Harry Potter, Twilight 1. Prologue

The greenery of the forest blurred past her as she pushed her legs to carry her faster. Heavy pants of air came pouring out of her lungs as she struggled to avoid the cracks of light striking all around her.

She continued sprinting through the multitude of large pines, trying to focus on escaping the imposing figures closing in on her. She refused to allow her mind to drift to the absences of the two familiar faces that she seemed to have been separated from at the beginning of this scramble; To do so would inevitably condemn herself to the whims of those who pursued her. Part of her brain couldn't help but berate their carelessness. They should have known better. They should have put up the protections as soon as they got back from Lovegood's house. They knew that these woods were crawling with danger. Granted, they had been a little shaken up from almost being killed at the batty old man's residence, but still. They should have immediately put up the wards.

She turned quickly, pointing the long familiar piece of wood towards the ground behind her as she shouted out the first thing that came to her mind. A cloud of black smoke erupted from the small explosion as splinters from a nearby tree embedded into her cheek. She hoped that it would be enough to slow her assailants down while sending up a quick prayer to whatever deity may be listening.

That hope was stamped out harshly as she heard the cackles of laughter coming from behind her.

She felt as if she had been running for hours, weaving through countless tree trunks hoping that by some small chance she could shake the danger threatening to overtake. She felt her lungs begin to burn as she pumped her arms furiously, the pounding in her chest matching perfectly with the sound of the feet such a short distance behind her.

Her panting was beginning to sound increasingly labored to her ringing ears. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to keep this pace for much longer. The white spots popping into her vision were enough to tell her that. Frantically looking around for anything that could help her, she noticed a small clearing to her right about fifty meters away.

_The cliffs!_

She would jump. If she could only make it to those cliffs, she would jump and not even think twice of the freezing water waiting below. It would feel like knives when she hit, she knew, but better to take her chances there than with these bastards chasing her.

Turning her course to veer slightly to the right, she begged her legs to hold up just a bit longer. Ignoring the sweat dripping into her eyes and the increasing barrage of lights exploding around her as her enemies realized her plan, she burst through the opening of the cliffside. Stumbling slightly, she felt a grim happiness settle in the pit of her stomach. She was going to make it. Focusing solely on the edge where the ground disappeared, she tried to quickly prepare herself for what could very possibly be her end.

The edge now being only a few short meters away, she felt her muscles bunch in anticipation as she readied to jump as far as she was able.

A sharp cry left her lips as she felt the knife-like pain hit her between her shoulder blades. Crashing to the ground in a mixture of pain and exhaustion, she felt a new level of despair threaten to overwhelm her as she looked on at the edge of cliff from her prone position on the clearing's ground.

She had been so close.

Seeing her pursuers converging on her position, she knew she was in no condition to fight. She resigned herself to the fact that they would take her easily. She did feel an intense relief as she realized that her companions were nowhere to be seen. She breathed a thankful sigh in knowing that they had escaped. They would be worried sick, of course, not to mention wracked with guilt over her capture, but at least they were safe. They could continue the mission. They didn't need her. She knew they could succeed even without her cleverness. She believed in them.

As the grungy men yanked her to her knees by her hair, she felt the tears well in her eyes as the current situation finally registered in her mind.

_What's going to happen to me?_


	2. The Highest Bidder

**_Thanks for all of the great reviews!_**

* * *

**Chapter 1- The Highest Bidder**

The past three weeks had gone by in a haze. After the snatchers had overtaken her on the cliffside, they had promptly apparated her to some unknown location and thrown her into a small cell-like space. She had been terrified of course, but that didn't stop her from kicking, punching, and scratching anyone who dared get close enough to her. Her nerves had been shot as days flew by. She had simply waited until the inevitable day when deatheaters would hear of her capture, and she would come face to face with them. She just hoped it wasn't Malfoy or Bellatrix that came for her, or worse, Voldemort himself. After all, Hermione Granger was probably reasonably high up on their "People we want to torture slowly" list.

Now, she almost wished she had been handed over to deatheaters.

She realized these weren't the average everyday thugs when they eventually grew tired of her struggling. Three of the men, whose names she still did not know, had come in and held her down as a fourth promptly shoved a large needle into the flesh of her arm. Her screams and gnashing of teeth had fallen on deaf ears as she was held down roughly and forced to watch the unidentified liquid flow into her body.

They had left her there on the stone floor, shaking in fear as she tried to understand what was happening to her. She knew she had just been drugged. Even several minutes after being injected, she could already feel grogginess beginning to seep into her mind. But why was she here? What is the point of all of this if it isn't to reap the reward for turning Harry Potter's best friend over to deatheaters?

