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Malfoy Manor
.
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Pain.
So much pain.
"ARRGGHHH!"
Hermione Granger's agonized screams echo across the room while Bellatrix Lestrange mad cackles drown most of them.
"Please….please stop…" Hermione begs while she struggles against the woman who is currently carving out her skin where her soul mark is.
The soul mark that has a name of her protector for life.
The one destined to protect her when she is in danger.
However, for some reason her Protector Bond hasn't been activated yet since she first saw it when she was three years old. Despite being in danger every year at Hogwarts, her protector has never appeared.
She is now certain that there must be a reason behind her protector's absence all throughout her life. There might be certain conditions to trigger her Protector Bond.
What are the conditions to trigger the bond? Hermione thinks in despair, sobbing incoherently. How to make my protector appear right now?...How to do it?!
"Still hoping for a savior, mudblood?" the insane woman asks in amusement. "Still waiting for your protector to come for you?"
Hermione's only reply is to sob helplessly while the woman begins laughing like a deranged lunatic.
Where are you, my protector? She mentally wonders, gradually losing hope. Where are you really?! Because I really need you right now!
"Crucio!" Bellatrix cast the cruciatus curse on her next and Hermione can no longer hold it anymore.
So she finally screams the name she has known since she first learned her letters.
"BOB!" she calls out, desperately hoping that her call will finally be answered this time.
Then, without warning, there is a blinding flash of light and a blonde haired man in a golden superhero suit appears before her.
His cerulean blue eyes immediately lock onto her chocolate brown orbs and Hermione sees the instant concern there for her. Then, his expression swiftly morphs into one of rage when he finally sees her current condition.
At the sight of him, Hermione can't help but feel overwhelming relief.
My protector is here. It's going to be alright now… She thinks, sighing inwardly. All her worry and pain seems to disappear just at the sight of her protector being there.
Hermione watches as the blonde haired man quickly turns his attention on the mad witch, who is about to curse him with a dark spell. Her protector's eyes glow brightly for a second right before Bellatrix's wand explodes in her hand.
"ARRGGHH!" the dark witch screeches in pain as she loses her right hand to Hermione's immense satisfaction.
With her view blocked by her protector's figure, Hermione isn't able to see what else happened around while she is lying down on the floor. However, she hears that there are three other explosions nearby and she instantly realizes that the three Malfoys – Lucius, Narcissa and Draco – have been dealt with and have become weaponless by her protector.
She continues to watch as Bob's figure blurs as he moves swiftly around the room to deal with all their enemies. The next thing she knows, everything becomes quiet all of a sudden. She assumes that their opponents have been finally rendered unconscious.
"Are you alright?…" Her protector suddenly appears kneeling beside her and Hermione nearly had a heart attack at his sudden appearance.
She stares at him for a moment before she replies to him almost shyly, "There is still some lingering pain from the cruciatus curse…"
She doesn't really need to explain everything to him about what happened to her because the moment the Protector Bond activates, the protective party will immediately know the exact situation prior to saving the person in distress.
"I understand…Let me know when the pain is gone.." the blonde says to her gently.
"Yes, of course," comes her quivering reply as she lay there on the floor for a moment. She is still somewhat shaken from the ordeal earlier.
It takes twenty seconds before Hermione finally decides to begin moving again.
"I am ok now…" she informs her protector.
"Are you sure?" The man asks in obvious worry.
"Yes.." she assures him.
"Then, let me help you sit up slowly…" Her protector – Bob Reynolds – says softly and he slowly wraps an arm around her shoulders and helps her sit up from the floor.
Hermione's limbs are still trembling from the after effects of the cruciatus curse. So she is really grateful by how Bob delicately treats her at the moment.
She steadies herself for a few seconds while she tries to even out her breathing. Meanwhile, Bob patiently waits for her to gather herself without removing his arm from her shoulders.
A beat later, Hermione suddenly remembers her friends, who are still in the dungeons.
She turns to Bob and starts to request.
"My – my friends…they are still in the dungeons…Can you get –" Hermione is saying but is cut off by the sound of Harry's and Ron's voices close by.
"Hermione! Are you al–?"
She hears Harry's voice about to ask but is interrupted by Ron's exclamation.
"Who the bloody hell is he, Hermione?!"
Hermione looks up and sees Harry, Ron and Dobby arriving in the room.
"Harry! Ron!" she exclaims at the sight of her friends.
She immediately realizes what happened. Dobby must have arrived to help her friends escape from the dungeons and then soon out from there.
But how did Dobby know we were here in the first place? She silently wonders.
"Mr. Potter! We better hurry before the Dark Lord and the reinforcement arrives! You can talk to each other later," comes Dobby's worried voice.
"You are right, Dobby. We better go!" Harry replies and swiftly moves closer.
Hermione notes the way Ron is glaring at her protector. She opens her mouth to explain to Ron who the blonde haired man is to her but her protector suddenly interjects by saying, "I will carry her to wherever you go."
"Alright," is Harry's quick response without further questioning who the man is. Although Hermione can see the suspicion and the curiosity in Harry's gaze.
"Everyone come closer and hold your hands together," Dobby says to all of them.
Hermione allows herself to be lifted up by Bob. She can't help the blush that creeps up her cheeks at the way her protector holds her carefully.
She looks up at Bob, who instantly notices her stare.
He then says to her assuringly, "Don't worry, Hermione. I won't leave until I know you are safe."
Hermione lets out a relieved sigh at his comforting words. This is also the first time that her protector has addressed her by her name.
Her name sounds beautiful when he says it and she can't help but feel warmth inside.
"Thank you, Bob…" she tells him, giving him a grateful smile.
"You are always welcome, Hermione…" is Bob's reply, returning her smile.
At his smile, she can't help her heart from outright soaring from her chest and into the proverbial skies.
He looks so handsome when he smiles, Hermione thinks, looking dumbstruck.
She is so distracted by her protector's smile that she doesn't even notice it when they apparate away from there until the scene changes around her.
That is how bedazzled she is with her protector's breathtaking smile.
Oh no…I think my heart is going to be in trouble, Hermione realizes this as she continues to gaze at her protector.
I hope this won't end in tragedy… is the last thing she thinks right before she finally loses consciousness due to her exhaustion.