Chapter Eleven - Ambush, Oblivion, and Opening Night
The sound of waves on the shore was the next thing that Hermione knew. Landing hard on her knees, she looked around to see if she could recognize where she had ended up. The moonlight illuminated an old lighthouse and a two storey red structure next to it. The blue glow of the Amen Glass hadn't diminished and it added an eerie dimension to the scene. Looking around, she saw that she was on a grassy strip near the lighthouse.
She could hear the water, but not see it. The air didn't have that scent she associated with the ocean or the Channel, more the smells she remembered from days by the River Otter near Ron's and Black Lake at Hogwarts. Hopefully this meant she was near the shore of the lake that bordered Cleveland and not somewhere else in the world. Thanking her astronomy classes, she looked up in the night sky and saw that the stars looked the same as the ones she had watched last night while talking to Harry.
Returning her gaze earthward, she noticed that she was near an empty carpark. A bronze sign proclaimed the historical importance of the lighthouse behind her, but other than confirming she was near the shore of Lake Erie and still in Ohio, her limited knowledge of the local geography didn't tell her how close she was to Cleveland. Wrapping the Amen Glass securely back in its protective wrap, she placed the entire carrysack in her trusty beaded bag and stored it all away for safekeeping.
Hearing a small noise behind her, she whirled and found herself pointing her wand at a wandering blackberry cat with a ragged ear that had come to see who had interrupted her night's hunting. Smiling at the thought of Crookshanks hunting voles in the gardens behind Grimmauld Place, she reached over and attempted to ruffle the cat's ears. The black cat reared back and spat at Hermione, causing her to withdraw the proffered hand. "Touchy, aren't you. Well I shan't interfere with your search for voles." Turning back around Hermione got cautiously to her feet and began to walk slowly towards the red painted building that sat next to the lighthouse.
A voice rang out with a jubilant "Crucio" behind her and as she turned quickly, a dreaded familiar pale green beam caught her in her mid-section as she began to collapse in pain unimagined. Forcing herself to focus, she saw a slight, older witch dressed all in black with a scarred left ear, exactly the same as the feline that was no where to be seen. As the pain intensified, she doubled over; trying desperately to focus long enough to summon a patronus, but another spasm sent her wand clattering from her hand. The pain reached a final crescendo then disappeared. A second of blissful absence, followed by the sharp pain of something being ripped through her thigh and she passed out from the assault and the pain.
-----
Light and darkness. Pain and oblivion. Time standing still and time stretching into eternity. Screaming and silence. Her body being tortured and then being healed until she could barely function, alive just enough to be tortured again. Once she caught a glimpse of Terri, sitting horrified watching her being systematically abused, but she blissfully lost consciousness and she was alone with her pain. But not alone. Always there was a presence that bolstered her, held her up. Loved her. Despite the injuries and indignities, for the first time she felt whole. Though the worst of it, she knew she was loved and help was coming. He was coming.
-----
Awareness returned slowly. Hermione was aware of pain in every part of her body. Lying on a cold, hard surface, she could feel the uneven stone, rough against her skin. Opening her eyes, she could see Terri, sitting against a stonewall with her hands tied in front of her, staring at her with tears rolling down her cheeks. She was shaking her head, muttering something between sobs, and not taking her eyes from Hermione. As she noticed Hermione looking at her, her eyes widened and she tried to control her crying.
Swallowing, Hermione wasn't surprised to find that her throat was raw and painful, as if she had been screaming for a long time. "How long?" Her voice startled her, it sounded as if someone else were speaking.
Her breathing ragged, Terri tried once to answer, but nothing came out but a gasp. Closing her eyes for a second, she settled herself before answering. "You've been here for two days now. Hermione, please tell me that she's a deranged Yankees fan." Whispering, her voice held a pleading quality that indicated that she was on the verge of losing control.
Smiling, in spite of the fact that it seemed that every muscle she owned was screaming at her, Hermione lifted her head from the floor and started to look around. "Terri, I'm afraid the answer is a bit worse than that."
The room that they were in had a stone floor and the walls were also of a similar material and had that feeling a place gets from being far underground. The room was dimly lit; Hermione could see where magical light had been conjured in a couple of places haphazardly to create an effect of gloom and shadows.
"Wonderful, a deranged soccer fan." Trying to laugh, her sobs quieted as she looked to Hermione with hope in her eyes. "With really great special effects, right."
Slowly pushing herself up, and finding at least two broken ribs and some torn muscles, Hermione carefully got herself into a sitting position. "The `special effects' are actually magic and while she's most likely seriously deranged, I'm afraid I sincerely doubt she follows any football clubs, quidditch is most likely her game. She's a witch." Watching Terri closely, Hermione was trying to decide if the truth had been her best choice, but she realized that the Secrecy Statutes really didn't apply at this point.
Terri's face became very serious as she thought about Hermione's response. Speaking slowly, she was considering her words carefully. "I suppose that would explain all of the things that she was doing and saying." Looking at her friend with fear in her eyes, she asked in a whisper. "Does that make you a witch, also?"
Smiling wryly, Hermione remembered an old movie that had played on the telly when she was a little girl. "As Glinda would say, `I'm a good witch.' That one, on the other hand, meets all of the criteria for being a very wicked witch."
"Oh." Terri's face became a blank as she processed that bit of information. She smiled a bit, as something Hermione said began to register as funny. "Ok, Glinda, I suppose that means Oscar's a witch, also."
