~~~~~ Chapter 7: Know Your Enemy ~~~~~
Hermione hummed to herself, hunched over the table as she scribbled some notes. She was currently in a large room that had a table in the middle of it. The walls were pretty much covered in papers, maps and pictures. The maps had pins on it while some of the pictures had a red cross on them.
A closer look at the pictures revealed them to be pictures of Death Eaters. They looked like surveillance pictures. Hermione got up, holding a piece of parchment in her hand before she moved over to the wall and pinned it up.
She stood back, tapping her finger to her chin as she scanned the wall, looking for something when she heard a noise behind her and saw Kreacher standing there. He was dressed smartly in a black suit but there was still a slight look of manic in his eyes.
"Mistress, the twins are back," he bowed before straightening and gave her an evil smile. "They have a present for you. They said you would like it very much." Hermione smiled.
"Thank you, Kreacher," she told him. "You may continue with your duties."
"Yes Mistress," Kreacher bowed once more before he disappeared. Hermione turned back to her wall with a contented smile. So…the twins had managed to get their goal after all.
~_HxH_~
Hermione was sitting on her chair when the door opened to reveal Fred and George making their way into the room. She smiled when she spotted, them standing up when both of them came to a stop.
"My lady, we have a delivery for you," Fred bowed before he straightened, snapping his fingers. Dobby and Winky appeared, pulling a large toad like lady, bound and gagged, dressed in too much pink and a smile lit up Hermione's face when she recognised her `present.'
"Oh boys, you always know how to please me," she told them affectionately, smiling. "Any trouble?" she asked.
"Nothing we couldn't handle, Mistress," George assured her as he reached over to the `present' and straightened her up.
Delores Umbridge's eyes bulged out when she saw the `Mistress' the twins had been talking about and she let out a string of muffled curses.
"Hello Delores," Hermione greeted sweetly. "It's nice to see you again" She walked over to Umbridge who glared at the young muggle-born witch. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Umbridge glared harder as she remembered the last time they had met. Hermione had tricked her into going into the Forbidden Forest where she had been attacked by Centaurs.
"It's funny; she wouldn't quit talking when we captured her so we had to gag her. Now she doesn't want to talk," Fred said, amused. Hermione chuckled.
"Put her on the chair. We want her to be comfortable, don't we?" she said. The twins nodded as they hauled up their ex-teacher and deposited her ungracefully on the simple chair. With quick flicks of their wands, the ropes removed themselves around Umbridge body and wrapped themselves around each limb, tying Umbridge to the chair so she couldn't escape.
"Comfortable?" George asked as he made sure each knot was tight before he straightened up with an easy grin. Umbridge just snarled at him behind her gag.
"I bet you are wondering why the twins have brought you here before me," Hermione started before she remembered something. "Remove the gag," Hermione ordered. Fred yanked the gag down, not caring if he hurt the woman in the process. Once the gag was removed, Umbridge took her chance.
"You filthy mud-blood! How dare you send your goons to kidnap me!" she shrieked, her cheeks puffing up with anger before her head snapped sideways under the force of a backhand.
"Shut up," Fred hissed as Umbridge brought her head round to glare at the taller male. "You will listen to her."
"I am a pureblood. I do not need to listen to pathetic mud-blood whimpers. She is nothing compared to me," Umbridge informed the men snootily before she looked at Hermione. "And you are in deep trouble, my dear. Especially when I tell the Ministry that the `Boy-who-lived' best friend happens to be kidnapping respectable Purebloods." Hermione snorted with amusement.
"Oh Delores, you never ceased to amuse me. Especially with you thinking that you are going to walk out of here to tell people about me." Hermione shook her head.
"You're wrong dear, you will be amusing me when I put you on trial," Umbridge warned her with a sneer.
"Oh, I know all about your little…trials," Hermione told her with a sly smile. "About trying to get Muggle-borns and having their souls sucked out because you deem them as `false'…along with writing `Mud-blood' on their arms." Umbridge paled slightly. She didn't think people had caught on it that quickly.
"Then you'll know what I will do to you when you finally let me go," Umbridge snarled. Hermione laughed; a cold chilling laugh that sent shivers down Umbridge's spine before she paled even more when she saw Hermione pick up a wicked looking dagger and caress Umbridge's cheek with the tip of the blade.
"Now, whoever said that I was going to let you go?" Hermione asked. Umbridge's eyes bulged. "Have you figured it out yet? I'm getting terribly disappointed that none of the people that works for the Ministry seem to have any brain cells left due to the power they receive."
"How dare you insult us?" she spat at Hermione. "We are the only thing that is keeping this world together!"
"You are beginning to bore me," Hermione straightened, walking away from Umbridge. "I have given you many hints but none of you have picked up on it. I'm beginning to feel neglected." Umbridge's face contorted to one of confusion.
"What are you babbling about, you stupid mud-blood?" she snapped. Hermione scoffed, shaking her head.
"She's the Black Rose," George informed Umbridge, proudly. Umbridge stared at him, aghast before she started squirming in her seat.
