfyre perfectly and he had no intention of trying it at this moment. His objective was quite different : to get to the other side as quickly as possible. He sat down in the boat and began to row even harder and faster.

— "Why did they attack us ?" Hermione asked, still trying to control her panic but also trying to keep up with Draco's steady paddling.

— "Your fault," the Slytherin replied exasperated.

— "What ?" The brunette snarled.

— "You're the reason they attacked us," he repeated accusingly.

— "What ? But I didn't do anything !" Hermione challenged at the aplomb of her worst enemy.

— "I told you not to look at them ! But what are you doing ? You stare at them !" Draco snarled, his adrenaline still pumping through his bloodstream, mixed with a survival instinct. "Besides, I suspect the Dark Lord has a fail-safe in place in case a prisoner takes this boat in the opposite direction."

This revelation did not reassure the brunette, but she did not want to continue on this subject. They rowed in silence for a few more minutes before finally reaching the other side. As soon as they stood, Draco pointed his wand at Hermione who recoiled.

Was she going to die at the hands of her enemy ? And without her being able to do anything to dodge, she was hit by a spell that the blonde had cast without saying it clearly. But instead of being thrown backwards by a deadly spell, Hermione felt all the moisture and dirt evaporate from her body and clothes.

— "Thank you," Hermione whispered in spite of herself.

— "From now on you do as I say ! I don't want to die because of some stupid thing you did ! So be careful..."