Her mind had flashed back to a few days prior when she had watched two men drag a girl similar to her own age out of what she assumed to be a cell identical to her own. The girl's arms had been tied behind her back with her mouth gagged as she was shoved forward in front of the two men. In the quick glance she got of the poor girl, Hermione thought that she had most likely been rather beautiful at one time, though it was hard to see with her blonde hair matted and tangled while her drugged eyes were glazed and unfocused. She had stumbled along, one man having to basically hold her on her feet while the other shoved her roughly.

"You'll bring in a pretty penny, won't you, poppet?"

Hermione had racked her brain as she tried to comprehend the small clue she had been given by the man's statement. She knew the men who had brought her here were wizards, but were all of the prisoners magical? Or were there also muggles that had fallen prey to this evil operation. And what did they mean by the girl bringing in a pretty penny? How would she be able to bring in any...

Hermione gasped as realization flooded every fiber of her being.

They were being sold.

Placing her face into her palms, she had cried. She could feel the drug seeping further into her brain like a fog, ensuring she be the lifeless body they need in order to get her under control. She cried for her hopelessness, she cried for her life back in England, she cried for her friends and her parents.

But most of all, she cried for Harry and Ron.

If she was right, (which she normally was) she knew that she would most likely not be allowed to keep her thoughts of her past life. She would be expected to be obedient...a piece of property to some wealthy pervert. They wouldn't want her to feel like she had anything to escape to.

_Can't have me running away from my new owner._ She thought bitterly.

Just like she thought, it was only moments later when two of the men came back into her cell. Dragging her to her feet, one man tugged her along before shoving her back down onto her knees. The other quickly took his place as he pulled out his wand and pointed it directly between her eyes.

"Remember what the boss said. This one's special."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." The man with the wand sneered back.

"Well, I just don't want you to screw us up again!" The first man growled, allowing his anger to increase the volume of his scratchy voice.

"I've got it." The man said quietly through clenched teeth. "Obliviate her past. Leave her magical knowledge. It doesn't take a genius."

_Leave my magic? Why are they leaving my magic?_

"A shame though." He said. The false softness in his eyes was not enough to cause Hermione to drop her guard. "Pretty little one this is." The man said with a predatory grin before lifting his wand back at her. "Yes, we've got special plans for you."

Hermione closed her eyes tightly as she quickly scrambled through any knowledge she had of Obliviation.

She needed to block her thoughts. She knew it was incredibly difficult, but she needed to protect anything she could from them. Anything she could block from the spell could be used to help her escape. But what to protect? They would leave her magic, so there was no worry of that. Obviously, her initial thought was to protect her friendship with the boys. They were the closest things to brothers she'd ever had. She also thought of her parents, who were wandering around Australia without the knowledge that they even had a daughter. She shook her head sadly as she realized that dwelling on these thoughts would hardly be helpful in the long run. Clenching her teeth in determination, she thought harder.

_I will not be a mindless piece of property._

She would protect her will to live. To escape. She wouldn't be obedient. She wouldn't allow them to break her. Her future self might not know how she will escape or honestly why she feels a burning need to escape, but she would recognize that there is something better than the life to which she was about to be condemned. She would get out of this.

She would fight.

Feeling tears streaming down her face, but with a determined fire in her eyes, she locked away everything that defined her into the deepest depths of her mind: her stubbornness, her will, her courage and loyalty. Anything and everything that defined her as the feisty Gryffindor she was, she locked away with every fiber of her being.

Feeling the stones beneath her ground into her knees and the effects of the drugs slowly taking over her vision, she steadied herself. She lifted her tear streaked face and jutted her chin out defiantly as the bright light erupted from the end of the man's wand.

_Goodbye, Harry. Goodbye, Ron. I'll love you both forever._

* * *

They had kept Hermione in a constant state of lifelessness. For some unknown amount of time, many months she was sure, she had existed as a shell of her former self. Time seemed to blur by as she continuously struggled to keep track, but to no avail. In her moments of clarity, she tried to prevent herself from thinking on the liberties she knew they had taken with her barely responsive body. To allow herself to dwell on such things would surely cause her to break. She would not allow herself to cry for her lost innocence. To do so would be pointless.

She had better things to do in these short moments when the haze had been removed from her mind; like try to figure out where she was, and how she would eventually escape.

Moments like these were few and far between, though. As her person was shuffled between changing hands, her body being continuously sold to the highest bidder, she came to realize that they rarely allowed her any lucidity. No one wanted a resistant concubine, right?

_Better to release your pent up desires on a zombie-like corpse_. She thought bitterly.

Hermione groggily lifted herself off the cot in her tiny room and began looking around. The walls were bare, a shade of green that she couldn't say that she particularly cared for. She scanned her still slightly loopy brain and realized she couldn't even remember how she got here. Not that it really mattered, she conceded.