"A mere mud-blood is killing purebloods and you're pleased with that?!" she shrieked. "She is a muggle-born. They are unworthy of our blood and magic. All of them should be killed, or at least kissed for stealing our magic!" Fred snorted.
"You can't push that garbage here. You're just pissed that muggle-borns and half-blood are proving to be more powerful than Pureblood. Maybe if the Pureblood would quit interbreeding, they wouldn't lose their magic," Fred informed her with a hard glare. Umbridge just hissed at him.
"Fred is right," Hermione pointed out. "The Pureblood believe that the only way to keep their magic pure is by intermarrying. If you had bothered to look at the Muggle History, our ancestors used to do the same and as a result, families died out. Your magic is dying because you believe in keeping it within the family."
"It's because of you mud-bloods! You are stealing our magic, turning respectable purebloods in to squibs!" she screeched. Hermione rubbed her forehead.
"I think she's gone delusional," Hermione told the boys, who nodded in agreement. They knew that some purebloods had problems with muggle-borns but they had never heard of them believing that muggle-borns were stealing magic. "No matter. I didn't ask the boys to bring you here because of this old argument. No, I have something else more important in mind."
"What did I ever to do you?" Umbridge spat out.
"Other than threaten me and treat me like dirt because I'm a muggle-born?" Hermione asked.
"I'm a pureblood. I am superior to you," Umbridge reminded her scathingly. Hermione gave her a one shoulder shrug.
"Because you tortured Harry…and you gave Bellatrix the address," Hermione told her. Umbridge paled as the twins' glares harden. "Oh, sorry…was that a secret?" she asked before she shrugged. "Imagine my surprise when Bella told me that you were the one to give it up. I honestly had expected you to give her my address, but I guess I underestimated your hate for Harry."
"He was nothing but a lying attention seeking brat," Umbridge spat. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Are you still pushing that? Especially when everyone knows Voldemort is back?" she asked before she shook her head. "Wow, I guess you really do lose your brain cells when you gain power." She snorted. "It would explain why Voldemort kept trying to kill Harry despite Harry beating him." The twins sniggered with amusement.
"You dare insult the Ministry and the Dark Lord?" she snapped. "You will meet your end and I promise you, I will be the one to deliver the blow."
"You are still under the impression that I am going to let you go," Hermione sighed in annoyance. "Do you all have short term memory?"
Umbridge was about to speak when there was a crack and they all turned to see Dobby was standing in the middle of the room with an evil grin on his face, his hands rubbing together with glee. Umbridge shuddered at the sight. No house-elf should ever look that evil…or happy.
"Mistress, Dobby has found bad man," Dobby cackled with glee. The twins stood up and moved over to Dobby while Hermione smiled fondly at the little creature.
"Good job, Dobby. Take the twins with you. Remember, I want him alive enough to talk," she warned them. They nodded before Dobby took their hands and disappeared with a crack. "Ah, isn't house-elves wonderful?" she asked as she turned to face Umbridge. "They are amazing creatures; they can enter any home and even apparate in and out of Hogwarts." Umbridge's face grew pale as she began to realise the implications of Hermione having house-elves at her command.
"That's how…" she trailed off and Hermione grinned.
"Yes, Dobby and Kreacher have been excellent spies. They have been tasked with watching many Death Eaters so we can exploit their weakness and hit them hard. It's ironic. All of you pureblood believe that house-elves are nothing more than help. When you think about it, they could very easily help to take over the world."
"You want to…" Umbridge gasped but Hermione shook her head.
"Oh no, I have no desire to take over the Wizarding World." Umbridge sighed with relief only to freeze up. "There wouldn't be anyone left if I did." She chuckled at her own joke.
"What do you want with me?" Umbridge asked.
"Ah, your punishment," Hermione laughed as she remembered something. "When I told the twins what your punishment was, they were very disappointed. They had hoped it would be more…inventive. But I think it suits you perfectly."
Hermione brought out her wand and waved it, muttering a spell under her breath. Umbridge's hands were unbound from behind and her arms were brought to the front, her left hand tied down with her right hand free. Hermione walked over to Umbridge with a quill and parchments which she placed on the school table that appeared out of nowhere and slipped the quill into her hand.
Umbridge paled when she recognised the quill and looked at Hermione, stubborn. She wasn't going to let the bitch break her.
"Write `I love Muggle-borns' 100 times," Hermione ordered. "Let's see if you can do what Harry did and keep your mouth shut. If you can't…you will write an additional 10 lines." Umbridge snarled only to back down when Hermione brought the dagger down once more, pressing hard into the juncture of her neck. "Write."
Umbridge started writing, determined to make sure that she didn't give the mudblood bitch the satisfaction of any pain. She winced as the quill cut into her hand, using her blood as ink as she wrote `I love Muggle-borns' over and over.
Unknown to her, each time she let out a small whimper or a hiss, a chalk was marking up a tally of each time she expressed pain. Hermione continued to play with her dagger, watching the scene. She felt satisfaction that she was finally giving Umbridge what she deserved.
