Part One
One
[Hermione]
Clumsily, my fingers fumbled with my belt buckle, the digits shaking from cold and from nerves. My eyes anxiously flew back and forth between the two men standing in front of me, faces shrouded in the dark. I wanted to cry out, to beg for mercy, but I didn't. There was no reason for it, for they hadn't done anything to me. Yet. Be strong, I reminded myself. Make the boys proud.
It took everything in me not to ask them the endless questions flooding my mind. Where was I? What was going to happen? Were they expecting me to give up the whereabouts of what was left of the resistance? Didn't they know we'd all disbanded after the war?
I took a steadying breath and focused on the matter at hand – my belt. As my freezing fingers fumbled again, one of the men let out an impatient sigh. "Miss Granger, if you are unable to remove your clothing yourself, I have gentlemen on hand that will happily assist you." I shivered at his familiar voice. Blaise Zabini. His was a voice that had always made me uncomfortable. Now it made me downright fearful.
Instead of answering, I worked harder at removing the offensive clothing. Eventually, the belt came undone and I pulled it through my belt loops. Each tug made the sick feeling in my stomach worse. I dropped the belt to the floor, and it made a light clang as the buckle hit the stone floor. I shuddered at the cold noise and hesitated. Next I would have to remove my shirt. I felt the tears welling up, disgrace already filling me.
"Quickly, Miss Granger. Master Malfoy does not have all day."
I began to shake violently. I wasn't sure if it was the cold or fear, or maybe it was both. I swallowed, but there was no saliva in my throat. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a sip of water.
"Excuse me," I said, trying to sound dignified, "but before I continue, could I please have a drink of water?" I was angry at how pathetic I sounded, but there was nothing I could do. My voice was hoarse from the screams I'd emitted while I was dragged into the dungeons. And I was so thirsty; thirsty to the point of physical exhaustion.
"You may have water after your meeting with Master Malfoy."
My eyes brightened with hope. Did this mean Lucius did not plan to kill me? I was so distracted by my hope that I barely heard the next words to leave the man's mouth. "However, after the meeting, I have a feeling that being thirsty will be the least of your worries."
Slowly, the words sunk in and an icy fear gripped me. I froze, fingers clenching the hem of my t-shirt. "No," I whispered. He meant to keep me alive, but torture me. I don't know why I was shocked, but I was. All traces of courage failed me and tears began to course down my cheeks.
"Miss Granger, if you do not speed this up, my friend and I will remove your garments by force."
I couldn't say anything. I couldn't move. I was immediately reminded of being tortured by Bellatrix. She'd been killed in the war, but those memories were permanent. Lucius was going to torture me for being a part of the the fall of his master, for being of "inferior birth." He was going to take over the work that Voldemort had left undone.
I wished Harry was still alive. He would have been able to protect me. But he'd died with Voldemort, leaving Ron and I alone. I closed my eyes, and the tears began to pour.
"Let me take care of it, Blaise. Tell my father we will be up momentarily."
Blaise didn't answer, butI heard his heavy footsteps leave the room, with a trail of men behind him.
I felt hands gripping my arm and that voice – not Blaise's – whispered into my hear, "Don't struggle. I'm going to remove your clothes. But first, here's some water." I felt a goblet being thrust into my hand. I drank it greedily, letting it wash down my parched throat.
Weakly, I nodded my thanks and turned my face to his. "Malfoy." I whispered tiredly. "I thought you were on our side. I should have known... you..." I couldn't finish my sentence, I was too exhausted. Unwillingly, I leaned into his arms and let him gently remove my clothes.
"If I wasn't on your side, I wouldn't have spared you the humiliation Blaise was planning to inflict upon you." He breathed into my ear. He spoke quickly, and the words were hard to make out. "When you meet my father, don't speak. I know it will be hard. He will use painful curses on you. Let him. Don't speak. Try to go into a place where the pain doesn't touch you – a memory, a daydream. But something far away. And strengthen your mind, don't let him see anything. I will do my best to block your thoughts and memories, but if he senses anything suspicious, I will be forced to remove myself." By this time, I was completely naked, shivers traveling through my whole body. "Be strong." He finally whispered, pushing me towards the door.
