So this is my latest working, the fic i had wanted to write before starting the Sequel for Dueller's Legacy. This is a Futa Hermione fic, don't ask me why i just wanted to write a Futa fic. If this isn't your cup of tea i apologise but i will admit it isnt exactly sex-centric, there will definitely be sex but its a romance with smut not just smut.

Review are welcome.

I own nothing.

SilverFoxen

Hermione had always been rather good at keeping her secrets, it was certainly easy when no one asked what they were. It was perhaps the beauty of having two male best friends that seldom cared enough to bother wondering why she was so edgy some times. Why sometimes she would linger in the Common Room after everyone was in their beds sleeping. Of course the books helped as 80% of the time the reason was simply that she was so immersed in her book. The other 20% though, that was secret.

For 18 years she had managed to keep it to herself, not a soul outside of her parents and Crookshanks knew and she preferred it that way. That's why when she woke up in a dark room, her entire body aching viciously, that she realised at least one other person knew her secret now. Morgana's tits she hoped it was just the one person, which was bad enough, but if the boys knew? A wave of embarrassment washed over her face when she realised she was in nothing but a pair of what she realised were boxer briefs.

Hermione attempted to sit up and groaned softly, it must have been the middle of the night, it was so dark outside. She felt around gingerly for her wand before realising Harry probably had it still. Goddess, the Manor... she wasn't even sure how they had escaped. She remembered vaguely that Narcissa had sent a stinging hex at Bellatrix and one at Lucius but after that it all went dark. Now here she was, Merlin knows where, mostly bloody naked and without a wand.

She attempted to sit up again but the pain sliced through her body and she moaned out in agony as she slumped back panting and suddenly exhausted. No matter, she was sure that if the people she was with wanted her dead, she would be by now. Unless they were keeping her as some side show freak, though she doubted that, those things were going out of fashion. She was just contemplating going back to sleep, she was so tired, when the door cracked open and light spilled in from the hall.

Hermione looked towards the door and a figure was soon illuminated in the doorway. It was obviously a woman, the silhouette was a fine hour glass shape, definitely a figure that very few men have. Cautiously she watched as the figure stepped in and a moment later the door was closed and several candles lit themselves throughout the room. Hermione had to blink as her eyes adjusted but when they did she couldn't describe the relief she felt when she could finally see who it was.

"Oh Fleur... Thank god." Hermione breathed out, her voice came out croaky and her throat hurt considerably.

"Mon dieu! 'Ermione, you are finally awake!" Fleur exclaimed softly rushing over to the bed and smiling pleasantly down at the witch.

"Oui. How long was I out?" Hermione croaked the words a little embarrassed her voice sounded like she had been eating sandpaper for a week.

"Only two days. You were a complete mess when Dobby brought you 'ere." Fleur explained pulling the blanket back just slightly to reach Hermione's forearm.

"Oh that's right. It was Dobby that saved us. How is he?" Hermione attempted clearing her throat but it only irritated her more. She didn't miss the sadness on Fleur's usually lovely features.

"I am afraid, sweet girl, that 'e perished. The blade that caused this, 'Arry said that nasty woman threw it at the last minute. It got Dobby just before 'e was able to apparate." Fleur explained gently gesturing the word carved into Hermione's skin. Hermione might have cried but she was convinced her entire body was nothing but dust she was so thirsty.

"Oh no. Poor Dobby. He was a hero." Hermione choked out on a dry sob.

"Careful sweet girl, 'e was, is a 'ero but you should try to stay calm. The effects of the Cruciatus curse will linger for some time and you will be in a great deal of pain for a while. I was just coming to change this bandage and give you a pain potion before starting breakfast." Fleur spoke softly as she expertly removed the bandage, cleaned the weeping wound as best she could, and bandaged it again.

"What time is it?" Hermione finally asked, she had been curious since she woke.

"A little after 5. Drink this and take a nap, I will wake you to eat in a little while. D'accord?" Fleur unstopped the little vial of pain potion and showed it to Hermione.

"Oui d'accord." Hermione responded lifting her head just slightly and accepting the foul tasting potion. After this was all over she was going to take her NEWTS and start her Potions mastery along with her Transfiguration mastery. She was determined to make these blasted things taste better.

