by Van © 2023
		Chapter 5

So far, it had been an eventful day.

Hermione had discovered (meaning blundered into) a semi-ruined medieval castle seething with unsuspected magic of a sophistication and potency rivaling that of Hogwarts, or even the Ministerial Complex under Whitehall!  Next, she'd been separated from her Protective Detail, Elspeth Tillyhope!  Then, she'd been captured by a pair of peculiar (quirky) but beautiful witches!  And then (remarkably), she'd been introduced to the petite and beautiful Queen of the Glăsióga, a race of diminutive, green, and not at all extinct elves—and the historical record unequivocally insisted that the Glăsióga were extinct, but clearly they were extant!  (Hermione hated historical inconsistencies, and always had.)

And now, Hermione found herself padding down a stone-walled corridor of the aforementioned castle ("Gikel Keep"), naked (!!!), her ankles hobbled with rope made of hemp (or possibly jute) and her upper-body box-tied with more hemp (or possibly jute)!  Also, she was gagged with her own panties (verified by sight when they were removed and later returned to her indignant mouth), and a long, narrow linen bandage that had been repeatedly and tightly wrapped around her lower face!  In addition, a hemp (jute?) collar was tied around her neck with its long, tethering end held by Heddwyn Waara, the eldest of the two aforementioned peculiar (quirky) but beautiful witches (the other being Heddwyn's younger sister Enyd).  Finally, Hermione's brown hair had been plaited into a tight single braid with its end wrapped and secured with yet more hemp (jute?).  So far, the free end of the braid-retaining-rope remained loose (meaning not tied to anything) with its trailing end repeatedly brushing against the top slopes of Hermione's bare bottom as she strode down the corridor.  It was annoying (and untidy).

Needless to say, Hermione's mental faculties were discombobulated, leaving her thoughts disorganized (and subject to unnecessary parenthetical elaboration)!  This was also annoying (and untidy).

Anyway, at present, Hermione was part of a Royal Procession of exactly four.  That is, padding down the aforementioned corridor were:

(1.) Her Royal Majesty Gael Gikel, Queen of the Glăsióga;

(2.) Heddwyn Waara, the "Giggle Witch of Giggleswick;"

(3.) Hermione Granger-Weasley (aka "Lady Grungy-Weasel"), Undersecretary of the DRCMC, MoM; and finally;

(4.) Edyn Waara, the other Giggle Witch of Giggleswick.

It occurred to Hermione that among other extraneous matters requiring her attention she needed to clarify the status of the two sisters.  Were they coequal Giggle Witches, or was Heddwyn Senior Giggle Witch and Enyd Junior Giggle Witch?  And who decided who was or was not a Giggle Witch anyway?  Were the duties and responsibilities of a Giggle Witch codified in some manner?  Hermione heaved an exasperated and well-gagged sigh.  Her mind really was discombobulated, a condition which, while thankfully rare, was right up there with being naked, bound, and gagged as something that required immediate resolution.  Hermione was making every attempt to order her thoughts, but unfortunately, at the moment sorting out her nude captivity was well beyond the realm of self-remedy.

The parade continued, taking occasional left and right turns and occasionally passing closed wooden doors banded with vine-shaped iron straps and studded with iron bolts.  The general ambiance was very Medieval.  Light was provided by widely spaced freestanding iron torchieres and wall-mounted sconces, also Medieval.  All of their flames were noticeably viridescent; however, the radiated light was only partially skewed into the green.  Obviously, magic was at play.

Finally, they approached a pair of closed, tall, broad double doors with iron straps more elaborate, decorative, and vegetative than those of the single doors previously passed, and the heads of its iron studs were all embossed with the shapes of leaves, twigs, acorns, bees, and other woodland themed ornamentation.

"The Throne Room, Your Majesty?" Enyd inquired respectfully.

Queen Gikel made a vague gesture with her green right hand without looking back.  "There is a great deal of interest in the coming ceremony," she stated, "and we are informed the Great Hall has just been mopped and is not yet dry.  If we allow the entire court to troop through there it will all have to be redone, and then, where would we hold the evening's feast?  Our Seneschal would be quite vexed."