He led me through winding passages, dark and ominous, until eventually we were above ground. It was still gloomy, but the windows let in brief spots of light. I clung to the warm sun as long as I could. Eventually, though, we approached a great hall. "I'm going to throw you to the ground once we are in there. I beg your pardon for my roughness."
As he'd told me, I was flung onto the marble floor. I could already feel the bruises forming on my knees and I couldn't help but cringe.
"Good evening, Miss Granger." Lucius Malfoy's icy voice echoed throughout the cavernous space. "Welcome to my manor." I didn't answer, instead keeping my eyes on the ground, but I couldn't help the shiver that wracked my body. His voice had always been one that haunted my dreams. "I see you are not in a talkative mood this evening. Perhaps I can fix that." Before I could prepare myself, he nonchalantly ordered, "Crucio." Immediately, all that filled me was mindless pain, knives stabbing me while I drowned in a sea of acid. I was being strangled, beaten, torn apart at the seams. I tried to dig my way to the surface of the pain, to catch my breath and think of a memory, but my mind was blank. My eyes were open, but they saw nothing. Just red, red like blood. I knew I must have been screaming, but I couldn't hear it. The pain was too much; there was no room for anything else in my body, not even sound.
As quickly as it had come, the pain was gone. I laid on the floor, panting heavily. I couldn't seem to catch my breath. "Harry," I whispered. I don't know why, but the minute I gained control of my body, it was his face in my mind. I focused on it.
"What was that, Miss Granger? I wish you would speak up, I can hardly hear you."
I didn't answer, but squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't even hear Lucius say the word. Yet somehow, I immediately felt the pain again. This time it wasn't so bad so long as my eyes were on Harry.
I'd always envied Harry's eyes. They were a dazzling green, like emeralds trapped behind an ocean. They had hidden depths. They were glorious. My eyes traveled his face, moving next to his glasses. I recalled the tape that kept the blasted things from cracking in half until I'd had the good sense to fix them for him. Then my eyes moved to his too-familiar scar. The scar Voldemort had-
Voldemort. Death Eaters... Lucius Malfoy. Fear filled me, jolting me back to the present, and to the pain.
I felt my body emit a shriek again, and then I sank into the hot coals, the water so hot it froze me; consumed me. I let myself be dragged under and tried not to struggle.
After a hundred years, the pain went away again.
The sight of Lucius Malfoy flickered before my eyes. "I asked you to speak up, Miss Granger."
He did? I couldn't remember that far back.
"Now I will give you one more chance to tell me where the rest of the resistance is, before I begin to invade your mind. And trust me, you will not enjoy that." His tone was nonchalant, but I knew that there was a very real threat beneath his calm exterior.
I dragged my body semi-upright. "You, Lucius Malfoy, are a fool. We are not the resistance. We already one the bloody war. It's you who are the feeble 'resistance.' Your silly threats do not frighten me, scum."
"Always so full of pretty – but extremely nonsensical – words, Miss Granger. My threats are not silly, you see. I will carry them out fully. First I will cause you such pain you'll never walk straight again. Then I will take over your mind, and I will drag the information out of you. And when I do, the Dark Lord will rise to power once more."
Even through my pain, I had to laugh.
"Rise again? You're mad. A bloody seventeen-year-old boy destroyed your precious master, you loon. I hate to break your heart – not that you have one – but your pathetic master isn't coming back this time."
He said something to me, but I didn't hear. Preparing myself, I threw up my walls, glued my eyes onto the younger Malfoy, and let one single memory fill me.
That night.