What did matter was why her current "master" allowed the sedatives to leave her body? Under normal circumstances, she would have already been slumped back on her cot by now. Hermione furrowed her brows in concentration.

Something was happening, she decided finally.

The words had no sooner entered her mind when the large wooden door swung open, startling Hermione as it crashed against the wall. She attempted to keep her neutral expression in hopes that whomever it was would assume she was still feeling the effects of the drugs. The vaguely familiar man stomped into the room with a small bowl and a glass.

"Eat." He commanded simply as he basically threw the bowl at her and slammed the glass down onto the tiny makeshift table beside her cot. He didn't seem to care that he had managed to slosh half the cool water out of the glass with his unnecessary brusqueness. Not that Hermione expected him to, though.

Hermione chose to obey the rude man if only to see if she could find out more about what plans seem to be brewing. The man watched her scoop up tiny spoonfuls of the paste-like substance. She supposed it was intended to be some type of porridge, but you couldn't tell by it's off-putting gelatinous consistency and bland flavor.

The man gave a stiff nod as if he approved before he turned to leave. Hermione found herself itching to blurt out a question, but caught herself before she got herself into trouble. She had no desire to be a punching bag today.

Before Hermione had even finished her breakfast, she was interrupted once more by three men coming into her room. They were obviously some type of guards, their green combat uniforms and sturdy boots telling her as much. They held their wands out and ready by their sides as they allowed a fourth man to enter.

He was dressed immaculately. Everything from his sleek black coat to his shiny leather shoes testified to his wealth. Hermione took in the man's perfectly styled black hair as his dark blue eyes met her own.

She placed her bowl on the table and stood as the man smirked at her, seemingly amused.

"Ah, Hermione. It's so nice to see you looking so...lively."

"By 'lively', I'm assuming you mean "conscious"? She sneered back sarcastically.

The man merely chuckled. "I see you live up to your Gryffindor name." He smirked before gesturing to her. "Get her ready. We're about to leave."

"Who are you?" Hermione demanded while trying to struggle against the guards that began binding her hands behind her back. "What do you want with me?"

She didn't honestly expect him to answer her, so she was surprised when he turned back towards her.

"Of course, where are my manners?" He said. Hermione wasn't sure what he was playing at with the apparent niceties. "My name is Paolo De Luca. I like to think of myself as a businessman with...special...areas of interests."

"And what do you want with me?"

"You're Hermione Granger. Surely, you understand that someone as famous as you could bring in quite the fortune?" He asked with a laugh.

"Y-You know who I am?"

His booming laugh filled the freezing cold room. "Who hasn't heard of the famous Hermione Granger, one third of the Golden Trio?"

Hermione felt dread fill her. "So, you're turning me in to Voldemort?"

"Ahhh, brave little Gryffindor, speaking his name as you do." He chided her. "But, no."

Hermione's eyes widened as she was taken aback. "No?" She asked confusedly. "If you don't want to turn me over to the Deatheaters, then what is the point in keeping me?"

"You're forgetting, Miss Granger, that I am first and foremost, a bussinessman." He began as he took a few steps towards her. "I show no preference to politicians, criminals, or madmen such as The Dark Lord." He sniffed arrogantly. "I am only loyal to the highest bidder...and it just so happens that you're magical talents are legendary. So legendary, in fact, that you have attracted the attention of some who are willing to pay a king's fortune for your safe delivery. And thus, we are here."

"Who are these people?" She asked, hoping to gain as much information as possible before being transported.

"I believe, 'people', might be the wrong term." He said with a bark of laughter. "Bring her along, boys."

_So they __aren't__ human?_ Hermione thought worriedly. _Surely not the werewolves..._

She was brought out of her musings as a blindfold was tied around her head, plunging her into a world of darkness. She struggled along the unknown corridor, the guards on each side of her digging their fingers into each of her shoulders almost painfully as they pushed her along roughly.

The group's sudden stop was the only warning Hermione had as she was yanked into the dark suffocating tube of apparition. Popping back into existence in some unknown place, she fell to her knees and began retching violently.

She tilted her head up in the general direction of where she heard the shuffling of her captors.

"A little warning would've been nice!" She snapped angrily, the queasy feeling in her stomach still churning about without pause.

"She's a feisty one, isn't she?"

Hermione's head snapped towards the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Apparently they had apparated directly to her buyer's location.

"Are they ready for her?" She heard Paolo ask the unknown male. If she could only get the bloody blindfold off, she could try to figure out what in the hell was going on here.

"Yes. Right this way."