After the potion had been swallowed, rather reluctantly, Fleur replaced the stopper and stood from the edge of the bed tucking Hermione in a little better. Hermione watched as the French witch picked up the old bandages and headed for the door. She was just about to open it when Hermione cleared her throat and spoke up softly. She needed to know who had seen.

"Fleur um... is... ugh, has anyone else... seen me?" Hermione stammered over the words, it was a given that Fleur had seen her but it was no less embarrassing to ask about.

"Non, mon etalon, only myself." Fleur reassured with a cheeky smirk before leaving a deeply red faced Hermione laying in bed. Hermione's French wasn't fluent by any means but she knew full well what Fleur had just said.

Groaning with embarrassment and fatigue the brunette decided to simply relax and take that nap Fleur had mentioned. It took her absolutely no time to fall asleep at all and when she did it was deep and dreamless. When she had been awake she was worried that she would have nightmares. Bellatrix Lestrange was so far gone in the mind terrifying to boot and Hermione was shocked she hadn't wet herself. Of course it was hard to feel sheer terror while being mercilessly tortured by a madwoman.

When Hermione was gently shaken awake she blinked her eyes open and groaned softly in protest of being awake. Her body still ached but it was considerably less now that she had the pain potion coursing through her system. Looking up she saw Fleur standing over her with a gentle smile on her face and a tray with food in her hands. Hermione took a deep breath inhaling the smell of food and grimaced, an expression Fleur didn't miss.

"Do you not like my cooking?" Fleur frowned down at the brunette now.

"It's not that. We were on the run for so long. I don't know the last time I had a proper meal. My stomach wants food so bad it feels like its trying to tear itself a mouth to bypass having to chew." Hermione explains seriously, she was starving.

"Ah, oui, that makes sense. Let me help you sit up and I will help you with a shirt before you eat." Fleur offers setting the food to the side and grabbing an extra pillow for Hermione.

"Do... do I have to have a shirt. My skin already feels so..." Hermione trailed off not sure how to describe how she felt exactly.

"Non, you don't have to. It is an after effect of the Cruciatus. The curse is designed to cause the most pain and after prolonged use the mind begins to slip and skin begins to rend itself. It is a gamble which happens first. It says a lot that you were able to hold on so long. Typically the mind goes long before the skin is flayed." Fleur slid an arm under Hermione's shoulders and had to bodily pull the brunette into a sitting position and then pull her back against the pillows. Fleur fixed the blanket so it was covering Hermione's breasts again before setting the food in front of the young witch.

"It really just tells me how bloody stubborn I am. I have wanted to die a few times in my life, or I thought I had until that psychopath tortured me. I continued to lie to her, it was too important to give in but... gosh Fleur. I wanted to tell her everything just so it would stop." Hermione confessed in a small voice.

"It is a good thing then, ma petite lionne, that you are so strong of body and mind. Be proud of what you've survive, few would have been able to 'old out so long." Fleur gently cupped Hermione's face in her hand making the brunette look up. It was obvious when chocolate met baby blue that Fleur hadn't just meant surviving Bellatrix' torture but everything before that.

"Thank you, Fleur. You are good for the soul." Hermione smiled warmly at the pretty French witch.

"You need not thank me 'ermione. What are friends for non?" Fleur dropped her hand and leaned back.

"Right you are. So what have I got here." Hermione asked looking down at the tray now on her lap.

"Ah oui, there is potato soup, some buttered toast. To drink there is a glass of water and also a cup of tea with a warming charm on it so it wont go cold before you drink it. Same for the soup." Fleur explained a proud smile on her face.

"Thank you Fleur. This is perfect." Hermione smiled at the witch before picking up her spoon and tucking into her soup. She was two spoonfuls in when her stomach began to protest with sharp pains. Fleur watched with a sympathetic smile as Hermione set the spook down and sipped the water.

"You're very empty and it was a rather rich soup. I know you are hungry but eat it slowly, oui." Fleur offered with a small smile and Hermione gave a wry chuckle.

"Sound advice no doubt." Hermione smiled and Fleur moved for the door.

"I will be back in a short while to see how you are fairing." The French witch grinned before sipping out of the room after Hermione nodded.

Hermione spent a short while trying to drool over the food as her stomach roiled and protested before settling down finally. Only when she was sure she could eat more without throwing up did she pick up her spoon again and start to eat, this time slowly. The brunette ate maybe half of what was in the bowl before forcing herself to stop. Like Fleur had said the soup was rather rich and Hermione didn't want to make herself sick by eating too much so she instead settled for some more water before relaxing back in the pillows and taking up her tea cup.