The Waara sisters exchanged a quirky grin (and giggled).

Hermione did not giggle, and it wasn't because of her gag.  She was as upset as the hypothetically vexed Seneschal mentioned by Her Majesty, but Hermione's perturbation was quite real!  Ceremony? she thought, blinking in distress.  I'm not dressed for a ceremony!  I'm not dressed AT ALL!!

As they approached, the double doors silently and majestically swung open on their own—(Magic)—and they padded across the threshold.  The "Throne Room" beyond lived up to its name.  The space was enormous, with a vaulted stone ceiling far overhead.  The walls were whitewashed, like the rest of the keep's interior, but also sculptured in bas relief with branches, vines, and leaves and painted in various shades of brown and green.  The motif was arguably (vaguely) Celtic, but at the same time strikingly naturalistic.  Hermione had never seen anything like it.  Large numbers of regularly spaced torchieres and sconces provided the same eerie green-tinted light as in the corridors—but more importantly, scores of diminutive human-shaped figures in dark green hooded capes were present, all of whom bowed or curtsied to the Queen as she padded forward.

As Her Majesty passed, what Hermione assumed were the members of her court stood erect and threw back their hoods... and she could now be sure that they were all Glăsióga; however, their visages varied in complexion from the vibrant green of their monarch, to darker shades, to very light with... green freckles?  Their hair colors were mostly variations on green, from spruce to oak to aspen, but a few (all of whom were pale-green with green freckles) had hair the vermilion color of maple leaves in autumn.  Half the court was clearly male (with full beards), and the other half female (of course).  Also, they varied in age from young adult to fully mature, with a very few unmistakably elderly with wrinkled skin and gray hair tinged with green.

Also, the eyes of the entire court were focused on Hermione!  A few watched her pass with what she believed were varying degrees of hostility; however, most appeared to be merely curious (and amused).  Lady Grungy-Weasel blushed furiously.  She couldn't help it.  Her heart was pounding and her nipples erect with shame.  She silently commanded them to return to their normal—uh—flaccidity?  They both reminded her immediately and emphatically that they were naked and totally unaccustomed to being subjected to the direct gaze of large numbers of green elves who were not at all extinct!  The nubbins tingled for added emphasis!  Also, they added, the Throne Room was a little chilly.  Hermione conceded both points (so to speak), and very much wished she was wearing one of those dark green Glăsióga cloaks, with or without decorative leaves and twigs.  They looked warm.

Anyway...

Directly ahead was a dais surmounted by a throne, and Hermione decided it was a very pretty throne.  It was elaborately carved on the now ubiquitous woodland theme and had armrests, a tall back, and comfy-looking padding.  Queen Gikel gracefully and regally strode up the three low steps and sat on the throne in the same manner she'd used on the footrest back in the Rococo parlor where she'd been first introduced to Lady Grungy-Weasel.  That is, Her Majesty settled into the lotus position with her legs crossed and the long skirts of her dark green gown draped down the front of the seat and leaving her green knees and arguably dainty green feet exposed.

To the left of the dais and throne was a rounded, vertical, darkly-stained wooden post, eight to ten feet feet in height and about eight inches in diameter.  Most of it was featureless and had been sanded smooth, but the top couple of feet were elaborately carved to match the forest theme of the walls and throne.  While Her Majesty settled the Royal Posterior on her throne, Heddwynn led Hermione towards the post.  Her sister was still acting as rearguard, in case Hermione suddenly burst free of her bonds and attempted to escape or wreak havoc on the assembled court.

As they drew near, Heddwyn tossed the end of Hermione's leash towards the post.  It instantly (and magically) grew in length as it sailed across the remaining distance, wrapped itself around the post several times, and then—"Mrrrk!"—relentlessly dragged the wide-eyed, naked, bound, gagged, and hobbled captive forward!

What followed was quite remarkable.  Hermione was highly impressed by the degree of magical finesse demonstrated, or rather she would have been if she wasn't preoccupied by the experience of her bonds—all of her bonds (except her gag)—slithering, sliding, extending themselves, pulling her to the post, spinning her around, pressing her butt, box-tied arms, and legs against the smooth wood, then tightening and hitching themselves around and between previously unbound parts of her anatomy and the post itself!  "Mrrrrrf!"