Hermione was yanked to her feet (for the countless time that day, it seemed) before being dragged along to only Merlin knows where. The creaking of a large door signaled their entrance into what she assumed to be their destination. Her suspicions were confirmed when she was pulled to a stop and her blindfold yanked off her eyes.

The light pouring in after the removal of her blindfold was too much for Hermione's deprived eyes, making her squint as she rapidly attempted to assess the situation. She scanned the room quickly, realizing she was in some type of medieval looking dungeon. A small part of her mind, the completely drained part, she was sure, began forming completely insane plans of escape when she was suddenly snapped back to attention by the sound of a silky smooth voice.

"Hermione Granger. We meet at last."

His skin was a canvas of perfection, his complexion an impossible milky-white. His dark brown hair cascaded down to sit perfectly just below his shoulders. He looked as though he had been plucked from the very gates of heaven itself. Hermione had never seen someone look so incredibly flawless.

But then she noticed his eyes.

_Vampires!_

Hermione hissed in surprise and defiance as she took in those two blood red eyes staring straight back at her own chocolate ones. Immediately, she began struggling with all of her might against the men holding her down as the demon stood from his throne and began walking towards her.

"So, I suppose that means you know what we are." He asked with an air of innocent curiosity. "I guess they don't call you the brightest witch of your age for nothing." He finished with a chuckle.

_We?_

It was then that Hermione took the time to take in the rest of the people in the room. This one speaking to her, whoever he was, was obviously the leader, as he held himself with an air of importance and pride. There were two others who seemed to be of equal standing to him judging by the identical thrones that sat on either side of the one that vampire had just vacated. One of these additional leaders wore a rather bored expression, as if he couldn't wait until this whole ordeal were over. The blonde one, on the other hand, had an expression that made Hermione's blood run cold. His look was menacing, with a smile that made him appear to be the devil himself. Her desire to escape increased tenfold.

Looking around the stone room, she realized that there were four additional vampires present for this little meet and greet: three males, and one female who appeared to be barely into her teens.

Seven vampires and six dark wizards...She couldn't say that these were the best odds she had ever had.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked boldly, deciding not to beat around the bush. She assumed that if they went through all the trouble to bring her here alive, they weren't about to kill her now...she hoped.

"Oh, yes. I'm sure introductions are in order." The vampire said as he clapped his hands together in apparent excitement. Hermione found herself thinking his mannerisms rather odd.

"Enough of this, Aro." Paolo interrupted. "My men and I are ready to leave. So give us what we agreed."

"Ahh, yes, of course." The vampire, Aro, said offhandedly. "Heidi will take care of you at the front before showing you out."

"Excellent. Here is her wand, just be sure to not let her get her hands on it." Paolo warned before continuing. "She's small, but there's no denying she's powerful." He said as he gestured for one of the men to hand her wand over to the burly vampire.

Aro nodded his understanding as the larger vampire seemed to hold back a laugh. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him as she imagined what his reaction when she lit his arse on fire. Bet he wouldn't mock her then.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

Hermione panicked as she saw the six wizards turn to leave with the supernaturally gorgeous female vampire.

"Wait!" She shouted. "You're just going to sell me to vampires?"

Paolo turned and gave her a smirk. "Sorry, love. Like I said, I'm loyal to the highest bidder. No hard feelings though, ok?"

With that, the giant doors slammed closed, the sounds of the locks sliding and securing into place echoing throughout the room. Hermione's heart began to pound as seven sets of blood red eyes turned to look down on her.


	3. Escape!

**_I loved you guys' reviews! They made me so happy! Thanks so much!_**

* * *

**Chapter 2- Escape!**

The walls reverberated with the sound of thunder as the large body was thrown onto the ground roughly, the stone bricks groaning and cracking underneath the force.

"Come on, Felix, you can do better than that." Hermione said lazily as she leaned against the stone wall, her wand rolling nonchalantly between her fingers.

The burly vampire jumped to his feet in a flash as he hurtled back towards Hermione, who couldn't seem to care less. Flicking her wand almost in boredom, Felix crashed to the ground at her feet, apparently unconscious.

"What was that?" The other vampire cried as he watched from his vantage point on the side of the room.

"That," Hermione began as she nudged Felix with her foot. "is a 'Stupefy'." It normally knocks a witch or wizard out for quite some time, but I would assume it wears off much more quickly for vampires." She finished. Leaning over the seemingly asleep vampire, Hermione murmured the countercurse. She giggled slightly as Felix's eyes snapped open and searched around the room confusedly from his position on the floor.

"Wha-?" He asked, slightly dazed from whatever had just happened to him.

"Sleep well?" She asked sweetly.

Felix smirked up at her before hopping to his feet. "I'll get you eventually." He promised.

