Draco felt the sweat running down his back and melting into the fabric of his shirt as he pelted as quickly as he could off of the Hogwarts grounds.
Snape, close behind him bellowed, "Don't go with them Draco, wait for me!" But before he could even falter in his stride, Draco was grabbed roughly on one side by Amycus and the other by Alecto.
Their grips were bone crushingly tight; he was losing the feeling in his fingers.
"C'mon Alecto, lets take Draco back to the Dark Lord- he said if the boy failed to kill Dumbledore that he would be. . . punished!" Amycus giggled as he said the last word with an exited pull on Draco's arm.
Alecto grinned, her face stretching taut in manic desire as she imagined their reward for returning with the young Malfoy.
Draco panicked, his blood going cold at the stone iciness of brother and sister, he wrenched at the two and screamed, "Help me Severus! Please!"
If Snape can get here in time. . . he thought pleadingly.
But just as a dark shadow appeared hurtling towards them, the twins disapparated, still holding tightly to Draco's arms.
He felt the pressure increase in his eardrums and the pain made him scream, but the air had been pushed from his chest. He couldn't breathe, his brain struggled with thoughts that didn't matter from lack of oxygen and black started showing around the blurry edges of his vision.
Suddenly the pressure let up and Draco gulped in mouthfuls of cold, damp air. His legs gave out from exhaustion but his body was still held aloft by the siblings' talons.
"Quickly, we must speak with the Dark Lord! Look! The Malfoy boy, he failed his task and now will receive what he has coming!" It was Amycus speaking to some cloaked figure, his voice giddy with delight.
The figure nodded and started down a corridor, heels clicking ominously on the cold stone floor, sometimes splashing in a puddle of dark water.
Amycus and Alecto dragged Draco between them, following the swishing cloak down a series of stone staircases, all the while the temperature descending until Draco was shivering and too afraid to fight the insane man and woman holding him captive.
They reached a large wooden door with an iron knocker crudely attached to its side, which the hooded figure promptly grasped and knocked three times.
Silence ensued, Draco glancing left and right, his body quivering with both cold and fear until even the siblings were shaking from his shivers.
"Yes." Finally came the answer from inside the room, an arctic, unfeeling voice that echoed frostily in the corridor.
All four entered the dark, cavernous looking room. The dim light was produced by small, randomly placed candles on the wall which was uninterrupted by either window or door excepting the one they had entered. The back of the room was completely ensconced in darkness and Draco- though he could not see what dwelt there- knew Voldemort resided there.
At once the three Death Eaters dropped to their knees, "My Lord," started the figure, "your servants have returned from Hogwarts- but. . . it appears the plan did not go as well as expected."
Again, silence. Draco was pulled to the ground by his captors and stared into the dark, his shivers so strong he could barely sit straight and his heart beating so loudly he was sure everyone in the room must have known his exact pulse.
"So Draco, you- just like your father- have failed me. You did not complete your task as I told you to and my trusted spy was forced to break his cover in order to finish it for you."
The wintry tone was steady and unnerving, emanating from the darkness to raise the hairs on the back of Draco's neck.
"I admit I had little belief in your abilities to terminate that old mans life, but I believed you would at least try, perhaps die trying. Apparently Bellatrix," Voldemort directed at the figure, "my new follower does not understand the severity of the choice he made in receiving that mark on his arm. Perhaps he thought it only a symbol of power to show off to his friends."
From the shadows emerged a pale, robed figure with blood red eyes and slit nostrils. Voldemort glided over to the grouping and motioned the siblings who immediately released Draco from their hold and pushed him forward.
"You may leave." Voldemort ordered Amycus and Alecto, who quickly scrambled to obey, leaving behind a very lost boy with his insane aunt and an extremely angry
Voldemort.
"Well you were right boy, this is a sign of power!" Screamed Voldemort, snatching up Draco's arm and ripping off his sleeve, "It is a sign of my power over you! I own you! I control your every thought and movement, your feelings and actions! You dare disobey my orders? How could you not have killed Dumbledore? He was at your mercy- Oh yes I have already spoken with Fenrir Greyback- he told me of your cowardice."
Voldemort was pacing in front of the kneeling boy anger seeping from his being while Draco flinched at every click click from his shoes hitting the unforgiving stone.
"What am I to do with you Draco? Kill you? Or. . ." He pointed his wand at the boy and muttered, "Crucio!"
Draco yelped with pain and curled in on himself, holding his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth, moaning.
Years of being tortured when he had disobeyed his father or done something wrong had diminished the effect of pain on Draco but the curse was so strong tears welled up in his eyes, they grew, threatening to fall but he refused to show this small sign of weakness, too prideful. Then it was lifted.
Fear clouded his brain, no explanation came to mind to tell Voldemort why he had failed he just collapsed on the hard floor. The sweat from his forehead dripping into the cracks.
Voldemort furrowed his brows, contemplating, "No screams for mercy, no pleading, nothing?" He nodded, "I must say Lucius has taught you well, such a pity it would be to kill you. What do you think Bellatrix? He is your nephew. Should I spare his life?"
The woman lifted the cloak from her head and bowed to her Lord then looked at Draco, calculating. "He is strong My Lord, and a good asset. But his loyalties are questionable. Perhaps a good, long stay in the dungeons will strengthen his resolve."
Draco was paralyzed in disbelief; they were not going to kill him, yet. He dared not speak, or barely even breathe, awaiting the decision that would determine if he lived or died.
Voldemort looked thoughtful, examining Draco as he would a mildly interesting bug that had been caught in honey, then nodded, "Very wise Bellatrix, he could be useful in the future. Take him to the dungeons."
Bellatrix took hold of Draco's robes and dragged him off the floor. He was now breathing heavily from relief.
"But Draco, be a good boy, or else I might accidentally have to harm your lovely mother, and dear Bellatrix here would not like that."
The words echoed after Draco down the corridor and as they sank into his frozen brain, so did the horror of his reality.
