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Hermione couldn't hold back her tears any longer as she sat huddled in her own filth deep in a dark dungeon. She had no idea where she was or how long she
had been there. She had no idea if it was day or night, without even a window to give her a clue. She was sitting in complete darkness, and the only sound
that met her ears was the occasional drip of water which had condensed on the wall and finally trickled down.
"Lucius!" she sobbed softly as she leaned against the wall and hugged herself, trying to stop the trembling. Once she'd let out the name, she couldn't seem
to stop saying it. Over and over she repeated his name, louder and louder until she was screaming it hysterically. "Lucius! Come find me, please!"
"Stop making all that noise, girl, if you know what's good for you," shouted a harsh male voice directly into her ear as a pair of hands seized her by the
shoulders.
"Let me go!" she demanded, shoving the unseen figure away from her.
"You must stop shouting, girl," the man insisted. "You'll bring them back to beat you again if you do not."
"Beat me?" she asked through her addled senses. "Why should they beat me?"
"My lady, you are lucky they haven't killed you yet," said the man, who once again reached for her in the dark, holding her fast to keep her from lashing
out again. "Be still, now. I don't wish to see you harm yourself further."
"Who are you?" she asked, reaching for his face and touching it uncertainly.
"It's me, Erik," he said as he caught the hand and grasped it again. "I saw them taking you, and tried to stop them, so I got dragged along for the ride."
"What shall we do now?" she asked worriedly. "I have no idea where I am or how to get out of here. Do you know this place any better than I?"
"I have been here before," he admitted. "When Egremon had me removed from the city the first time, I spent a month in this hell before I found my way
out. Fortunately for you, I'll be able to find the way again. But we must wait, my Lady, until you are better able to walk. You've taken quite a nasty
hit to the head, and I'll not risk killing you off while trying to save you. You rest a bit longer, while I see what can be done."
"Thank you, Erik," Hermione whispered, and felt him squeeze her hand again.
"I hear you're quite a formidable witch, Countess," he said lightly. "I hope this is true, for you'll soon be needing to prove it."
"My Lord, truly, you do not need to come along," Egremon insisted as he continued along the hall at a fast clip. "If she has been captured as I suspect,
we cannot hope to Apparate the whole way. The journey is long and arduous. Surely you would be better off—"
"Do you imagine that I have never journeyed on foot before, Egremon?" Lucius scoffed as he kept pace with him. "I have done things that would make your
mind whirl at their complexity and effrontery. I have seen the bowels of hell, and stand here now to tell the tale. Wherever you take me, I promise you
I have seen worse."
Egremon paused and looked over his shoulder at the younger man, considering his words. "Yes, I believe you, my Lord," he answered. "After all, were you
not recently in league with the devil himself?"
"The Dark Lord was a very powerful and very convincing man," Lucius excused him. "I do not know if I would have followed him if not for my father's
insistence that I do so from the time I was a toddler, but I do know that I would never follow him again, should he rise up before me in all his
splendor. I am only grateful in the knowledge that he cannot rise again now that all who could have aided him are no more."
"All who could have aided him but you," Egremon pointed out. "Are you not capable of raising him, should you so choose?"
"And what has any of this to do with the topic at hand?" Lucius asked with pursed lips. "We are not discussing the Dark Lord, we are discussing my Muggle
wife. Of the two, I much prefer the wife."
"Of that I have no doubt," Egremon commented dryly as he turned and began to walk again. "Yet there are some who would see you do your duty by your Lord,
Lucius Malfoy. I believe that these men have taken your dearest Countess as a bargaining tool to get your assistance bringing Lord Voldemort back again."
"I would sooner die," Lucius growled.
"Not even to save your wife?" Egremon asked. "That would be a pity—for her. But, my Lord, you must understand, I have no control over these people, nor
the actions that they have taken. If you are to be believed, and the letter left was not by Lady Hermione's hand, then there are workings afoot of the
darkest of sorts. You must be ready for whatever it is that lies ahead."
"And if you are not involved in these machinations, Egremon, how is it that you know of them at all?" Lucius wanted to know.
The pair of them had finally stepped out the front entrance of the castle, past the two guards that stood there looking bored, and were now walking at a
fast clip towards the stables. Egremon put a finger to his lips and did not answer until they were well away from either of the buildings. With a hand on
Lucius's shoulder, he turned to speak in his ear.
"I confess that I am a spy among them," he explained. "I did not know of any plan to take your wife directly, but if I am right, she is in very grave
danger indeed."
"And how am I to trust you, sir?" Lucius pointed out. "You have yourself made it quite clear that you do not wish for Hermione's continued existence."
"No, my Lord, I have nothing against the girl herself," he corrected him. "Very spirited, very pretty girl. But you are the Earl of Garamond. It is your
duty to breed a pure-blooded heir, not any watered-down version that your beloved would whelp."
"You speak of her as if she were a dog or horse or other breeding animal, but she is not," said Lucius as they reached the stables at last. "She is a
powerful witch in her own right, Muggleborn or not."
"I hope, for her sake, that what you say is true," Egremon answered as he stepped over to grab a saddle and took it along with him. Lucius grabbed another
one and followed along. "They intend to find out just what she is capable of. Only by proving her worth will your wife be accepted here."
"I have no concerns on that score," Lucius said as he fitted a saddle to one of the pair of horses Egremon and summoned. The horse allowed him to finish
the task and mount it, and Egremon mounted his as well. Both spurred their mounts into action, heading for the portcullis without another word.
"She is there," said Egremon, pointing to the tallest of the distant mountains. "Deep within the caves of Vetiver Rock. And there she will stay unless she
can escape, or we can find a way to get inside. And believe me, my Lord, that is not an easy task."
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