The Apprentice

Chapter One

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Hermione lay on the stone floor curled into a small ball. Painful shivers coursed through her body and she could no longer feel her toes or her fingertips. Her head pounded and dried blood was caked to her face. She took a deep breath and tried to slow her heart, but the terror of not knowing what was coming kept her from being able to calm down at all.

She knew where she was though she had never been there before. However, there had always been rumors of what the Malfoy mansion dungeon looked like, and, well, she had always assumed it looked like this. The dungeon was cold, dark, and damp. It smelled of something rotten but she wouldn't let herself identify the scent completely.

The only thing Hermione had to hold on to as of right now was her sheer anger; anger that was directly aimed at Draco Malfoy. She couldn't believe he had been able to trick her so easily. She wouldn't be in the bloody mess if she had used her head and acted less on her hormones. It had been so obvious yet she had been so oblivious. How? HOW? HOW?

36 hours earlier

"Really, Ronald, can't you chew your food before you swallow it? You're going to choke or something," Hermione said to the boy sitting across from her. Harry, who was sitting next to Ron, laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes. She really needed to get some friends that possessed one brain instead of two.

"If I were to choke," Ron started; "would you rescue me with CPR, right?" he asked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"No, I would make Harry do it," she replied knowing that, of course, CPR would be pointless is he were choking on food. However, she got the response she wanted. Harry, ironically, choked on the water he had been drinking and Ron looked mortified. It was quite hilarious. Even Hermione couldn't hide her smile. The two boys looked at each other with disgust. Hermione had no doubt that they had both seen an image in their heads that they would not be able to un-see for a while.

The three friends looked at each other and then started laughing. Their conversation went on to the other light topics, such as; the next quidditch match and their recent Potions assignment.

Hermione had a strange feeling that someone was watching and looked up. Her eyes locked with a pair of grey eyes and her light mood dropped. Draco Malfoy was staring at her again. She was used to his mean glares but, recently, he had been gazing at her with such odd expressions, as though he were trying to figure out a complex formula that was written smack in the middle of her forehead.

Hermione resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him and turned back to her friends. After a while longer, she excused herself from the meal. She needed to head to the library to check out a book for her transfiguration exam next Thursday. Ron and Harry fell into a conversation about girls as soon as she was gone.

Once Hermione was in the library, she settled herself down into her favorite corner with a few of her text books. She studied and prepared for tests for much longer than she had intended. Hermione always lost track of time when she was in the library. Eventually, the librarian kicked her out.

She left sullenly, taking her books back to her dormitory with her. The corridors were empty for the most part but she had a strange feeling that someone was watching her again. More than once, she turned around to check but nobody was there. Once she got to Gryffindor tower, she felt a bit better. Hermione entered the commons room which was full of chatting students. She walked through and went up the stairs to her shared room.

Once there, she dropped all of her books onto her bed with a huff. Hermione stretched and popped her knuckles. She had been feeling a little overwhelmed with homework recently, and that was rare for her. She began removing her warm robe but paused when she saw something poking out from underneath her pillow. Hermione reached down and lifted the plump pillow from her bed. Underneath, was a piece of parchment that had been folded in half. Hermione's heart skipped a beat. She grabbed the parchment and then dropped her pillow.

Over the past three weeks, Hermione had been receiving notes like this one. They were 'love letters' so to speak. She had a secret admirer and it made her feel amazing. Although, she was a little worried about how these letters got into her room . . . Hermione wasn't a very romantic person herself and she knew most guys didn't like her; they were intimidated by her intelligence. She had no idea who they were from but she hoped they were from Ron. For so long, there had been an attraction between them. It was obvious to both of them. However, he hadn't done anything about. Surely he didn't expect her to do something . . .

Then again, Ronald certainly wasn't the romantic type. She could hardly imagine him writing letters as marvelous as the ones she had gotten over the past three weeks. The handwriting was beautiful and the wording was perfect. The things they said could make a girl's heart melt. The only thing Ron knew how to melt was cheese onto his already cheesy food.

Hermione moved to sit next to the window and she unfolded the paper. She read the letter and her heart fluttered once again. This letter wasn't the usual gooey and so very romantic letter, this time he asked her to meet him! After curfew at the top of the tower. Hermione wanted to jump up and down with excitement. She had been wondering who he was, what he looked like. Did he have brown hair? Green eyes? Was he tall or short? She looked at her clock and realized that it was curfew now.

Hermione quickly got up and ran her fingers through her curly hair but quickly gave up on trying to fix it. She re-buttoned her robe and hurriedly left her room. Hermione all but ran down the stairs to the common room and then was out the door before anyone could say a word. She began climbing the many steps that led to the top of the tower. When she was almost there, she forced herself to walk so that her breathing would slow down.

Hermione finally made it to the top of the tower and took a deep breath of the chilly air. She was glad she had left her robe on because she would have been freezing without it. She looked around but nobody was there. Disappointment filled Hermione and she walked over to the railing. She put her hands on the stone and looked down over the land below her. Her head began to feel light as it always did when she was near such heights. Hermione waited for quite a while and she was beginning to doubt the man she had been longing to meet would actually show.

"Ahem," a voice said from behind her.

Hermione jumped and turned around with a smile on her face. However, it fell as soon as she recognized the person. She couldn't see his face very well in the darkness but nobody else had hair that blonde.

"Hello, mudblood," he greeted her sourly. Hermione sneered at him.

"Malfoy," she replied. He moved closer to her and she could make out his features a bit easier now. "What are you doing up here past curfew?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing, Granger, but I already know the answer," he smirked. Nobody could smirk like Draco Malfoy . . . except maybe his father.

