Chapter 4: The Tunnel
Hermione walked among the headstones in the cemetery. It was late at night, and the only sound was the chirping of the crickets. The breeze was quite chilly, making Hermione pull her coat close to her body to keep her warm. Her husband’s gravestone was a beautiful white marble standing four feet tall. Hermione ran her hand across the smooth top of the stone. “If only he were still here,” Hermione said aloud. She knelt beside the stone and placed a small bouquet of flowers whose faded lavender gave a sweet smell to the three white roses in the middle, next to the cold stone. She remembered the time that Draco had forgotten to pick up some robes from the Magical Man’s Dry Cleaning Services. He came home much later than expected with the robes as well as a gorgeous bouquet, almost identical to this one…
As soon as the petals touched the ground, the earth beneath the headstone began shaking. Hermione scrambled out of the way to the next grave. The ground split apart, omitting a bright light. The earth suddenly stopped shaking, and the light faded rapidly. Hermione curiously peeked into the large hole created by the small earthquake. A tunnel? Hermione thought to herself. Indeed, there in front of her was a narrow tunnel where the coffin should have been. Suddenly, memories of Draco flashed in front of her eyes. Losing her balance, Hermione tumbled through the mouth of the tunnel. Her head spun as she picked herself off of the hard ground. Rocks and dirt crashed in, closing the opening of the tunnel. Hermione was trapped! Knowing full well that she would never be able to move all of the dirt and rocks now blocking her exit, she turned to the tunnel. Taking her wand from her coat, Hermione whispered “Lumos” as she started down the cold, black alley. A small squeak caught Hermione’s attention. Before she could shield herself, bats flew out of no where, screeching at her. Once they had passed and Hermione’s heartbeat became normal, she continued walking down the narrow passageway; rocks scattered everywhere. With her wand guiding her path, she ventured down the winding tunnel in search for an exit. After what Hermione guessed to be an hour of searching the channel, she began questioning the validity of her chosen road. Maybe it doesn’t lead anywhere. What if I’m trapped in here, with no food or water and only dirt and my wand to keep me company she shuddered at the thought. Ahead, she noticed a sharp corner. But what made her pace quicken was the dull light she could see creeping around it. She ignored the thought of being trapped, but her concentration was interrupted by a sudden pain that shot through her head. Her vision blurred, as she reached the door. Although pain wrenched at her body, Hermione flung the door open…
A strong aroma flooded into Hermione’s nose. She felt something cold cover her forehead. She sat up, and opened her eyes. She saw familiar faces crowded around her as a wave of pain suddenly weakened Hermione. Hermione felt strong arms keep her from hitting the hard floor beneath her. Someone placed a cold glass of water in Hermione’s shaky hand. She lifted it to her lips and took a refreshing drink of the crisp, cold water. Hermione asked groggily, “What happened?”
She heard Ron’s calm voice. “Well, what we figure is that a large piece of pottery fell from that high shelf right there” he told her as he pointed to the shelf directly above Hermione’s head.
Harry spoke up, “You’ve got a pretty nasty bump on your head, but you should be fine with a bit of TLC.” He winked at Hermione. Ron took hold of one side of Hermione while Harry took the other. They gently lifted her and carried her to Ron and Lavender’s vehicle. In the vehicle, Hermione spoke to Harry and Ron.
“Harry, Ron, I don’t think that piece of potter fell on my head.” They looked at her questioningly.
“What do you mean?” Ron asked.
“I mean, before Ginny left to look at that piece you called her over for, someone bumped into me, hard. She asked me if I saw who it was, but I told her I didn’t. Lucius had knocked me over, but I didn’t want either you or Ginny getting involved, so I lied. I have a feeling that Lucius had something to do with this bump on my head,” she explained as she rubbed the spot on the back of her head to ease the pain. “Before I woke, I had a strange dream,” she continued, not allowing the two a word in edgewise. She relayed her dream in complete detail, not leaving out one single part. Ron and Harry looked at her in disbelief.
“What do you think it means?” Harry wondered. Hermione shook her head.
“I don’t know, but I’d like you two to come with me in the morning to Draco’s grave,” she proposed. Hermione wanted to find out if her dream would come true “ if she really could get into that tunnel. Slowly, Harry and Ron nodded their heads in agreement. Hermione stepped out of the vehicle and on to the driveway of Harry’s home. She wrapped her arms around her best friends and hugged them tightly. “Thanks guys. You’re the best.” They kissed her on opposite cheeks.
