CHAPTER TWO

The free bird leaps

Draco Malfoy sat at the head of a very long dining table with empty silver plates and vacant platters that were not going to be filled with food anytime in the near future. Listless grey eyes watched in an uninterested gaze as a small group of Death Eaters discussed their next plan of action. For the most part, he ignored their useless babble and to a certain tolerable point they ignored him. With the deaths of his parents weighing heavily on everyone's mind as a very fresh reminder of how true failure was handled by the Dark Lord, most of the Death Eaters viewed the Malfoy boy as an unfortunate object of fate and avoided him like the plague for fear that their master would not appreciate their closeness to the boy and off them as well. To Draco, it hardly mattered why they didn't talk to him. It meant that he didn't have to converse with anyone at these stupid meetings unless he was called upon, simply meet their mournful gazes like they knew what it was like to lose their parents due to someone's fit of rage.

Everyone's attempts at half-assed sympathy bothered the only Malfoy son to a very, very high degree. A week ago, a group of snatchers brought in three captives with very strange objects and one of them bearing a close resemblance to Harry Potter. And, well, everyone knows the story from there but what was not published in the Daily Prophet was that upon learning that he had been called forth on a false lead, Lord Voldemort decided to make an example to everyone out of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy; torturing them endlessly until they were on their last strings of life and hardly lucid anymore and killed them easily. No matter how many memory charms Draco had tried to put on himself, he could still hear their shrieks of pain echo through his mind like they were occurring every moment of his life. Sometimes the drowned out the words of everyone around him…

"…and then she'll die?"

He snapped out of his trance at the words and focused on a witch with dark curly black hair. Bellatrix Lestrange looked far too overjoyed with the announcement of the full extent of Draco's vow to the few Death Eaters in attendance. Naturally, his task that the Dark Lord had given him was to remain a secret, but with Draco's track record at 0-1 for completing what the Dark Lord wanted him to get done, perhaps the news was given out so the followers of the Dark wizard could make bets on how long the blond boy would last. Whatever it was, Bellatrix couldn't contain her excitement at the thought of it. Her shrill voice echoed through the room and bounced off the walls,

"So darling Draco has the chance to kill a mudblood? Baby, darling, sweet, Draco? How could he kill someone of his own age when he could barely point his ruddy wand at a frail old man?"

She caught the look of contempt on her relative's face and cackled loudly, she could hardly believe her luck! Just when she thought that her blond-headed nephew couldn't get in any more trouble, the Dark Lord presented him with a task that a mere seventeen year old could handle. Draco, however, felt the crushing weight of expectancy as it pressed down on his chest. With the reveal of his 'punishment', he now knew that from the Death Eaters that were privy to his assignment there would be a great deal of judgment. Suddenly the attention was off of him and they went back to idly chatting about things that Draco hardly cared to listen to. In fact, it wasn't for some time later when he looked up to realize that the Death Eaters were leaving the Malfoy manor's dining room table. "Finally…" he thought to himself, glad to get rid of them.

However, one remained. Draco leveled his gaze and lifted his chin at Bellatrix, who looked like a five year old in need of a desperate potty break as she wiggled around in her chair. Furrowing his brow Draco drawled,

"Yes, Bellatrix?"

Almost relieved that he asked her a question she rushed to his side and whispered, "Can I…can I see the mudblood bitch? We haven't had a chance to talk since she first came to the manor, and she was such a pleasure to interview, maybe I could…loosen her lips for you a little, make this all easier for you…"

Draco glared at the gaunt-faced witch with a burning hate then sighed, and while he was vehemently against showing off his new prisoner to guests (like a boy in a sandbox with a new toy he doesn't want anyone to take), it was hard to deny Bellatrix anything she wanted if one valued their life in an unaltered way. Standing up he ushered her to follow behind him and walked down one of the hallways that led off from the dining room. Behind him, the witch looked around excitedly, her wide eyes taking in every picture frame that hung on the walls, memorizing every crack in every tile that they stepped over. When they arrived at her doorway Bellatrix peered in. It seemed as though they had happened upon the mudblood during a nap. Frowning like a kid staring at a sunbathing snake at the zoo she turned to Draco and whispered,

"Can I throw something at it to wake it up? Do you think it'd bite me if I went in and poked it? What if…it actually bit me! Could I hit it if it bit me?" Her expression was curious.

Gritting his teeth Draco shook his head and snapped at the witch, "She's not a fucking exhibit, Bellatrix. I had hoped that you were wanting to see her to help me with my mission –without torturing her- but clearly you have proved me wrong. So therefore it is time to go." As he tugged on her arm to get her to dislodge her gaze from the sleeping girl she didn't budge for a moment, her dark eyes bulging as she spotted the plate of empty food on the table. In a sudden flurry of moment she moved towards Draco and grabbed him by the shoulder. He was hardly aware of what she was doing, but by the time his aunt had him pinned against the wall it was too late. Her face was merely inches away from his. His expression turned from surprise to disgust as he wondered if she was going to kiss him. But instead of doing what he had assumed she shouted at him,

"You're feeding it? Why in the blood hell are you feeding it? You are not trying to make friends, Draco. She is not a pet, and she is hardly an associate worthy of decent meals." Bellatrix's dark eyes were darker with a mixture of anger and concern.

Not pleased with what she'd just done, he peeled his fingers off of his shoulders and gave her a rough shove backwards and yelled right back,

"I think it's time that you leave, Bella!" It was shocking to the younger boy when she obeyed his command. Watching the spot where she stood for a moment he ran a hand through his hair and cursed loudly. He knew that Bellatrix was right. He wasn't in this to make friends or to make up for past grievances he'd piled onto Granger's plate, he was purely in this for survival. But that didn't mean that he had to just torture her until she gave up information. Angered by the sudden clash or morals, Malfoy cursed loudly, kicked the wall (which was followed by a slight yelp and a loud swear word) and stalked back upstairs. Of all the Death Eaters that the Dark Lord had at his command, little Draco Malfoy had to be the one to get the trust of the mudblood that he had emotionally tortured for six long years.

Perhaps he would have been better off just letting the Dark Lord kill him.

A/N: Yep, very little of Hermione in this chapter, but I kinda wanted to establish exactly why Draco still has Hermione locked up in a room like a rare and priceless gem. Sooner or later (whenever I decide) we'll find out about Draco's exact arrangement with the Dark Lord ;DD AS ALWAYS, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! I can't tell you how deeply excited I am to share this story with you guys!