"Oh please, you don't know a single thing," Hermione rolled her eyes and stepped around Draco. Her grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Hermione gasped. "What are you doing?" she said bewildered. She pushed his hand away.

"I do happen to know why you're here; you're waiting for your 'secret admirer'." He made quotation marks in the air as he said secret admirer.

Hermione gawked at him for a moment and then said, "How do you know that?"

Draco shrugged. "I bet you hoped it was the Weasel," he said. He held his arms out at his side and looked down at his own body. He looked back up at her. "Disappointed?" he asked.

Hermione stared at him as the reality set in, "You have been sending me those letters?!" She was so angry she felt like hitting him. He could see that in her eyes and he smiled.

"I had to get you here somehow," he said.

"Oh, Draco Malfoy," Hermione said hauntingly, "Have you been trying to confess your love for me these past few weeks?" She was trying to hide her shock and humiliation. The only way she knew how was to play his game. "I am sorry to tell you that I am, in fact, disappointed,"

Draco chuckled. "Don't worry, in a few moments you won't be. You'll get more action than you could have asked for." Draco looked at his wrist watch for a second and then back at her. She frowned at his words.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" She asked defensively. A few ideas came onto her mind but she pushed them away.

"Oh, you'll see," Draco smiled at Hermione and a chill rushed through her. Draco stepped a bit closer to her and she shoved against his chest.

"You're disgusting, Malfoy," She sneered and pushed past him. She headed for the staircase.

Draco pulled out his wand and aimed it at Hermione. "Immobulus!"

Hermione gasped as her body froze. She could feel everything but couldn't move anything. Draco walked into her line a vision. He put his wand away and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh, were you going somewhere?" He asked nonchalantly. Hermione tried to glare at him but couldn't. It felt horribly wrong not being able to change your face with your emotions. Draco sighed as a wind picked up and gushed through the tower. He shivered slightly and looked out at the sky.

He looked at his watch again. They would be here in a few minutes . . .

Draco grabbed Hermione by her upper arms carefully and tiled her back slightly so that she was on her heels. He turned her so that her back was to the stairwell and then he straightened her once again. She wanted to scream at him. Draco reached up and moved a few strands of her hair out of her face. He tucked them behind her ear.

Draco moved and leaned against the railing and waited. He didn't have to wait for very long; he could hear his crazy aunts laugh in the air. Within seconds, Death Eaters solidifying on the high tower. Draco waited for them all to arrive. Suddenly, his father appeared. Draco straightened and bowed to Lucius Malfoy.

"Son," he acknowledged Draco.

"Father," Draco nodded to his father who was already looking over at Hermione's frozen form. He smiled.

"I am surprised, Draco," he said. "I had expected you to fail once again," Lucius walked over to the girl. He pushed her robe out of the way and took her hidden wand. He tossed it to his son. Draco caught the thin piece of wood and pushed it into his pocket.

Hermione was terrified but her features didn't show it.

Bellatrix danced over to Hermione and roughly grabbed her chin. "Why does he want a mudblood?" She spat in her high pitched voice. Bellatrix yanked Hermione's chin against the charm which caused the frozen girl pain. A hiss escaped through her unmoving lips. Bellatrix smiled and she yanked her chin the other way. Another sound of pain came from Hermione's throat. Draco winced while Bellatrix laughed like a delighted child who had found a new toy.

"Bellatrix," Lucius said, "It's time to go," The crazed woman looked at Lucius with a frown but dropped her hold of Hermione's face. She stepped back and almost immediately disappeared in a cloud of black mist. The other Death Eaters followed her lead. Lucius turned to his son and nodded.

Draco stepped behind Hermione and, gently, took a hold of her arms. He pulled her closer to the railing and the braced himself. They would have to remove the Immobulus to be able to apparate with her. Lucius lifted his wand and removed the paralyzing charm from the girl's body.

Hermione immediately felt the charm lifted and she began to thrash harshly in Draco's griped. She jammed her elbow into his stomach and stomped on his foot. She opened her mouth to scream for help but Lucius beat her to it.

"Stupefy!" he yelled. The spell hit Hermione painfully and she dropped. Draco caught her before she hit the stone floor. He looked up at his father but he was already gone.

Draco took a deep breath and bent down to pull the unconscious witch into his arms. He cradled her close to his chest. He surprised by how light she was. He looked down at her and noticed a shallow cut that went from her right eyebrow to her hair line. His father must have really hit her hard with that spell . . .

Draco took a deep breath and apparated to his family mansion with Hermione in his arms. When they arrived, Hermione was still unconscious. He held her tightly as he walked through the dark, familiar halls to the dungeon. Once he finally made it down the last flight of stairs, one of the servants opened a cell door for him.

Draco carried Hermione inside and set her down gently. He pushed some of her hair out of her face and then he stood. He left the cell, locked the door, and retraced his steps back upstairs.

Present time

Hermione stayed curled on the floor for many hours until someone finally came to her. She heard someone clear their throat from many feet behind her.

"I assume you are awake now?" Lucius said to the back of the mudblood girl.

She didn't answer him.

"The Dark Lord is ready to speak with you," he said. Hermione shivered but said nothing. Suddenly she was being pulled up from the ground by her hair. Hermione let out a scream and fought against the much larger man. Lucius slapped her across the face and dropped her. Hermione fell onto the ground and held her hand to her face.

"Up. Now," Lucius ordered.

Reluctantly, Hermione obeyed. Lucius grabbed her by her hair again and pulled her to him. Her positioned her in front of his body and pushed her out of the cell. He kept one hand in her hair and the other holding his wand against her neck. Lucius pushed Hermione out of the dungeons completely and toward the Dark Lords quarters.

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I hoped everyone enjoyed it! I would very much appreciate some feedback:)

-Kayleigh