"I doubt that." She said as she looked over at the other vampire.

"Care to give it a go, Demetri?"

"I had my fill yesterday, thank you very much." He said with a frown before stepping up to her and taking her wand.

Hermione sighed as the two large vampires began to walk her back to her room.

She had been in the massive, partially underground stone fortress for over a month, and had, aggravatingly, gotten used to the routine. When she had been brought here, she couldn't have imagined what a bunch of vampires could have possibly wanted with a witch. Now, everything seemed to make sense.

This coven, "The Volturi" she found that they were called, were something like the police force of the vampire world. Granted, from her time here she realized that they normally operated under various shades of gray, but nonetheless, they apparently kept the ancient laws of the vampires to some extent. There were many in their guard, with the three ancients, Aro, Marcus, and Caius leading them. Almost all of the guard possessed some type of supernatural gift, something that Hermione didn't even know was possible. As fascinating as she found these talents to be, the accumulation of these gifts, along with the sheer number of vampires that claimed residence here, made it easy to see that the Volturi were exponentially powerful, not to mention deadly. Definitely not a group with which one would want to trifle.

She discovered soon after her arrival that the Volturi leaders were curious of the wizarding race. Not ones to settle with the prejudice that came from witches and wizards, they decided to do a little research of their own. That's where Hermione fit into this giant puzzle.

They had been currently using her as a way to discover the strengths and weaknesses of witches and wizards. The Volturi knew that when evenly matched, a vampire stood no chance in a fight against a wizard. They had too little experience in dealing with wizardkind to truly understand all of the powers and abilities that come with being magical. It was the Volturi's hope that if they could find a way to defeat them, then they could expand their power even more.

Hermione snorted softly as they continued walking towards her room. _Everyone and their search for world domination...Bunch of bloody morons._ She thought as she rolled her eyes.

They reached her room and shuffled her inside before closing the door without a word. She sighed tiredly as she sat down on her small twin bed. Days like today weren't so bad, really. Working with Demetri and Felix could actually be quite entertaining on occasion, in fact. Especially when Felix lost his temper, the sore loser. That was always fun.

She groaned as she pulled her aching body from the bed and walked over to the mirror mounted above her dresser. Pulling her cotton tshirt over her head, she began to take inventory. She could still easily see the faint bruises on her cheek and shoulders, as well as the scars that littered her torso and back.

Her assigned meeting days with Jane and Alec, on the other hand, were a little less than fun. Caius wanted to find out if she was susceptible to a vampire's power, and therefore had let the twin siblings have free reign over her for the day occasionally. Needless to say, their powers did indeed work, and she now realized what a sick little bint that Jane was. The fire that she had caused Hermione to feel on that stone floor was as intense as the Cruciatus curse. She laid there on the ground, screaming and writhing, until after some unknown amount of time, Caius called for her to stop. Hermione stayed in her spot, panting and spitting up the blood from her bitten tongue, while the little demon stared at her with a sadistic smile.

Oh, what Hermione wouldn't give to "Avada" that little smirk right off her face. Not that she was sure it would actually kill the tiny vampire, but surely it would hurt like hell, at least.

Hermione glanced once more at her body before slipping her shirt back on and trudging back towards her bed. She was freezing and wanted nothing more than to burrow down into the warmth of her bed. Huddling into a tight ball, Hermione grabbed her skinny knees and closed her eyes. Opening them back up, she threw back the covers, glancing at her legs. Besides the obvious bruises and cuts from the various beatings she received from Jane, they were also alarmingly gaunt. Sighing and rolling her eyes, she berated herself for not realizing how unhealthy she had become when checking herself over in the mirror. She was obviously suffering from malnutrition, which was not surprising considering vampires didn't really have a need for real food, per say, and therefore frequently forgot to bring her her own.

It also didn't help that they had enlisted the help of a muggle doctor to retrieve samples of her blood every two to three days. What the muggle was thinking to have agreed to help a flock of merciless killers, she had no idea, but she supposed it was his prerogative. Her blood had been harvested after one of the three ancients, (Caius, if she had to guess, evil bastard.) had suggested that if vampires were able to drink the blood of the magical population, then maybe they could retain some of the magical capabilities that wizards and witches display, thus, making them stronger. He had not been pleased with the results thus far.

Weeks went by with Hermione struggling through the same routine each day; fighting with Felix and Demetri, blood samples and other tests with the muggle doctor, and torture sessions with the twins from hell.

Hermione's body had suffered from increased beatings each time she had training with Jane and Alec. They had become rather temperamental since Hermione had learned how to thwart their attacks. In the first few sessions with the two tiny vampires, she had compared Jane's talent to the Cruciatus curse. In fact, she had thought that for all intents and purposes, the two were one and the same.

