𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍-𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘙𝘠 𝘗𝘖𝘛𝘛𝘌𝘙

Chapter 9

Lovesbitca8 TAKES CREDIT THIS IS HER WORK - FOUND ON AO3

So, George was on the run.

It must have been during the Auction itself. He was onstage with Ludo when the girls began to fight. At least they'd won something during that moment.

She sat in her wingback chair, watching the sun rise through her windows. It was her third morning in Malfoy Manor, though she hadn't slept the night before, content to stare at the walls while her brain mended itself.

Several times she thought she should call for an elf to grab her a potion, but the headache kept her focused. She wouldn't be complacent in whatever they'd planned for her.

Her cheek throbbed, a bluish bruise blossoming over her the corner of her mouth where she'd bled. She could have sworn she'd felt the outline of a gemstone against her cheek last night, but it was nowhere to be found this morning. Perhaps he'd only struck her face to save his own. Surely one of them needed to be punished for her smart mouth. She pressed her lips together, hardening to the memory of his healing hands at the gates last night.

If he thought Hermione Granger was going to go quietly, she had a surprise for him.

The sunlight popped over a tree, the first rays intruding upon her space, lighting up her walls. She stood, wrapping her robe tightly around herself and moved to the window, watching the grounds light up.

There were no gates on this side of the estate, just large hedges and ponds. And with the daylight, she could finally make out the gardens in the distance.

I'll get out, she told herself. There was always a weakness somewhere. A pressure point she could exploit.

Pulling open the balcony doors, intent to peer around the sides of the Manor and below, she moved to step out, but something stopped her.

She looked down at her feet, planted close to the doorway. She couldn't lift them. She stepped backwards just fine. A barrier spell of sorts.

She'd been able to sit on the balcony yesterday, having tea with Narcissa in the morning. What had changed?

A chill from the morning breeze wound its way around her skin.

Luna.

She stared at the horizon as the sun's half-circle rose over the trees.

So should I take myself to the tallest tower in Malfoy Manor as well?

She'd goaded him. And while they were gone last night, he had wards set.

Curiously, she reached her hand out. The wards stopped her before her fingers could cross the doorway. Her cheeks heated. How dare he. He was carving away her options, narrowing the walls of her pretty little cage.

Hermione spun, thoughts crashing around her mind like waves in a storm. She ran for the curtains hanging from the canopy and tugged them into knots, but a noose wouldn't hold. The fireplace burned low, and she stomped over to test another theory.

Like warm water as she plunged her hand into the flames.

She threw open the wardrobe, and found that all of her belts and sashes had been removed.

I dare you to try, he'd said. Reminding her that her life wasn't hers to take anymore.

Brushing away her tears, she stared at the sunrise, and then shoved her feet into boots, tossed open the bedroom door, and then took off in her robe.

She marched down the hall, wondering if anyone slept in these rooms. If she happened upon Draco she would give him a piece of her mind, that was certain. She clambered down the marble stairs and out into the chilly morning air, breathing in the freedom.