There was an unfamiliar silence in the Great Hall; a militaristic type of deafening silence that had only previously existed in it when it was empty, or the school's inhabitants were in bed—but never when they were dining in it. Friends sat together at their house tables as they always had, though no one dared speak a word; perhaps feeling that they needed some sort of insurance that it was all right, or rather allowed.
"Excuse me!"
The entire student body shifted as the first words of the evening were said, and stiffly turned around to face the staff table where a tall, tanned man with dark hair and eyes stood in the seat where Albus Dumbledore once had. The faces of the other members of the staff were bereft of any feeling as they politely turned to face the man as well, "As you may already be aware, Headmaster Dumbledore sadly passed away a few months ago following the announcement of his retirement. A moment of silence for him is well in order." The man began with a somber expression that could easily have been a lie, and he put his head down, the other professors and students following suit. Asking for a moment of silence in a room that was already hysterical with it seemed almost funny, though no one dare laugh. This year would be different; they all knew it. When the moment had passed, everyone's heads slowly raised and the man began again, "Taking his place, will be myself; I am Professor Talcizar, and though many of you do not know me well yet nor I you, I hope to change that quickly and I'm looking quite forward to an exciting new year." A smile that was difficult to read twisted upon his handsome face, "Well, without further delay, we'll begin the sorting ceremony. First years, step this way, please."
Draco had stopped listening to Raiken Talcizar the moment the words "Dumbledore" and "sadly" passed through his lips. He sat, rather unconcerned with the first years queued in front of the room, between Crabbe and Goyle, who wore looks of sheer excitement. Naturally, Draco thought, they would be excited this year, what with all the 'changes'. Draco should have been, too, and knew it.
The reality was that he had not slept correctly ever since that night he met his father in the muggle town. The things he had seen, the things that Lucius had told him…they were some of the worst things he had ever witnessed. Being a member of his family, and more or less having to become a Death Eater as his father and so many before him had done, should please him immensely. His two best friends were in Eden, but this sudden change of emotion that kept him up night after night aimlessly roaming the walkways of the Malfoy Manor was not an emotion that he, as a Malfoy, should feel at a time like this. He could not come to terms with the frustration he felt, even for thinking such things…and even more so for not being able to push himself to change it.
He sighed in aggravation at the tediously slow passing of the time – almost taunting him in its sluggishness – and sat back, leaning his elbows upon the table behind him. As everyone's attention was focused in the opposite direction, Draco's eyes flicked over to the staff table and zeroed in on Talcizar—a close friend of his father's. What he saw made his face blank entirely and he felt what little color was in it drain. The same object that he had delivered to Mr. Bylatt just two months ago was in the hands of Talcizar, being discretely passed to the Potions teacher—Snape. Draco caught Talcizar lean over and whisper to Snape, who smirked; obviously
happy with his instructions. A few moments later Snape rose from his seat and excused himself, covertly sliding the brand into the pocket of his own black robes—The human brand, that read L.V.—and left the Great Hall. Draco felt a chill run down his spine and goose-bumps of animosity covered his arms, thankful for the long sleeves of his robes that covered them. He thought for a moment, and after making a silent decision Draco rose from his seat.
"Where 'you goin'?" Draco turned to see Goyle looking up at him, a confused look upon his round face. He smirked, easily donning a cool expression – though fooling either of the two would not necessarily take a genius.
"Just to the bathroom," He said, and seeing that Crabbe had turned around as well he added smugly, "I'll be back in a few minutes, unless you want to come and hold it for me while I piss." Their faces pinkened and they nodded in something that was a close to understanding as Draco knew they could come, and with a roll of his eyes he turned and left. Once outside the door, he stopped.
Where would they be keeping them…? Not where the house-elves used to stay, never; it was far too nice for what his father and other supporters of the dark side would consider to accommodate muggles. It was then, that it came to him—the dungeon. But could that be it? That particular section of the school had been forbidden to both students and staff for at least twenty years…which was exactly what would make it the perfect place.
Keeping as quiet as possible and staying out of sight of anyone who may be in the corridor, Draco followed the path that he was sure Snape had taken a minute or so earlier. The hallways seemed endless, and the obnoxious silence did nothing to ease his slight nerves. If he was caught, of course, he could find some way to get himself out of it as he had so many times before, but if it could be avoided, that would be preferable.
Finally, Draco's nerves were put to rest when he reached the end of the time-consuming hallway and the start of the final long, spiraling, dark stairway that led down to the long-unused dungeons. He sighed quietly and began the descent; that guilty feeling in his gut hadn't eased in the least, and he knew that what he had come to see would only make it worse in a different way. Interrupting his thoughts was the cold sound of iron lazily clanking together and a cheery humming that seemed incredibly out of place in the bleak setting; Draco instantly recognized this as the voice of Snape. He turned the corner slowly and came to face the incredibly huge room, filled with rows upon rows of magically protected prison cells. Every few cells had a torch upon the wall outside of it, casting an eerie glow in the room that made any shadow seem to ripple like black water.