The final result was Hermione extensively lashed against the post, including her ankles, lower legs, above and below her knees, her thighs, waist, above and below her breasts (including her still pointing nipples)!  Even her rope collar was involved.  It wasn't any tighter than before and in no way interfered with her breathing (which was coming in deep regular pants), but its multiple horizontal and interlaced bands were now wrapped around both her neck and the post, and like her other bonds, they were cinched between the post and her neck!  Her braid was draped across her left shoulder and the free end of its rope was finally tied to something.  Specifically, it drooped under her left breast, passed under the "X" of ropes framing and slightly squeezing both breasts, then was tied off in an arguably decorative knot.  Her box-tie bonds remained intact, except that certain elements had lengthened themselves and were now incorporated into the post-tie.

Hermione could only see a fraction of her new bonds—even though her collar-post-bondage was more a somewhat restrictive annoyance than immobilizing—but based on tactile feedback provided as the disconcerting wriggling, writhing, sliding, cinching, and tightening of the ropes had happened, Hermione was positive she presented a neat, symmetrical, and elegant package of tight hemp and lightly dimpled pink flesh.  Every pair of eyes in court, including those of Queen Gikel and the quirkily smiling Waara sisters, was on her artistically, stringently, and above all inescapably bound, gagged, and naked body.  Hermione's mortification reached a hitherto unsuspected level!

Also, Hermione was aware of a peculiar, anything-but-normal, shivering sensation coursing through her rope-bound body.  It might have been the tingling aftereffects of the multitude of wriggling, writhing, insistant hemp strands finding their proper places in her new bondage, and it also might explain why her nipples were still pointing... or... perhaps it was a residual (or intentional) side-effect of the interlocking cascade of spells responsible for crafting her incredible new predicament.  There was no way to be sure, and her gag rendered intellectual inquiry infeasible.

And speaking of rope, Hermione had decided to tentatively categorize her bonds as "hemp," even though she was by no means sure that they weren't jute, with sisal being an outlying possibility.  She made a mental note to conduct a comprehensive comparison of natural fiber cordage, magical and mundane, with the ultimate goal of penning a scholarly monograph on the subject.  Of course, such an endeavor would have to wait.

Anyway... eventually... Her Majesty, the Waara sisters, and the collective court turned their heads and focused their attention on the still open double doors across the throne room.

Obviously, Hermione reasoned, they're waiting for something.  She was right, and none of them had to wait for very long.

Elspeth had reached the conclusion that the seemingly infinite straight corridor in front of and behind her was an illusion, or more correctly, it was what she had learned at Hogwarts fell into the general category of a "Cascading Ephemeral Transformation."  Whatever actually surrounded her in the Mundane Realm—whether the corridor was straight, curved, or took repeated abrupt turns—or was even a corridor at all—it appeared to be absolutely straight.  Metaphorically, she was trapped in a moving bubble of straightness as she padded along on her bare feet.

And "trapped" was the appropriate term.  Elspeth was naked, her upper body bound in a stringent box-tie, she was thoroughly and effectively gagged, and was being compelled to continue walking by the insistent and persistent tug of the rope tied through the front of her bonds and stretching into the distance.  The tousled mass of her hair ginger fluttered and bounced behind her as she placed one bare foot in front of the other.

Anyway, Elspeth's helplessness was real.  Therefore, whether the corridor and tethering rope were real or illusory was largely immaterial.

It was infuriating.  Was Elspeth Tillyhope in naked captivity and possibly in actual peril of some sort?  Yes, at least with respect to her bondage, but her spirit remained unbroken.  Was she scared?  Certainly not!  Well... okay... she was a little scared, but her fear was firmly under control.  Elspeth was mostly angry!  Somebody was messing with her, and in the process they'd ruined her first official independent assignment as an Auror of the DMLE of the MoM, and it was pissing her off!

