The light in her dark

1. The madness of Bellatrix Lestrange

Before we start this, I'd like to address a couple of things. I ship Fannon Bellamione, not Cannon. I do not mean to glamorize or condone Stockholm syndrome at all and I would like to remind everyone that this is pure fiction. Hermione is also 18 in this fanfic, so it is legal :-)

-Hermione's POV-

"NO!" I shriek as arms wrap around my waist, preventing me from running over to Harry and Ron, who are already nearing where Dobby is.

From directly behind me, I can hear the mad cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange, which only causes desperation to pool in me as I attempt to pull away and free myself from arms around me. 

It is only when I am near escape, I see Harry mouth the word 'sorry.'

It takes me a moment before my eyes widen and I shake my head as I realize what he means. "Please...No..." My voice isn't nearly loud enough for him to hear, but I believe he understands.

The two best friends I have give me an apologetic look before they disappear with Dobby.

Although I am aware that there is no hope, and no escape, I continue struggling, something in my telling me to continue fighting against the woman who holds me ever so tightly.

The woman's grasp around me tightens, her nails digging into my hips, causing a little whimper to escape my mouth.

Eventually, when my struggling becomes absolutely pointless, and her nails dig a little too far into my waist, I stop struggling and look up at the madwoman they call Bellatrix Lestrange.

"My oh my, the little mudblood decided to stay. How fun is that?!" Her deranged voice fills the room, causing the Malfoys to retreat to their rooms, seemingly unable to watch what comes next.

"L-let me g-go." I stutter unwillingly.

She smirks at me. "Oh Muddy. We're going to have so much fun, don't you think?"

My eyes fill with tears but I hold them back. Stuttering is enough, I'm not letting her see any other weakness.

Upon hearing no response, the dark witch begins taunting me. "Aww, is poor little muddy afraid of me? What a shame."

I take a deep breath and try to ignore the sting of her nails in my waist, focusing on figuring out whether I'll survive this-whether I'll survive her. "W-what are you g-going to do with me?"
"Ah, that's up to the dark lord, if he wishes for you to live, you'll live, same goes if he wishes for you to die or be tortured."

My throat goes dry as I take in what she said. 

What use am I to them besides finding Harry's location? I'm going to die. I'm really going to die. After all these years of surviving, I'm going to be tortured and killed at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Oh don't think like that Mudpuppy, it's quite depressing. Plus, we don't know what he wants to do with you, so there is a small chance you'll live."

I look up at her in shock. "Y-you can hear m-my thoughts?"

"Well of course I can. It's called legilimency dear."

"You know legilimency?" I ask with a hint of surprise, which alters my tone to be a little harsh.

"One, don't you dare take that tone with me, two, yes. Yes, I do. Now...." Her fingernails trace from my waist up until they rest on my arms. One hand grasps onto my arm and her nails dig into it as she pulls me down flights of stairs, going downstairs into what I believe to be the cell. The dark witch wastes no time and throws me in as harshly as she can, closing the door once I land on the cold, hard floor. Her heels click as she turns and walks out, most likely going to talk to her precious lord, leaving me to curl up in the corner and cry softly. What have I gotten myself into?

~~~~~~~

After what seems to be forever, but was probably only a few hours, Bellatrix walks in with a sadistic smile on her face. "Well Muddy, it's your lucky day, it seems the dark lord has some use for you after all, isn't that fun?

"W-what does that m-mean exactly?"
"It means that you won't die, you'll just be tortured until you give us the information we need!" Bellatrix claps her hands together in an excited way, her grin growing wider as she senses the fear radiating off of me.

"I think I'd rather if you kill me" I mumble, sitting up since I hadn't moved much since she left.

"Aw but that's no fun, now is it?" I stay silent and she takes the moment to continue. "So here are your two options; Firstly, you can tell me where your friends are and I won't hurt you, or you don't tell me, and I torture you until you can't take the pain and give in. Your choice Muddy."

"Let me go?" I ask, my voice pitifully quiet as I fear her reactions.

"Well, that wasn't an option, was it?" She pouts.

"It's what I prefer..."
"Unfortunately for you, I currently have the upper hand, so I'd suggest you go with the first option for your own sake, however, if you chose the second option, I'd appreciate that as well since it truly is much more fun for me."

I swallow and shut my eyes, preparing for what comes next. "S-second."

I can practically hear the smirk on her face. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Before I can prepare myself any further, pain shoots up my spine, causing a loud scream to escape my lips. My body cringes and I can feel something similar to pins and needles stabbing into my skin. The pain becomes unbearable faster than I expected, and my hands reach up into my hair, my fingers tangling into my curls as I pull them. 

Besides the pricks stabbing my skin, my brain starts going fuzzy, all thoughts out of reach, and all I can focus on, is the pain. It is as if my skin is replaced by ice and some sort of electricity is shooting through my spine time and time again.

My screams never cease, and my throat becomes terribly dry. "P-PLEASE!" I muster out, tears falling down my cheeks.

The stinging becomes less, but it still remains there, pain shooting through my spine whenever I even consider moving.

"Have you changed your mind yet Muddy? I have all the time in the world to continue."
I swallow and try to speak, my throat slightly dry from my screams. "I-I..." Is all I can muster.

I watch as the dark witch kneels in front of me, her insane smile sending shivers up my spine. "Oh come on, darling, speak. I'm sure you can figure something out."

I know it's wrong, very wrong, but my stomach flutters the moment I manage to understand that she had called me 'darling.' 

Oh, what is wrong with me? I'm staring straight into the devil's eyes, and I have butterflies. 

I take a deep breath, hoping that she won't crucio me again, although I know she will. "No."

"Now that wasn't so hard, now was it?" She smirks, raising her wand and pressing it against my throat.
A whimper escapes my lips. "P-please."
"Tell me where they are, and you'll be fine."

"I-I can't..."
"Well then, just remember that all of this is entirely your fault. You can get out of all this pain if you simply give in."

The pain begins moments after Bellatrix realizes I will not respond to her commentary, and through the agony, I feel something trickle down my skin. 

Although my vision is blurred, and my senses are all filled with nothing other than pain, I register the fact that it is highly likely that I may be bleeding.

"Just tell me where your friends are, and this will all be over." I hear Bellatrix say, her hand cupping my face.

"N-never!"

"Well that's too bad darling." She slips her hand away from my face, her wand replacing it moments later as it rests under my chin, tilting my head up so I'm staring her in the eyes. 
One last sound of pain escapes me before it goes black, the last thing I see being the mad woman I am stuck with.