Umbridge put down the blood quill with a small hiss of triumph, thinking she had made it but Hermione was quick to dash that hope as she cleared her throat, making Umbridge look at her.
"Uh huh," Hermione chuckled as she tapped the board and Umbridge saw tally marks on the board and paled as the implications dawned on her. "You failed, 400 hundred lines added." She gestured to the paper. "Write." Umbridge stubbornly refused to pick up the quill when Hermione stood up, the digger glinting in the light and Umbridge picked up the quill, anything to prevent the bitch from using the weapon on her.
By the time she was finished, Umbridge was pale, shivering and whimpering as she dropped the blood quill and held her hand close to her chest. She didn't understand how Harry could have written his lines without showing pain. She had tried so hard to break him but she had failed yet this mudblood bitch had broken her!
Hermione could tell where Umbridge's thoughts had gone to as she sauntered over to the desk, picking up the parchments filled with Umbridge's blood before she scattered them on the floor and flicked the quill off to the side.
"Do you want me to tell you Harry's secret?" Hermione asked as she leaned down so they were eye-level. "He's been abused since he was dropped off on the doorsteps of the Dursleys. Add in the abuse he got each year he came to Hogwarts, you have to admit that Harry did a very good job of tolerating the pain." Umbridge's eyes widen and Hermione chuckled. "Yes, a far cry from the pampered life everyone thought Harry had. He was treated worse than a house-elf. It's a wonder he didn't turn dark." Hermione straightened.
"He should have been drowned when he a babe," Umbridge muttered under her breath only to gasp when Hermione pressed the tip of her dagger under her chin, forcing Umbridge to lift her face. Umbridge had to blanch when she saw the pure fury on Hermione's face.
"Harry Potter was more human than you all put together. He saved the Wizarding World when he was one year old at the cost of his parents; he suffered abuse at the hands of his pathetic excuse of relatives. He nearly died in his first, second and fourth year at the hands of Voldemort. He nearly died due to Dementors in his third year and would have been killed by them during the summer if he hadn't known the spell to drive them off," Hermione listed. "None of you gave a damn when it came to Harry and as a result, you have me gunning for you blood. Think about it." Hermione yanked the danger away.
"You will burn in hell," Umbridge snarled and Hermione laughed.
"Only if I don't keep up my end of the bargain," Hermione waved it off. "You see, while I was away, I learnt a lot of things. You'd be surprised at how willing people are to teach certain things when you appeal to them correctly. Add in the fact I told them that I was using it against the Pureblood of the Wizarding World, they were practically falling over their feet to assist me."
"Who would dare help you?" she demanded. Hermione chuckled.
"Oh, you know her," Hermione bowed down so her mouth was near Umbridge's ear and whispered a name. Umbridge's paled even further as her mouth opened as her breath came fast.
"She's…she's dead!" Umbridge stammered.
"Oh no, she's very much alive. You see, the Ministry couldn't condemn her to death as she hadn't actually used the magic against them," Hermione explained. "It's funny…isn't it? How the ministry are actually willing to look the other way when muggle-borns and half-bloods are the ones being killed. Only when Pureblood started being killed, they take action."
"We are superior and powerful," Umbridge snarled.
"Funny, Tom Riddle is a half-blood yet he has all this power. Harry was pretty powerful himself and he was a half-blood. I'm a muggle-born yet I'm managing to outwit all of you pureblood," Hermione pointed out. "She was a muggle-born too and the Wizarding World feared her."
"She should have been killed!" Umbridge shouted, anger bubbling through her veins that her beloved Ministry had failed to kill someone she believed she should have died. Hermione shrugged.
"We all want something we can't have," Hermione told her before she snapped her fingers and Kreacher appeared with the familiar trolley filled with her favourite instruments when she was torturing. "My turn to have fun now." Umbridge paled as Kreacher whipped the cover off to reveal the deadly look instruments and reports of the dead bodies flashed through her mind.
"But you said…" Umbridge pleaded and Hermione grinned.
"That was your punishment…this…is my revenge." Umbridge just screamed in terror.
~_HxH_~
The next morning addition of the Daily Prophet and Quibbler had the headline `Delores Umbridge killed by Black Rose!' along with a picture of the disfigured body underneath.
TBC
2 Stories request:
I remember this story that I was reading, it is Harry/Hermione (obviously) but it also had Ginny/Luna. Ron and Molly had potioned Ginny into lusting after boys because they wanted her to get together with Harry. It was later when Harry & Hermione removed the potions from Ginny that she remembered that she had been in a relationship with Luna. If anyone knows what this story is called, can you let me know? It's driving me nuts!
I am looking for any stories where the Granger adopt (legally or not) Harry as their own with Harry/Hermione romantic relationship. I am currently reading Muggle-dad stories and I would love to read more of where Hermione's parents have a central role to the story.
For anyone of them, you can either leave it in a review or a private message. I hope you can help me out!
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