I don't know how I did it, but I crashed into his room in the nick of time. "I don't know what you think you're doing, Malfoy, but there is simply no way I'm going to let you go out and follow Harry. You're too well-known among the Death Eater crowd. You'd be spotted in an instant and it would ruin the whole thing."
He was silent for a moment before sitting down on his bed, abandoning his preparations. "I'm of no use here," he sighed. "All I do now is sit around and tell Potter what happens in Death Eater gatherings. And I don't even know all that for sure, because there are many secrets I'm not privy to. I'm useless. Potter's out doing heroic nonsense, Weasley's his right hand man, you do all your book research and here I sit." He motioned to the bare room. Poor man, he looked so tired. I knew he hadn't gotten much sleep lately; nobody had. But he looked especially haggard.
I sat down next to him, gently placing my hand on his thigh. "Draco." He looked up. I almost laughed at his shock. I never made moves to touch him and I never called him Draco. "You've done more than any of us could. We all just sort of fell in line to follow Harry. You've given up your family, your name, your preconceived beliefs to join our cause. You have made more of a sacrifice than any of us. I admire you."
"Don't be silly, Granger," he said gruffly.
"I'm not silly. I'm being serious, and don't brush it off just because you want to be heartless and you want me to be that statistic-quoting, level-headed mudblood you've always known. Because you're not, and I'm not. You're a good man, and I'm a good woman."
"Don't call yourself that... name." He turned his face away.
"You see? That suited you just fine for years, calling me 'mudblood', and now you can barely stand the word. You've changed so much. You used to be a scrawny little boy who depended on Daddy's money and your big goon friends to protect you. But you stand on your own now. You don't need any of them. You take care of yourself. And you've taken great measure to take care of others."
I pulled his face towards me gently, whispering, "You're good, Draco Malfoy. Better than anyone I know."
He grinned. Slowly, I felt myself being pulled in. His eyes were so beautiful, steely and dark, silvery and deep. My eyes fluttered to his lips, then back to his eyes. Before I knew it, our lips were touching. It felt natural, beautiful, like exhaling after holding your breath for a long time. I couldn't control my hands as they wound up into his hair, pulling me closer, closer, closer. A shiver escaped me as his strong arms wrapped around my waist. A hot feeling flooded my whole body, something I'd never experienced before.
I pulled away, breathless. There were no words between us, just motion. In one movement, he pulled me to him and flipped me, so I was underneath him. My stomach tightened as he kissed me again, nibbling at my lips, then his mouth falling to my neck, kissing everywhere. Without warning, a moan escaped my lips.
He froze. I froze. And then it was a frenzy of motion. I felt my clothes being torn off of my body, I felt his skin connect with mine. I smiled as I kissed him, holding back a euphoric giggle.
"What?" He asked amidst the kisses.
"Nothing. It's just... I always thought you'd be cold."
He laughed, a sound I'd never heard before. And if I had, it had been tampered by cruelty. "It's not like I'm a vampire, Granger. No, I'm not cold." Gingerly, he grabbed my hand and placed it on his stomach, dragging it along his flat, but slightly rippled chest until it was over his heart. I felt it beat furiously.
"You can laugh?" I teased, dragging my lips across his collarbone.
When they hit the junction between his neck and his ear, he emitted a growl.
"And growl?" I panted. "Who would have guessed. Malfoy's a growler."
He nipped at my uncovered chest. "Do not tease me, Hermione."
If I had been standing, I would have collapsed.
"You... you c-called me... my... oh..." I sunk back into him, wrapping my legs around his bare waist.
"Stop," someone yelled faintly. I pushed their order aside. All I wanted was him. "STOP!" Draco's voice was firm now. "He cannot see, Hermione."
My eyes blinked open to where Draco stood, pain across his face. I redirected my thoughts to the present. Lucius was trying to invade my mind, Draco was trying to protect me, and he knew that if Lucius saw, it would all be over. I tried to come up with the spell to protect myself, but I was too tired. Instead, I closed my eyes and let the blackness engulf me.