It Was Never Supposed to Be Easy

I woke up in a room that I had never seen before. My eyes squinted against a brutal sun, and I personally thought that the sun should never be allowed that kind of brightness again.

Where was I?

My head ached in a way that I never knew it could ache and I couldn't move my arms.

Or my legs.

I looked down. I was tightly bound by black ropes wound across my waist and knotted tightly.

Where WAS I?

The room was lovely, I had to admit that. Deep carpeting covered the floor and the bed that I lay across was deep and soft. The curtains surrounding it were velvet and so were the drapes on the window. The room screamed luxury, but I still had no idea where I was.

All of the sudden I heard a noise behind me, and with difficulty, I managed to roll over onto my stomach.

Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway, two masked Death Eaters flanking him, wands out.

"You!" I croaked.

Suddenly, it all came back to me. The house, the betrayal, the Dark Lord. All of it. It came back as a flood of fear and pain, and I wanted to roll back over and forget it.

If only rolling over didn't take so long to do.

"Hermione..." the blonde boy began.

"NO!" I screamed. "No, I trusted you. I TRUSTED you. And you betrayed me, and my friends will DIE because of it. How dare you show your face to me. How do you dare to even come here?"

Malfoy crossed the room and dropped to his knees, waving a hand to the Death Eaters behind him. Such a careless gesture, how very like his master. The masked bastards slunk out of the room and stood on either side of the door, their wands still out.

"Hermione. Let me speak, or I swear I will force you to listen."

"I don't want to hear it."

"Well, you will. So shut up."

His simple retort brought back fierce memories of carefree days and silly teasing, I felt the tears spring into my eyes. How could this have happened?

He sighed and his hands ran through his hair. He slumped down and covered his face and gave a great heave.

"I have an explanation." He began.

"Oh, yes, and such an explanation it will be! Tell me, Malfoy, was it easy to betray me? Was it easy to lead me and my friends to their deaths?"

He turned to face me and waved his wand once more. The ropes binding me disappeared and I was free. I scrambled away from him, to the other side of the bed and turned my back to him. I had no allusions of escaping. The Death Eaters standing guard solved that.

I felt the bed sink as he sat on the other edge.

"They have my father, Hermione." He whispered. So low, that I could barely hear it.

"The Dark Lord is so angry with him, he failed in his task at the Ministry. He was practically exiled, the Dark Lord was so angry. His term in Azkaban was a mercy to him, compared to what the Dark Lord has done. That is why our coat of arms does not fly, he is not here. I don't know where he is. Neither does my mother. One day, he felt the burn as the Dark Lord called him, and then he never came home. But the Dark Lord did. He told me that I had a task. That I was to bring him Harry Potter, alive. I was to do whatever it took, but he was to get Harry, or my father would die."

"So you made me love you?" I answered scathingly.

"I...made a mistake. I was selfish, I had no idea it would go so far. I had no idea that you could love me. I just wanted to get close to you, enough to earn your trust."

"I hate you."

He sighed, a long, heartbreaking sigh. I turned at the sound and saw him with his head in his hands, a picture of defeat. Seeing him like that reminded me, painfully, of the day he walked away from me on the stairs. His look of total hurt.

"I know. It seems so long ago that you didn't"

"How long have I been here?" I asked.

"Only two days. He kept you sedated for awhile. Just enough to search you and take your wand."

"And my hair? And ribbon?"

He stood and crossed to the window, pushing aside the curtains and leaned his forehead against the pane of glass. Like he used to do with me.

"They will be sent to Ron by owl. I expect he'll recognize them right away. A letter will come to him a day or so later. It will be short, enough to tell him where you are and what is to happen to you if he doesn't come."

"And that is?"

"Must you ask?" he sighed, fogging up the glass.

"I will die."

Malfoy didn't say anything for awhile. Just stared out the window, obviously deep in thought.

"Answer me!" I commanded.

"Yes. Yes, you will die."

"Good!" I yelled, standing. "I want to. I'd rather die then Ron come here and lead both him and Harry to their own deaths. I am not a coward like you and your father! I am not afraid!"

He turned abruptly and for the first time I saw anger, real anger, directed at me.

"You asked if it was supposed to be easy? I look back on it and I see how foolproof it was. But you never thought to think of me, how I might feel? I love you Hermione. As stupid as that sounds, I love you! But he is my FATHER. I would never leave him to die, just as your friends will never leave you. No Hermione, it wasn't easy. It was never supposed to be easy. But I did what I had to do to save my father."

"Get out." I said, breathing hard.

He looked at me and then crossed the room, his face red. He stopped at the door and looked around.

"I hope your room is comfortable, dinner will be sent up shortly."

I turned my back to him and walked to the window to take his place.

There was silence behind me and when I looked around, I was alone.

Again.