Elspeth's gagged scowl turned into gagged puzzlement.  She'd noticed something strange happening (meaning stranger than ambling down a possibly illusory corridor while naked, bound, and gagged)... and it was far ahead.  A subtly shimmering but essentially transparent curtain had fallen across the corridor... and as she continued involuntarily padding forward, the effect was becoming more and more prominent.  The corridor and tether rope appeared to extend well beyond the shimmer, but the images wavered, as if they were a muggle motion picture being projected on a rippling screen.

The curtain/effect/shimmer grew closer with every barefoot step... until then it was only a pace away... and then Elspeth passed through!

Elspeth blinked her green eyes.

She'd felt no physical reaction to the transition—but now found herself in a very large chamber with a vaulted ceiling far overhead.  Its walls were whitewashed stone embossed with carved leaves and vines painted in a uniquely Art-Nouveau-meets-Celtic motif.  It was lit by a multitude of tall iron torchieres and large wall-mounted sconces, all burning with eerie greenish flames.  Also, she was surrounded by large numbers of diminutive green elves (???) in dark cloaks, and directly in front of her was a raised platform with yet another green elf sitting cross-legged on an elegantly carved throne!  To the left of the throne stood a pair of apparently human women of average height and wearing black robes.  And next to them—

Elspeth's eyes popped even wider and she screamed through her gag!  "MRRRPFH!"

Hermione Granger-Weasley was naked—standing with her back against a vertical post embedded in the stone floor—elaborately and stringently bound with hemp rope from her ankles to her shoulders— gagged—and staring back at her with equally wide brown eyes!

Put another way—Hermione Granger-Weasley—Undersecretary of the DRCMC of the MoM—was naked, bound to a vertical post, gagged, and staring back at her with big brown eyes!

Put yet another way—Hermione Granger-Weasley—Auror Elspeth Tillyhope's PERSONAL and PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY—was naked, bound to a vertical post, gagged, and staring back at her with big brown eyes!

"MRRRPFH!"  Elspeth reiterated!

"MRRRRRM!"  Hermione screamed through her gag in reply!

Unfortunately, before this "conversation" could continue, twenty or more hemp ropes shot down from the vaulted ceiling, coming from various directions and all converging on Elspeth!

MRRRF!"  (The exclamation came from both Ministry representatives, more-or-less simultaneously.)

Anyway, the ropes from above swarmed around Elspeth while the ropes already box-tying her upper body wiggled, squirmed, and began to change their configuration—"Mrrrpfh!"—and all of them were ignoring Elspeth's enthusiastic resistance and her perfectly reasonable albeit well-gagged demands that they should stop slithering and wiggling, leave her alone, and just go away!

This one-sided "struggle" continued for what felt like an eternity but was really only about thirty seconds... and the end result was Elspeth in a standing spreadeagle with her limbs flung wide!  Bands of rope encircled her ankles, lower thighs, waist, upper torso (horizontally framing and crisscrossing between her breasts and yoking her shoulders), her wrists, and bundled and bound her hair!  Everything was tight—and became tighter still when the long ropes dangling down from the gloom overhead snapped taut and lifted her into the air!

"MRRRFFF!"  (Again, that was both Elspeth and Hermione.)

The ropes locked rigidly in place and Elspeth found herself spreadeagled face down with her body something like forty-five degrees above the horizontal and suspended about twelve feet above the stone floor.  The suspending ropes, still stretching down from the ceiling—and now also away to various parts of the lower chamber—were rigidly taut.  Elspeth was stretched as well, but not excessively so.  The hemp web was taut and inflexible, but the bands of rope attaching her to the web allowed some degree of wiggle room... so she did.  That is, Elspeth squirmed, attempted to writhe and twist, and generally tested her new predicament.  She found she had a modicum of limited freedom of motion, but was essentially immobilized and helpless.  Also, the rope binding her bundled hair was restricting her ability to move her head.  She could turn it enough to look around, but the hair-rope was definitely a restraint, as well as a support.

"Mrrrpfh?" Elspeth inquired, and continued tugging on her bonds.

Meanwhile, thirteen green female elves had emerged from the watching court, formed themselves into a line, and were padding towards Elspeth on their green bare fee.  Their dark green cloaks fluttered open as they formed a precise circle and continued padding, orbiting the naked, bound, gagged, and suspended human Auror.  Then, they stopped in perfect unison, turned to face inwards, and gazed upwards.

