Why the fuck do bad things always happen to me? Draco asked himself as he and his family sat in the drawing room, pretending to be a normal family, pretending that the two men standing by their door weren't guards, employed to keep them in, imprisoned in their own house.

"Now Draco dear," His aunt Bella chastised as she noticed his untouched food, "You have to eat, you need to be strong in case you're called upon to go on a raid. You wouldn't want to be captured now would you?"

Actually, I would! He thought to himself, anything would be better that this hell hole you call a home. I can't eat, without thinking about the amount of people had been tortured on our dinner table. I can't sleep because if I do, I hear the screams and see the eyes of people who I was made me torture!

"Miss Bella,"Pinky, Draco's house elf inquired as she entered, her head bowed. She was all he had left. She held him at night when he cried and never told. The only other person he could draw comfort from was Granger. He would constantly open their connection, just to make sure she was okay and safe. It was what kept him sane, if she was okay then, if he survived the war, he would find her and he would ask her to marry him. Granger and Pinky were all he had left on the earth and both were more of a mother to him than Narcissa who in his opinion was a corpse that walked and talked. She had lost her sparkle after he had gone off to school for his sixth year, when the dark lord had taken his self-imposed permanent residence at Malfoy Manor.

Pinky continued, "Master Greyback says he gots a surprise for you?"

"Ooh, I love surprises! Send him in Pinky!"Draco felt his stomach churn and gave up trying to eat as he knew full well that he wouldn't be able to now that a "surprise" had arrived for his aunt. That "surprise" was usually a muggle or a muggleborn she would use as her own dart board, firing curse after curse to "sharpen her skills".

Draco nearly cried when he saw who came in. At first he felt anger towards her for getting caught. Didn't she know that her aunt would not spare her life? And was that Potter? Oh, they had screwed up, there was no way they would escape unless… Dobby! If he could get the elf to take them to safety he would be happier and after the war he would kill Weasley and Potter (especially Weasley) for not protecting her more! Stupid fuckers! Stupid Gryffindor idiots, why couldn't they protect his mate, the cunts! After this he was going to…

"Draco!" His aunt yelled signalling that he had gone off on quite a tangent in his head.

"Yes, Aunt Bella?" his voice was three pitches higher.

"Is this Potter?" She asked at the boy with the mangled face. He knew it was Potter but if he told, Potter would get killed and Voldemort would win and Hermione would be killed too. He didn't want that because he loved her quite a lot and wanted her safe and happy because he too would be happy if she was. So technically, he was being selfish. He was going to lie for his personal gain not for the greater good.

Yeah right, he thought to himself, You keep thinking that

"I-I," He thought of his family, if he was found to be lying they would be killed, but then, it was their bloody fault he was in this position anyway so he lied and proudly, "I don't think so, Aunt Bella."

"Look harder, Draco!" She urged him.

"I don't think it's him Aunt Bella, I'm sorry!" he felt a large burst of pride swell in his chest, he was going to save her!

"No matter, we still have the mudblood bitch and I'm sure after a little persuasion," she emphasised the word persuasion making sure that no one lost what she was trying to say. Making sure that the meaning of her words did not fly over their heads.

"Aunt Bella?" Draco's voice cracked as he felt his knees buckle, and felt his body grow rigid and cold in fear.

"Well Draco, dearest nephew, we are going to torture the mudblood until she tells us whether or not this is Potter. Because I am convinced that she knows and I'm sure she will tell me too, won't you scum?" Bellatrix asked Hermione, holding her head in her hand, squashing her cheeks in.

Hermione spat in Bellatrix's face.

"Oooohhhh!" Bellatrix exclaimed with barely hidden glee, "Feisty, isn't she?" She chuckled, daggers of ice ran down Draco's back at her tone, "We'll break through your barriers soon enough. Crucio!"

Hermione screamed in pain. No amount of preparation could have prepared her for this. She felt like there were daggers everywhere. There daggers piercing her skin, stabbing and dragging, stabbing and dragging, stabbing and dragging. Over and over and over again. She scratched at her own skin, trying to take away the invisible weapons but finding nothing and more nothing. In her pain-filled haze she heard another scream, much lower than hers and prayed to God, that it wasn't Dra-Harry.

Draco Malfoy was in excruciating pain. He had experienced the cruciatus before, from his aunt even, but it was nothing like this. This was worse, much worse. It was so bad, that when he fell, unable to hold his weight with the daggers cutting him up, he felt like he was falling into a bed of roses. It was so bad that when he brought his nails to his skin and scratched, drawing blood, it felt like he was caressing himself. It was so bad that the scratch he felt in his throat from screaming so much felt like the caress of water running down his throat.

"What sort of mockery is this?" Bellatrix yelled, lifting her curse as soon as she noticed Draco writhing in pain next to the mudblood, "What sort of magic is this?"

Draco was on all fours panting, sweating, trying to catch his breath. He was losing his grip on reality, the edges of his vision were hazy, his brain felt constricted, his head felt heavier as he struggled to maintain his grip on the happening before him. He forced himself to focus, to focus enough to help Hermione. Hermione, he had to get her out of here.

"Get Severus!" She screeched, "And the Dark Lord!"

"Pinky,"Draco whispered, although no one else heard him over the raucous they were making. They were too busy trying to calm Bellatrix down and contacting the Dark Lord, "Pinky, I need you to get Dobby and I need you to get Potter, Weasley and Hermione out of here, now, understand?"

"Yes, Master Draco." He heard a pop then turned his head the other way, in time to see Dobby grab Potter and Weasley and disappear. He saw Pinky apparate next to Hermione saw her grab her hand in her wrinkled small one, and only then did he let himself relax and close his eyes. Only after Hermione's safety was assured did he let himself give in to the darkness. Only then.