As Ron turned the corner, Hermione noticed that the trees in the park were a lovely shade of red. It was close to the fall, and Hermione knew that the green of plants and trees would be changing into the beautiful colors of autumn. She turned to Harry, “Don’t you just love the colors of fall? I think they’re much more appealing than the every-day-mundane-green that we see during the summer.” Harry smiled and nodded in agreement. He was glad to see she was back to normal.
Then next morning, Hermione, Harry and Ron stood at Draco's headstone. Knowing what was supposed to happen, Harry and Ron moved away to give Hermione room and privacy. The sky was cloudy, blocking out the sunlight. The breeze was quite chilly and reminded Hermione of her dream. She ran her hand along the smooth stone. She knelt beside the stone and placed a small bouquet of flowers next to it. As soon as the petals touched the ground, the earth beneath the headstone began shaking. Hermione scrambled out of the way to the next grave. The ground split apart, omitting a bright light. The earth suddenly stopped shaking, and the light faded rapidly. Hermione curiously peeked into the large hole created by the small earthquake. Her heart beat quickened; her dream was coming true; unfolding right before her eyes. Hesitantly, she stepped into the mouth of the tunnel. Suddenly rocks and dirt crashed in, closing the opening of the tunnel. She had warned Harry and Ron of this so they would not try to remove the blockage. Taking her wand from her coat, Hermione whispered “Lumos” as she started down the cold, dark tunnel. With a light to guide her, she ventured down the winding tunnel in search for an exit. After what seemed like an hour, Hermione came to the sharp corner she had remembered in her dream. Her pace quickened. She turned the corner and came face to face with a large stone door. Excited, yet scared, she touched the handle. Hermione’s fingers wrapped around the cold metal handle and pulled. What she saw made her weak and lightheaded.
Draco Malfoy stood two feet from his lovely wife. Hermione stood frozen, not believing her eyes. He then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Feeling his heart beating next to hers, she also wrapped her arms around his warm body. Their embrace led to a long, passionate kiss. Oh, how they were thrilled to see one another. Footsteps echoed from the opposite side of the dungeon. With a distressed look on his face, Draco whispered into Hermione’s ear, “Don’t worry, everything will be alright.” With that, he wrapped thick ropes around her thin body. He tied them tightly, so as she could not escape. Draco led her to the nearest dungeon cell and pushed her into it. As she fell to the ground, Lucius Malfoy stepped trough a brass door. With a malicious look in his eyes, he sauntered over to Hermione.
He put his face close to the iron bars that separated them and spat in her cell. Throwing two chicken bones at her, he mocked, “Your dinner is served, Madame Mudblood.” His cold laughter echoed from the stone walls. Hermione stole a glance at her husband. Draco’s face was contorted into pain “ she guessed that his father was holding him to something.
“What do you want from me Lucius?” she pressed. Lucius turned his head casually, then spun around.
“What do I want from you? I want you to suffer the same way I did when I found that you and my son were in love!” Draco stood.
“Don’t do this, father. You know that it would hurt me more than anything if you did something to Hermione. You’re such a hypocrite! You can’t hide mum’s secret forever. She’s Half-Blooded, and you still love her.” He bellowed at Lucius in anger. Lucius’ face boiled with anger and shame.
“Don’t ever say that again. Your mother’s secret was to be kept, and now, you have betrayed her. How dare you?” he pointed his wand directly at Draco's face. Hermione frantically searched her robes for her wand. Since Draco had loosened the ropes with a simple incantation, Hermione was able to throw them off.
She felt the soft wood of her wand and yanked it from her pocket. She rose to her feet, aimed her wand for Lucius’ and yelled loud and clear, “Expelliarmus!” Immediately, his wand flew from his hand and landed near Draco’s feet. The young wizard picked his father’s wand up and pocketed it. With the both of them against him, Lucius held his hands up in surrender. Hermione freed herself from behind the iron bars which imprisoned her. With the thick ropes in her hand, Hermione tied Lucius tightly. Draco whispered something into her ear. Quickly, Hermione immobilized Lucius, assuring him one thing, "We'll be back for you later." Draco grabbed her hand and led her to the door that Lucius had entered from. He pushed the door open and entered another tunnel; this one shorter and very well lit. Soon they came to narrow wooden door. Draco stepped through it, and Hermione followed close behind. As the cold air hit her face, Hermione knew exactly where she was. She looked ahead to find Harry and Ron; also tied in tight ropes. She ran to them and released them. They both hugged her tightly once their breath was regained. Looking up, they noticed Draco standing not too far away. Realising that they were hugging his wife, Harry and Ron moved away from Hermione so as to not upset him. Draco smiled and joined the trio. He took Hermione’s hand and walked with her to the Potter’s car. Noticing that they were now standing alone, Harry and Ron quickly followed Hermione and Draco.