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"Three blind mice. Three blind mice."
That was always her favorite song as a child. Even as an adult, she can't stop singing it. She finds herself humming it as she prepares supper for her hard-working husband and their two lovely children.
"Three blind mice. Three blind mice."
She sings it to herself as she sees the Malfoys, strolling down Diagon Alley, without a care in the world. How blind they must be.
"Three blind mice. Three blind mice."
It's a shame that Greengrass had to marry into the Malfoys, that wretched scum of a family. She has nothing against the lovely Astoria Greengrass. But the day she said "I do" was the day she sealed her fate. She will make sure of that.
She sings to herself as she follows them. She watches Draco whisper sweet nothings in his wife's ear, while Scorpius runs to look at Quidditch brooms. Maybe she can spare him. After all, he had nothing to do with his father's crime. Neither did Astoria, but her fate is sealed.
After all, they're three blind mice. Now it's time to see how they run.
"See how they run. See how they run."
She sees them looking back with fear. They don't know what happened to the lights. They can't understand how she has the power to turn off the stars or darken the alley. All they can think about is running away. But they can't. She's after them. She wants to see how they run.
"They all ran from the farmer's wife,"
She knows she's changing the lyrics, but then, the lyrics do need changing for the situation, don't they?
She traps them in another alley. The boy bravely defends his mother, but he is no match for her. She sweeps him aside so hard that he hits the brick wall and is still. His mother screams with terror, but is silenced with a flick of the wand. The woman's petty screams bore her.
"Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,"
The father is everything she expects. He sneers, but she sees the terror in his eyes. He knows what she can do to him. She raises her wand and blood spurts from his skin, coating him and his aristocratic wife. Their skin is painted red.
The wife sobs, knowing she's next. The wand is raised again and with another slash, cuts into the skin once again.
"Did you ever see such a sight in your life,"
She looks at them with satisfaction. The husband tries reaching for his wand, but she kicks it out of his reach. He struggles to his feet, hoping to strangle her. But she's ready for him. She raises her wand again, not to slice him, but to remove the air from his throat.
His eyes widen as his hands reach for his own throat. He coughs and he wheezes, but the air escapes him. She looks down upon him with contempt before moving her wand. He collapses on the ground next to his family.
She kneels next to them, checking for life in them. She feels faint pulses in all three. Good. She doesn't want to kill them. She wants them to see their blindness. She smiles and Conjures some rope. It's time to make them the three blind mice.
"As three blind mice."
* * * * * *
MYSTERIOUS ASSAILANT ASSAULTS AND BLINDS FAMILY.
She reads the article in The Daily Prophet. Her brother-in-law is quoted as saying, "We're investigating every possible lead. Rest assured, whoever committed this horrible act will be brought to justice."
She laughs. She knows members of the other Sacred Twenty-Eight families won't believe him. Even if he is serious, she knows he'll never suspect her. After all, the Malfoys made many enemies, both for and against Voldemort. She knows that their former compatriots will be the first, and probably only suspects.
She closes the newspaper and folds it neatly on the table. She sings the song to herself again as she rises from her chair. She exits the kitchen and goes to her bedroom. She walks into her closet and taps the false wall, causing it to open. Her husband never goes to this part of their closet. He respects her privacy too much. For that, she is grateful.
She removes a box and opens it. Staring back at her, almost accusingly, are the eyeballs of her victims. She smiles as she closes the box once again, putting it back into its hiding place. Yes, they could still speak. They could identify her as the assailant, assuming they had retained their memories. But they hadn't. What she had done with her parents was practice compared to what she had done with them.
She wishes she could do more to them, but that's enough for now. Besides, there are the elder Malfoys to consider. Their time will come in due course.
It's now time to prepare dinner. Her husband will be home soon, and she doesn't want him suspecting the truth. She closes the false wall and leaves the bedroom. What to make for dinner? It came to her. Roast. It was his favorite food now, and she usually made his favorite meals whenever she was in a celebratory mood.
* * * * * *
Hermione woke up, breathing heavily. She turned and saw Ron sleeping peacefully nearby. She frowned as she remembered the details of the dream: her favorite childhood song, the Malfoys, and three sets of eyeballs. She shuddered and tried to return to sleep.
"Three blind mice. Three blind mice. See how they run. See how they run."
She closed her eyes and heard the song once again in her sleep. She opened her eyes, sat up again and stood up. She walked down to the kitchen, wondering if it had been a dream. It had seemed too real to be a dream. It was like that hellish night at Malfoy Manor, when she had been tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Three blind mice. Three blind mice. See how they run. See how they run."
Hermione thought and allowed the song to play again in her mind. As it did, an evil smile formed on her face. If her dream hadn't been real, then maybe it was time to make it real. She stood up and walked to the drawers. She opened one and pulled out a carving knife.
"Did you ever see such a sight in your life, as three blind mice."
No, she hadn't, but she will.
The End