Pushing herself up on to her hands and knees, a painful exercise due to the abuse and half-healed wounds Hermione had, she looked back at Terri and smiled. "Oh, of course not."
"Good, not that there's anything wrong with being a witch."
"He's a wizard, like Harry and Irving."
"Oh"
"He's really a nice guy, he just has a slightly different job that the guys you normally meet."
Starting to laugh, Terri began to resemble her old self. "It could be worse, I suppose. He could be a lawyer."
Laughing, Hermione found out that she hurt in places that she could barely remember ever feeling before. "Good point. Although we do have wizards who are also barristers and they're a scary lot in their own right. As soon as we get out of here, I'll show you some things that will put our lot in a better light. Our hostess isn't really a shining example of who we'd trot out as a recruiting poster."
Becoming serious, Terri looked around. "Hermione, how are we going to get out of here? I mean, she has magic and everything?" Terri's voice began to take on that desperate edge again.
"As I was reminded earlier, I need to think and we'll be fine. And besides," concentrating, Hermione wandlessly conjured the blue flames that she had mastered as a student and started to feed healing energy through the flames and she felt some of the minor aches and pains start to abate, "we have magic also."
Smiling encouragingly at Terri, she watched the blond nod in response. "Since I've been out of it, you need to tell me what's been going on. Does she come in through that door over there or does she just appear out of thin air?"
Watching the flames with fascination, Terri answered slowly. "She comes in through the door. Usually she just stands there and watches you for a while before she starts pointing that stick at you and then you start screaming."
"That stick is called a wand, and it's something that wizards and witches use to focus their magic. I can do wandless magic for some things, my Harry is really good with this, and I've got a few new tricks up my sleeve along with a plan."
Relieved that Terri seemed to be taking this so well, Hermione made a movement with her free hand and released the ropes around Terri's wrists and ankles. "Keep those ropes around your wrists and ankles, but if things go badly and she's concentrating on me, run like hell and see if you can find a way out of this place. If my plan doesn't work, she's likely to be very annoyed with me."
"She should be coming back soon, I feel like it's about time for her to be back." Terri shuddered, and wrapped the ropes back around her ankles and gathered the loose ends in her hands to make it appear that she was still bound. "You have a plan?"
"Yes, I do." Tilting her head a bit, she smiled. "Are you familiar with the Scottish Play?"
"The Scottish Play?" Looking incredulous, a look of recognition began to dawn in her eyes. "What does Shakespeare have to do with it? You're not going to go all double, double, toil and trouble on me, are you?"
Shaking her head, Hermione grinned. "As soon as my audience arrives, I'm going to have my opening night as Lady M. I don't think I'm really crazy, but hopefully she will." Hearing the door behind her rattling, Hermione whispered. "Stay calm, and if she starts throwing curses around, try to get out of the way. Anything with a green light is bad, run like hell." Nodding at the younger woman, she smiled. "It's show time."
Standing up, Hermione called up just a bit of the glamour that Maeve had used, just enough to make herself the center of attention in the room. Focusing on where the fireplace in her flat would be if the door her mysterious assailant was the bedroom door, she began to screech like a fishwife. "Ronald Bilius Weasley. Get your bloody arse in here right this second."
As she heard the door swing open, she forgot about the pains that wracked her body. She focused herself on what she would do if she'd come home and found a certain blond in her bedroom waiting for Ron, all of the frustrations that had built up in their relationship over the years came spilling out.
"I can't believe I'm standing here by my couch and you've got Lavender `snog anything anywhere' Brown standing in my bedroom door." Raising her hands towards the ceiling she upped that glamour just a bit trying to hold her audience's attention. "I can't believe you let that trollop in my bed. Ronald Weasley you get your sorry self in here right this second. Don't make me call Harry Potter to drag your sorry, treacherous arse down here."
Tears began streaming down her cheeks, she focused on the last argument they'd had, and all the ones that had led up to it. "I mean it Ron, if you don't get yourself here right now; I'm going to be more pissed than you've ever seen. Ronald Weasley, I need you to come through that floo right now, don't you dare apparate into my kitchen. You've busted Harry's wards for the last time. I'm standing right in front of the floo with that slut right behind me."
Gathering herself together, she started concentrating on what magic she had available to see if she could surprise her audience if her plan failed. "Harry's going to kick your ruddy arse for this. Ronald Bilius Weasley, if you're not here on the count of three, I'm going to floo your mum, and you'll have to explain to her why her ickle Ronniekins is such a philandering two-timer."
Gathering her strength for once last go, she almost screamed. "Ron Weasley, you stick you head in the floo right this instant and take your punishment like a Gryffindor, you bloody arse." Just as she finished, she heard a noise off to her left, where her kitchen would be if she were actually home. Whirling around, she caught a glimpse of Ron and Harry pointing their wands at the mysterious witch in the doorway.
Trying to focus her rage and magic through her finger, instead of her beloved wand, she shouted "Expelliarmus" at her foe before either of her rescuers could react. As the other witch's wand sailed towards her, she caught it deftly in the air and then lashed out with a "Stupify" and smiled as the witch was slammed across the room by the force of her hex.
Turning unsteadily towards the boys, she smiled faintly and whispered, "I knew you'd come," as she collapsed to the ground and oblivion finally claimed her.
-->