Elspeth's snap judgement had been that the watching crowd had all been green elves, but while they were all definitely various shades of green, if they were elves they were a new variety... at least new to Elspeth Tillyhope.  They were as short as House Elves (or their less subservient cousins, the Shop Elves), and had the same long, arguably elegant ears, but their body forms were less gangling and spindly and more like those of very short but mature humans.  Also, their faces were entirely human... and unarguably beautiful.  So, very short humans with elf-ears?  Elves of normal elf height with human faces?  Whoever or whatever they were... they were undeniably various shades of green.  That was for sure.

Elspeth blinked her green eyes in confusion, then glanced at Undersecretary Granger-Weasley.  She was sure Hermione knew what they were.  Hermione had a well earned reputation for knowing everything.  Even her less-admiring colleagues conceded that she was more-or-less a walking encyclopedia; but unfortunately, Madam Undersecretary was busy being naked, post-bound, and well-gagged, just as Elspeth was preoccupied with being naked, suspension-bound, and well-gagged.  Consultation would have to wait.

Meanwhile, the circle of green elves (or whatever they were) had raised their arms in unison and begun a whispering chant.  Elspeth couldn't hear exactly what they were saying (or singing), both because they were whispering and there was a warbling and irritating monotone buzz growing in her ears.  The chant grew louder.  Thankfully, at the same time, the buzz diminished and went away... but Elspeth still couldn't make out what the elves were saying (or singing).

Then, the circle of green she-elves spread their fingers apart... and their fingertips began to glow.  Tiny white, sparkling, glowing orbs formed, spinning in the air just above each tiny green fingernail.  The still unintelligible chant rose in volume... the orbs began to grow and burn brighter until each was about an inch in diameter, whirling and spinning like a tiny white sun... then they began drifting upwards... towards Elspeth!

"Mrrrfh!" Elspeth objected as she struggled to escape her inescapable bonds.  The glowing orbs or motes or globules or whatever drifted ever closer... until eventually they formed a loose cloud, slowly drifting around her helpless body, the closest being mere inches from her exposed skin!  Elspeth frantically looked around, beyond the cloud of orbs.  The circle of chanting she-elves were focusing on the magical task at hand.  The crowd of green elves were gazing up at her.  On the dais, the she-elf sitting cross-legged on the throne was more-or-less expressionless, although there may have been a ghost of a smile curling her green lips.  She was too far away for Elspeth to be sure.  The pair of watching witches in the ancient-style black robes were openly smiling (in a dimpled, rather quirky manner).  Finally, Hermione was squirming and straining against her bonds, her brown eyes wide in distress.

All the while, the white orbs drifted closer and closer... then began bouncing against Elspeths body and drifting back—"MRRRF!"—and with every touch a shivering, tingling sensation radiated from the point of contact!  Every one of the glowing blobs touched some part of Elspeth's anatomy—"Mrrrk!"—rebounded... drifted forward... and touched her pink skin again—"Nrrrrr!"—over and over, and each time it happened she felt the same localized prickling, tickling sensation—and it went on and on and on and she could do nothing to make it stop!

"Nrrrrrrm!"  Hermione writhed and squirmed and fought her inescapable bonds.  It was futile.  She remained tied to the post and was as helpless as ever, but she had to try.

The Glăsióga were torturing poor Elspeth, and they'd been at it for several excruciatingly long minutes... at least ten... possibly even twenty!  And it could easily have been more!  Hermione was finding reliable mental timekeeping quite difficult in her current highly agitated state.

The tiny white orbs continued doing whatever horrible thing they were doing to Elspeth's helpless body!  At first they repeatedly bounced, eliciting wide-eyed gagged squeals and rope-restrained squirms with each glowing contact!  Then, they alternated between bouncing and sliding across Elspeth's pink skin at random locations on her entire body!  Next, they joined into coordinated groups and danced across specific areas, like Elspeth's armpits, knees, tummy, thighs, breasts, ribs, feet, rump, and lady bits!  They would concentrate on one area a time—two areas at once—several areas at the same time—bouncing in some places and gliding in others!  Nothing was predictable, and based on Elspeth's reactions, it was all horrible!