It was after a rather tiring exercise with them when she had dragged herself back to her room that she discovered how stupid she had been. Her mind had flown through books she had read about the curse and eventually realized that the Cruciatus curse produces actual pain, while Jane's power produced the illusion of pain. Thinking on it harder, she knew she was correct when she noted that she never exhibited the aftereffect symptoms that a Cruciatus would procure after working with Jane. If Jane wasn't creating actual pain, then she was forcing Hermione to believe that she was in pain, which meant that it was all in Hermione's mind. If Jane's power was only an illusion, Hermione felt like she could safely bet that Alec's would work in similar fashion.

That night, Hermione had fallen asleep with a small smile on her face as thoughts of rendering the demon twins' powers useless floated through her head.

It was three days later when Hermione realized that just because she was able to block their powers didn't mean she could block their anger...at least not without a wand.

The harder they tried to subject Hermione to Jane's burning torture or Alec's sensory-deprivation ability, the more frustrated they had become. Even as they beat and bruised her already exhausted body, Hermione refused to allow her Occlumency walls to crack even in the slightest.

As she lay in her bed holding a damp cloth to her busted lip, (courtesy of Jane's boot) she berated herself for not thinking of her Occlumency shields sooner. After all, it was ever so fun to watch Jane completely lose her cool in the wake of Hermione's immunity. Granted, her puffy black eye that was steadily swelling was a little less than ideal but nonetheless, it was still worth it.

Sighing, Hermione pulled herself from her prone position and walked quietly over to the small window that looked over the inner open courtyard. Rain was falling from the sky in steady sheets, pattering along the stone seats that were scattered throughout the area. The sky was dark and foreboding, a perfect reflection of Hermione's rather dark mood.

She was tired. Her body had been beaten and broken, and she didn't want to do this anymore. She wasn't some kind of animal. She was a human being. She was a witch-A damn good witch, and she wasn't going to put up with this madness anymore.

_It's time to get out of here._

Hermione knew that she had no chance of escaping without her wand, so she knew that it was the key. A guard member always took it back from her after their "exercises" had been completed for the day, so she realized she would have to take it right off of their person.

But how?

Hermione paced the length of her room praying that she would come to a solution. Trying to knick it was out of the question, obviously, as she would never be able to be quick enough. The vampire would know she was up to something almost as soon as she made the first movement towards them.

She continued pacing as she ran her hands through her hair tiredly. There had to be a way! She quickened her pace as she mentally poured through every book she had read, hoping to find something helpful, when something finally popped into her mind.

_Wandless magic!_

Excitement and hope flooded through her for the first time since arriving at the stone prison as the thought floated through her mind. She knew the very basics of performing wandless magic, but she had never honestly tried to do it on her own. With an inexperienced witch such as herself, Hermione conceded that it would need to be a very basic spell that she attempted so she didn't deplete her magical stores too severely.

_An "accio" perhaps..._

That was perfect! She would summon her wand from whichever vampire was holding it. After she had her wand, she knew she could make her escape. She just had to ensure that she was completely silent in all aspects of her plan. Shouting spells and running about would no doubt alert the guard and there was no way she would be able to fight off multiple vampires. Even experienced witches as wizards could normally take on three or four, maximum.

Her plan decided, now all Hermione needed to do was to learn the silent, wandless summoning charm.

_Shouldn't be hard, at_ _all._ She thought sarcastically

Looking around the room, she set her sights on the small washcloth she had been using to clean her cuts after an exercise with Jane and Alec. Narrowing her eyes and focusing intently, she gathered all of her magical power.

_Accio cloth!_ She thought with determination.

The cloth wriggled slightly as Hermione felt a wave of lightheadedness sweep through her. Slumping against the bed, she shook her head quickly, trying to get it to pass.

_This is going to take some work._

* * *

Several days and countless headaches later, Hermione felt like she was confident enough to set her plan in motion. She had decided that Felix was her best bet in engaging since he was exceedingly comfortable around her and therefore not quite as guarded. His fighting style was extremely familiar to her as well after the countless times she had fought with him during her exercises with him and Demetri.

She was ready.

Hermione continued through her routine as though nothing had changed, merely biding her time until she had an opening for attack. She had to admit, she wasn't expecting her opportunity to arise so quickly. Only a few days later, Demetri had been called from her and Felix just moments before she they were due to take her back to her room. As much as she wanted to postpone her escape plan as a paralyzing fear completely enfolded her, Hermione knew she might not get a better chance than this one being handed to her.

"Just go ahead, we're fine here." Felix insisted as he took Hermione's wand and placed it in his jacket pocket while Demetri looked at him warily.

