[Hermione Granger]

Out of the twisting, suffocating darkness, Hermione stumbled forward and gasped for air. Immediately, the Snatcher yanked her back by the rough rope which bound her wrists behind her back.

"Not so fast," he breathed, putrid breath hot on the back of her neck.

Hermione whimpered in sheer terror. She could hardly see or breathe, her mind a whirlwind of panic and adrenaline. She had utterly no idea where they were; the long drive on which they stood, deathly quiet and shaded from moonlight by tall hedgerows, was completely foreign to her. Hermione wracked her brains wildly for something, anything they could do to save themselves.

"P-please," she whimpered. "We told you the t-truth. You've g-got the wrong --"

"That's enough, girly. Or I'll open this pretty neck," the Snatcher growled. His long fingernails scratched at Hermione's exposed skin, and she writhed to get away, to no avail.

She could hear the others struggling behind her. Hermione tried to turn and see them, to say anything to Ron with her eyes -- but the Snatchers, holding each of them fast, shoved them forward up the drive. Hermione stumbled again and raised her eyes.

Only at the sight of the enormous marble manor house, and the crack of light widening over the front steps as its heavy oaken front door opened, did Hermione begin to fully understand just how much danger they were in.

[Ron Weasley]

Ron's heart was beating at a million beats a minute, his mind racing with fear and afraid for what was to come as the ominous mansion cast a dark shadow over the group that was standing before the giant door. Struggling against his bonds, he tried to get closer to Hermione but was soon shoved in the opposite direction.

"I swear if you hurt her-" A fist landed in his stomach and he doubled over, soon receiving a heavy boot that propelled him across the polished marble floor.

"Watch it, blood traitor," he growled, pulling him back up to his feet. Ron clenched his jaw shut, shooting a panicked look at Harry that was struggling beside him. A few paces further and they were in a drawing-room, Ron squinting to make out the figures in front of the fireplace. Ron inwardly groaned, the long white hair and obnoxious look on the man's face could be non-other than Lucius Malfoy.

[Hermione Granger]

Hermione heard the sounds of Ron struggling behind her; her call of “Ron, don’t -“ landed too late, mingling with the noise of the Snatcher’s fist connecting with flesh. Hermione wrenched herself around, trying to get to him, but the viselike grip on her own body was too strong to fight. The Snatchers forced them through the ominous entryway of Malfoy Manor, into a cavernous front room lined with marble pillars and pale-faced portraits who frowned disdainfully on the entering prisoners.

The Snatchers forced their quarry roughly together, forming a line between Hermione, Ron, Harry, Dean and Griphook and the approaching figures at the end of the hall. Hermione immediately recognized the family whose features so matched the haughty portraits on the walls.

“What’s this?” said Narcissa Malfoy.

“We’re here to see He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!” rasped Fenrir Greyback.

As their captors began to negotiate, Hermione seized her moment to capitalize on their slight distraction. Inch by inch, she moved closer to Ron until her fingers slipped around his behind their backs.

“Can you see which one of them has our wands?” Hermione breathed, hiding her moving lips with her hair. “I could Disapparate us if we can just manage to get them - slip them out of a back pocket -“

Hermione could feel Ron shaking, whether with rage or with fear, and squeezed his hand more tightly still.

“We’ll find a way out of this. Only promise me you’ll stay calm.”

[Ron Weasley]

Ron couldn't make out what the snatchers were saying to the Malfoys but he knew it was only time before they summoned You-Know-Who. Shoved into the centre of the room with the other prisoners, Ron felt Hermione's hands close around his and for a moment, he felt briefly reassured. He gripped Hermione's hands tightly in an attempt to stop his own from shaking with a mixture of anger and fear, trying to turn to face towards her.

"Greyback," Ron whispered back, keeping an eye on their captors. "I saw him pocket them earlier but I don't reckon they're going to be easy to get back."

Ron suddenly clenched his mouth shut as Greyback grabbed Harry and yanked him in front of Draco, who seemed to be rather reluctant to be here. Ron avoided looking at Draco as much as possible; if he didn't recognise Harry, he'd most definitely recognise Hermione and himself and then they'd be done for. It was as if his mind had been read as Draco was pushed in front of Hermione and then Ron.

"Look, Draco, isn't it the Granger girl?" Narcissus hissed. Ron prayed that by some miracle Draco would deny it, but what was he thinking?

"Maybe, yeah." Ron's heart started pounding at Draco's answer, even more so as Lucius Malfoy joined in.

"And this must be the Weasley boy! It's Potter's friends, Draco look - this is Arthur Weasley's son, yes?" Ron stared dead ahead, not daring to make eye contact as Lucius bounded up to his face. He still gripped Hermione's hands, the only thing anchoring him at that moment.

"Yeah, could be." Ron heard Draco say, as Lucius finally took his face out of Ron's, only to be replaced by Bellatrix Lestrange's.

"Hermione, this isn't good, we need to do something now," Ron looked frantically around the room for an exit or escape route, ignoring Bellatrix's screeches behind him.

[Hermione Granger]

Hermione's eyes darted to Fenrir Greyback's back pocket, where the shape of a thin stick of wood - Ron's wand - stuck out beneath the flow of his filthy robes. Ron was right, though: Hermione couldn't see any way for them to grab it quickly enough without a Snatcher descending upon them.

She barely had time to consider such a possibility, anyway, as the thin frame of Draco Malfoy rose from an armchair beside the fire. "Agh!" Hermione yelped, as the Snatcher suddenly forced her forward to face Draco's inspection. In spite of her fear, Hermione's blood boiled at the sight of him. Leave it to the bigoted school bully, whose Mudblood taunts had tormented her for years[/i], to be the one who would sign their death warrant. Hermione twisted her face away hard as she could; but she knew, as her pounding heart told her, that it would be next to impossible for him not to recognize her...

"I... maybe... yeah," Draco said hesitantly. Hermione froze. For a fraction of a second, she met his eyes - he looked away instantly.

The Snatcher shunted Hermione backward against Ron again, her purpose served. Her hand closed over Ron's once more. Again she had no time to consider Draco's apparent moral conflict before the entrance of one Bellatrix Lestrange ratcheted her fear up to a new level.

"What is that?" the Dark witch screeched at the Snatcher holding Hermione's wrist in one hand, and the sword of Gryffindor in the other.

Hermione saw what was about to happen a fraction of a second before it did. As Bellatrix's lip curled into a snarl of rage, Hermione dove aside, landing heavily on the ground without the use of her arms. Jets of red light flew over hers and Ron's heads, striking each of the Snatchers with precision. Hermione struggled to lift her face from the oriental rug, inhaling its dust; try as she might, her tied arms imbalanced her weight, and she could not manage to prop herself up on her knees.

"Stupefy!"

With a heavy thud and an almighty crash, one of the Snatchers caught the full brunt of Bellatrix's spell, keeled over into an ornate mahogany end table, smashed the china vase sitting atop it, and crumpled to the ground just feet from Ron. The man's wand clattered against the flagstones, still clutched limply in his hand.

"Ron, go!" she hissed, urging him toward it with her eyes, and herself struggling greatly to move toward the Snatcher in an awkward crawl. Spell fire flashing above them, Hermione wildly hoped that this brief chaos could be their chance, however slim, to escape. Harry was still at the other end of the room, kneeling at the foot of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, but if she and Ron could just get ahold of a wand --