By this time the naked, bound, and gagged Auror's efforts to evade the offensive glowing blobs were growing weaker and weaker.  Clearly, she was nearing exhaustion!  Her skin was flushed and glistening with copious amounts of sweat!

A single hooded and cloaked Glăsióga emerged from the ranks of the watching court and padded across the ring of Elspeth's chanting torturers to stand in the center of the circle, directly underneath Elspeth's naked, sweating, weakly writhing, bound, gagged, and suspended form.  She threw back her hood, confirming Hermione's strong suspicion that she was female, then raised her arms.  In her right hand she held a glass vial with its stopper flipped open, and her left hand began making arcane beckoning gestures.  Clearly, she was directing magic upwards towards Elspeth.

Hermione blinked and continued struggling as she watched beads of sweat drip down Elspeth's skin... fall from her body... slowly drift through the air as shining, quivering, spherical droplets... unerringly make their way to the mouth of the open vial... slide down its glass interior... and begin to collect at the bottom.

Hermione stole a desperate glance at the Waara sisters.  They were staring up at Elspeth with their trademark quirky and dimpled smiles, their brown eyes shining.  Clearly, they were enjoying poor Elspeth's torment!

Meanwhile, Elspeth's struggles were growing ever more feeble as both the glowing torture and sweat collection processes continued.

Hermione glanced at Queen Gikel next.  The monarch was watching the grotesque spectacle with apparent indifference (although there may have been a ghost of a smile curling the Royal Lips).

Elspeth's horrendous ordeal continued... until finally, the suffering redhead went absolutely rigid in her bonds—quivered for a few seconds—then went totally limp, apparently losing consciousness.

The circle lowered their arms, the chanting stopped, and the white orbs began winking out two or three at a time, like so many popping soap bubbles... until they were gone.

Meanwhile, the solitary sweat collector continued her task, harvesting more and more droplets... until the vial was full.  She then stoppered the vial and it disappeared into the folds of her cloak.  She then gave the Queen a deep curtsy, backed several paces until she was beyond the waiting circle... then turned with a flutter of her dark green robe and padded from the Throne Room.

Meanwhile, the ropes binding poor unconscious Elspeth had begun to rearrange themselves.  When the process was complete, Elspeth was no longer suspended, but was hovering in midair, bound in an elaborate, symmetrical, and tight box-tie/ladder-tie combination from her shoulders to her big toes!  She was still gagged, as well as still shining with sweat, and her ginger hair was still bundled against the back of her head in a hemp-bound bun.

Elspeth slowly drifted downwards... and as she did so, the circle of her former torturers solemly curtsied to their Queen... then gathered under the Auror's serenly descending naked, bound, and gagged body.  Finally, Elspeth settled onto their shoulders... and they carried her from the Throne Room, like so many pallbearers transporting a naked, bound, and gagged corpse.

"Mrrrmfh!" Hermione whined.  Where are you taking her?  She's okay, isn't she?  Elspeth weakly squirmed in her bonds and a wave of relief coursed through Hermione's naked, post-bound, gagged, and still very concerned form.  She's alive!  Hermione tore her gaze from the departing procession to the Queen, then—(Uh-oh)—realized that she was now the center of attention of Her Majesty, the Waara sisters, and all of the remaining court.

"Tea, your majesty?" Heddwyn suggested, smiling her quirky dimpled smile

"Yes, we believe so," Queen Gikel intoned, "but let's not delay the remainder of the ceremony.  We can refresh ourselves as we watch."  She raised a hand and made an imperious gesture.  "Tea for all!" she commanded.

But what about Elspeth? Hermione silently pleaded.  If anyone's in need of tea it's poor Elspeth ...and I could use a cuppa.

Suddenly, Hermione's attention was drawn upwards.  She'd noticed movement overhead.  Specifically, the long hemp ropes still dangling down from the gloomy heights of the vaulted ceiling had stirred... begun to quiver and shake... and their very ends had all twisted in her direction, like the heads of so many hemp snakes!

This does NOT look good! she decided.