Hermione held her breath and did her best to look nonthreatening as Demetri's red eyes swept over her in calculating thought.

_Don't look guilty! Don't look guilty! _

Just when Hermione was sure Demetri knew she was up to something, he finally gave a swift nod to Felix and turned to exit through a separate door.

Sweet relief coursed through her as Felix gestured for her to follow him through the corridors leading to her room. She felt adrenaline pumping at an almost incomprehensible rate as she followed Felix, the clack of his boots echoing off the stone walls. Her hand was itching towards the burly vampire walking just ahead of her, but she reigned herself in, determined to be patient. She would only have one shot at this, so it had to be the perfect opportunity.

Reaching her door, Hermione felt her brow break out into a cold sweat. Felix opened the door wide before turning back to her, a questioning look in his eye.

"When's the last time we fed you?" He asked

Hermione could do this. If there was anything she knew, it was how to be snarky.

"Oh, I ate almost three days ago, so I'm still quite full." She replied sarcastically.

Felix merely chuckled. "No need for the claws, tiger. I was just going to go get you something."

Walking into her room to get her food tray, Hermione saw her chance. Collecting herself quickly, she harnessed her magical core and threw her wand arm up.

ACCIO WAND! She thought with more determination and conviction than she had ever known she had possessed.

It was rather odd. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, but Hermione was sure only a moment had passed. She watched with bated breath as her wand flew from Felix's robe pocket into her outstretched hand. He turned on her quickly, the surprise evident on his face as he realized he had been outsmarted. Hurtling himself towards her, he never stood a chance.

With a flick of her wand, a silent "stupefy", and a cushioning charm to ensure complete silence, Felix was unconscious on her cobblestone floor. Panting heavily as her heart beat pounded in her chest, she quickly got to work.

_What now?_ Hermione thought, slightly panicked.

Shaking her head in aggravation, she commanded herself to act logically. She would stick to her plan. She knew that Felix would not remain as he was for long, so she needed to avoid the guard when he sounded the alarm. She needed to ensure they did not find her. She could take on a single vampire, maybe two, but not the entire guard. She needed to make herself invisible to them.

_Block their senses._

Quickly, she tapped her wand on the top of her head and immediately began feeling the water like sensation of the disillusionment charm flowing over her. Hermione knew that if a vampire looked hard enough, they would surely see her, but it should be enough that she could slip by undetected if she were careful. Next, she flicked her wand towards her shoes, preventing them from making a sound when she scurried along the corridors in search for an exit. The last spell she cast was a rather complex scent-blocking charm, but she was confident she could cast it successfully.

_Thank you, "Advanced Magical Theory"_. Hermione thought wryly.

Without even a glance over her shoulder at the prone vampire, Hermione slipped out into the corridor, closing her door gently behind her.

She hadn't a clue where she was going, so she simply began quietly hurrying down the corridor in the opposite way from which she and Felix had just come. It was much darker down these unfamiliar corridors, which was good for her disillusionment charm, but bad for her already lacking sense of direction. She took turns randomly, having no other option, while throwing up prayers to every deity she could think as she tip-toed along various hallways.

Two hours had passed when Hermione realized that she was completely and utterly turned around. Hermione knew that by now Felix had probably alerted the others, but she had been lucky as she had only come across two vampires since her mad escape. Hearing footsteps rapidly approaching from behind her, she quickly crouched into a side alcove, being sure to remain completely motionless.

She held her breath as Felix jogged past her and continued down the corridor, disappearing around the next turn.

_Apparently the alarm __has__ been sounded._ She thought as she wriggled out of the small niche.

Coming to a fork in her path, she looked left, then right, sighing rather loudly as she realized how hopeless this guessing game was becoming.

"Silly little witch, thinking you could escape."

Hermione audibly groaned as she turned to meet the eye's of the devil's mistress herself. Cutting her disillusionment charm, she jutted her chin out defiantly.

"Jane." She spoke simply.

She watched as the small vampire narrowed her eyes at her in concentration. Hermione smiled at her smugly.

"Sorry, dearie. Seems like your power is rather...ineffective now."

Jane had pounced on her in a flash, much to Hermione's surprise. She didn't really think the small vampire would stoop so low to engage in a physical fight. Hermione conceded that it was most likely a testament to the amount of hate Jane harbored for her.

Cracking her head against the wall from the force of Jane's blow, Hermione lifted her wand and flicked it at the approaching Jane. She smiled broadly as Jane was blasted into opposite corridor wall and slumped to the ground, stunned.

Rising to her feet on wobbly legs, Hermione felt the back of her head. Looking at her hand, she rolled her eyes at the sight of blood. She was sure the vampires would be able to smell that from a mile away. She needed to get out there, now.