The tea was a pleasant Earl Grey which Fleur had managed to make perfectly for her, it was sweet but not overpoweringly so and it was strong, she suspected it might have been two tea bags of strong. Sighing happily she closed her eyes as she sipped the warm beverage slowly and wishing she had more when the beverage was finally gone. With a longing sigh the little brunette witch set the cup back on the tray and sipped a little more water.

It was nearly an hour before Fleur had returned to the room to collect the tray and mumbling her words Hermione talked Fleur, rather easily, into helping her go to the bathroom. Hermione was still pointedly ignoring that the event ever even happened when Fleur set her back in bed and covered her back up. Her face was red and she could hear Fleur trying not to snicker at the brunettes reaction.

"'Ermione, you should not be embarrassed. It's perfectly natural." Fleur reassures only to receive a dirty look.

"No, no it isn't. Its far from it Fleur and you keep laughing at me." Hermione huffs at the older witch.

"You are right. I am sorry, I should not laugh." Hermione can see the sincerity in her carers eyes and nods.

"Sorry, it is just a sensitive subject for me." Hermione apologises for being short.

"No matter. I was being insensitive. Though I wasn't laughing at that, I was laughing at how adorable you are when you are embarrassed." Fleur grinned and promptly exited the room with the tray and the sound of her name being hissed at her.

The days following were much the same, it was easily three days before Hermione could stand to wear clothes again which meant Fleur was the only one allowed in the room. When she could finally stand to wear clothes she decided to venture out. The boys had asked too many questions and she had struggled to get them answered before Fleur made her go back to bed for a while. She had learned though that both Luna and Dean along with Mr Ollivander were saved from the manor as well.

When Hermione could finally handle being part of a conversation without wanting to curl up and go to sleep the trio had began their planning again. The plan was daft, and reckless and dammit if Hermione didn't think it would work. She just wasn't too sure how well it would work and there was so much to do before they could leave. Stubborn Harry refused to let them tell Bill or Fleur, the two people that had taken them in and nursed them back to health, who had offered their help a number of times in the last week and a half.

Finally they got the potion made, they searched Hermione's clothes and got the hair they needed, they had the wand and they could transfigure the clothes. Or at least Hermione could transfigure the clothes, Ron was hopeless and Harry was better as offensives spells. Hermione couldn't handle just leaving, she had grown fond of Fleur over the weeks and even kind of enjoyed the teasing about her secret. That was why she wrote Fleur a small note thanking her and telling the French witch she would contact her when the war was done.

They left earlier in the morning before Fleur was up and snuck out of the house. They made it past the wards and they took the potion and transfigured their clothes before apparating right outside of Gringotts. Clearing her throat Hermione squared her shoulders and strode confidently into the bank, it went relatively smoothly considering they were breaking into a supposedly impossible to break into bank. Regardless of that they found it much harder to get out of the bank once they had the goblet.

Hermione felt a whole knew appreciation for dragons when they finally made it out of the lake several miles from anything. They took a moment before it was decided that it was time to go to Hogwarts. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time, all three of them felt that it was drawing to a close. Things were in motion now and they were snowballing out of their control.

They had apparated to Hogsmead only to find the entire village enchanted with something of a caterwauling charm that triggered when anyone apparated after curfew. They couldn't have thanked Aberforth more when he ushered them into the Hogs Head and even more so when he explained there was a way into the castle. Once inside the castle they split up, Ron and Hermione heading off for the Chamber of Secrets while Harry incited war.

Hermione felt slightly grossed out when Ron kissed her in the chamber and rather harshly shot him down, he blushed but they moved on. This wasn't the time or the place for any kind of spats, lovers or otherwise. They met up with Harry, the cup destroyed, and went back into the come and go room now the place where people lost things. The near death experience with the Slytherin dolts shook Hermione a little but she was a Gryffindor after all.

The war was in full swing and before long Harry had risen from the dead and was in a fight to the death with Voldemort. Ginny and Hermione were barely saved from Bellatrix by a thoroughly pissed off Molly Weasley. The battle was fire one moment and smothered coals the next, Voldemort was dead and some of the death-eater captured others fled. The ruins of Hogwarts became a hospital, a morgue a refuge.