Fatigue caressed the edges of her consciousness as dizziness threatened to overtake her vision. She was also pretty sure that Jane had managed to crack at least one of her ribs if the pain radiating from her side was any indication, but Hermione refused to stop. She frantically ran down countless corridors making random turns as her desperation to escape rose higher and higher. Her hope was squashed to dust, however, when she turned a corner to collide straight into a stone cold body. Falling to the ground, Hermione immediately raised her wand towards the vampire whose eyes widened in shock. A hex was on the tip of her tongue when the blonde vampire raised his hands in surrender.

Confused, Hermione paused, but did not lower her wand.

"We mean you no harm." The man said in what Hermione thought was a relatively sincere tone.

"Then move. I need to leave. Now." She responded, trying to make her voice sound stronger than what she knew it was.

"So you're the one they're searching for..."

"Move, now! Or I will stun you!" She demanded, having grown tired of this odd vampire.

"They never mentioned you being a witch, though..." He said, eyeing her wand in apparent fascination.

Hermione sighed in frustration. "Petrificus Totalus." She exclaimed, pointing her wand towards the irritating man.

He fell to the ground with a thump, his hand still on his chin in thought with his features alit in wonder. It was almost enough to make Hermione laugh...if she weren't about to be ruthlessly murdered by vampires.

Looking up to continue her manic running, she noticed that apparently the male vampire had not been alone.

Gasping in fright, Hermione jumped back trying to put distance between herself and the female vampire who was looking at her intently.

The female held her hands up immediately, showing Hermione that she meant no harm.

"I need to leave." Hermione pleaded weakly, realizing her time was surely almost gone.

"Of course." She responded kindly. "Let me help you."

She stopped, assuming she had misunderstood. "What?"

"I can help you get out of here."

Hermione hesitated, not sure what was even happening.

"Why?"

"Because I can." The woman responded with a slight smile.

"Why?" Hermione asked again, not satisfied with the first answer.

"Because what they have done to you is wrong." She responded, sadness lacing her every word.

Neither made a move as Hermione kept her wand trained on the vampire in front of her.

"Please." The woman asked with sincerity flowing from her.

Hermione didn't know why she did it. Initially, she thought she had done it because she was just so bloody tired, but that probably wasn't completely true. Maybe she did it because of her odd golden eyes overflowing with compassion. Maybe she did it because her smile was so kind and serene that it made Hermione believe every word that came out of her mouth, or maybe she did it because with her wavy brown caramel hair cascading to her shoulders, she was what Hermione liked to believed her own mother may have looked like. She didn't know why, but Hermione simply lowered her wand and gave the woman a curt nod.

Smiling broadly, the female vampire cautiously walked up to her and looked down at her before frowning in concern.

"Are you injured?"

"Nothing that I can't handle, for now."

The woman nodded. "Alright, we need to get you out of here. But first, do you think you could revive my husband?"

If Hermione had not been so exhausted, she probably would've been solid red in embarrassment. Here was the only person willing to help her get out of this mess, and she had gone and froze her husband. "H-Husband? I'm so sorry. I thought that he was with the guard."

The woman smiled sweetly. "Hush, now. There's nothing to be sorry for."

Hermione quickly muttered the countercurse and stepped back behind the female.

"W-what? What just happened?" The blonde asked before quickly jumping to his feet before his eyes locked onto his mate's, seeming to check her over for any indicating damage. "Are you alright, love?"

"Of course, darling." She spoke before kissing him on the cheek. "But for now, we need to get out of here." She continued as she gestured to Hermione, who was still slightly behind her. "Do you know a way out?"

Only giving Hermione a quick glance, the blonde looked back into the female's eyes for a moment before nodding resolutely.

"Of course." He said.

Hermione pushed herself off the wall from where she had been leaning and groaned in pain. Turning back to her quickly, the male vampire looked at her in concern.

"Here, let me help y-"

Hermione shook her head fiercely as she backed away from him as spots began to appear in her vision. Her breathing became increasingly labored as the woman approached her once more, placing her hand gently on her shoulder.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"H-Hermione." She responded as her legs finally gave out from under her. Waiting for the impact of the stone floor, Hermione was surprised when she was enveloped in the cool arms of the woman.

"I've got you, Hermione. We'll get you out of here."

Although she was talking to her in quietly calm voice, Hermione felt as though they were moving at an unfathomable pace. Fighting off the darkness that was only seconds from taking her, she glanced up at the vampire that was holding her.

"Your name? She whispered groggily.

She looked down at her with a blindingly beautiful smile as if Hermione's question had made her entire day.

"I'm Esme."


End file.