Being sure to stay hidden behind the large thick pillars placed every ten feet or so, Draco made his way closer to where he saw Snape standing with his back to him, busily working on something in front of him. Draco squinted and attempted to see exactly what it was, but he need not to continue after Snape spun on his heel sprightly, now giving Draco a clear side view. In Snape's hand was his wand, the tip of which had been enchanted to light ablaze, and beneath this he held the brand which was now glowing red around its edges. He watched as Snape continued on, making his way back towards the furthest cells and being careful not to rattle the heavy
chains upon the pillars, Draco slowly followed after him. Finally, the jaunty thud of Snape's feet upon the stone floor came to a slow and then a complete stop, and it was then that Draco heard him begin to speak.
"Doing well, are you not?" He chuckled, "What, can't speak? Any of you? What a wonderful little charm it is, silencio… 'Lovely newlywed couple. Well, happy honeymoon." He continued, waving his wand and causing the door to slowly slide open. He slid the wand back into its keeping place at his side and entered, smiling at the glowing object in his hand. Snape was now out of Draco's sight, but he remained silent and waited for something, anything, that he wasn't quite sure he was ready for, but needed to hear.
The ripping of cloth was heard, soon followed by a female whimper and a deep male grunt, both sounding pained, and Draco felt himself become nauseous as the distinct smell of burning flesh traveled through the air.
"That wasn't so bad then, was it?" Snape chortled once more, his voice dripping with sarcasm before leaving the cell, magically sealing the iron door behind him. Even in the dark of the dungeon, Draco could see a pleased smile upon his Potions teacher's face as he moved two cells down, "Aw, feeling a bit glum today, mayor? You're looking a bit sick…hm. No matter, I've got quite the remedy for you here!" He laughed and Draco heard and sharp zap and the thud of someone heavy hitting the stone floor; Snape must have hit him with a spell. He flicked his wand at the door again and it opened, Snape quickly going inside. Humming nonchalantly, Draco listened to the sound of material ripping and this time found himself flinching as the man in the cell howled loudly when the brand hit his skin. Without another word, Snape emerged and Draco saw a contented smirk curled upon his lips. Finally, he walked down two more cells and across the wide hallway, now facing a cell that was on the same side that Draco was hiding. His heart beat a little faster and he carefully adjusted himself behind the pillar, making sure that he remained unseen.
Snape stopped in front of the last cell in the dungeon, opposite from where Draco had seen the others, and he carefully snuck a little closer getting about ten feet away from his potions teacher, watching him with almost morbid curiosity. Snape let his cheerful hum come to an abrupt stop as he faced the cell door and broadened his grin at its inhabitant, "Feeling well, my dear?"
Silence. Snape flicked his wand-wrist and opened the door, again taking no time to hesitate before entering. Once more the unpleasant sound of clothing being violently ripped and a somewhat obscene chuckle was heard. A couple of moments later, Draco once again felt his stomach heave as he smelled scorched skin, but he heard nothing. Not a groan, not a scream, not even a gasp; Nothing that gave any indication that the person was even conscious to feel the glowing metal sear their body. Seconds later, the subtle clomping of Snape's feet returned and he came back into view, shutting the door behind him, "I told them you were my personal favorite," He muttered; Draco could practically hear the smile, "Now," He said, moving backwards a little so that he could be seen from all three cells and speaking the all of their inhabitants, "Before dawn tomorrow, two of you will be taken to the upstairs elf dungeon to stay, working in the kitchens and east wing. While it's too nice for the likes of any of you, in my opinion, orders are orders… The other two will be kept down here, but taking care of the
school's dungeon-classrooms, and the north and western wings. And simply to prove that I'm a nice fellow, I'll let the four of you decide for yourselves who will be going where. Until the morning!" Snape said cheerfully, waving his wand again and muttering a counter-charm. With that, he turned and made his way back out of the dungeon.
Draco held his breath as Snape passed within three feet of where he was hiding, black robes swishing darkly behind him. Once he was out of earshot Draco let out a much needed breath, but then quieted himself when he heard quiet talking…
"Mayor…" It was a girl's deep whispering voice, sounding quite tired.
"Y-yes, lamb?" The man was still clearly recovering from the pain of the burn.
"…I think we should stay." There was a silence following her words, but then finally, sounding sure the man spoke.
"I agree with you."
"Marc…?" This was girl's voice again, but louder.
"Yes?" The other male, Marc, replied, sounding equally as beaten. It was then that Draco figured out that these two speakers were of the furthest apart cells, judging the distance by the quiet echoes their voices made against the stone ceilings and floors.
"About…about tomorrow. I think you and Charity should be the two that go upstairs."
"What?! Now, wait just a minute, Jade! I know this seems bad, but we can't leave you two down here alone! What if that…godawful excuse for a man comes back and tries to…do what he did before?! I don't even want to think about it…" Another older sounding, frenetic female voice came from the same place that Draco had heard the man, Marc's voice.
"Now, Charity, we won't be alone; we've got one another." The mayor's voice sounded calm, reassuring. Before the frantic sounding woman could cut in again, the girl's low voice interrupted again.
"There may be worse things…I don't know what, but we know what they can do. I don't want either of the two of you to have to go through it, especially not separated. You've not been married three months for Christ's sake, and I can't let this split you up—Stay with each other."
"This place could kill you!" Charity's voice came out as a loud whisper, as if she were trying to keep the whole thing a secret with the dungeon itself. The other girl, who Draco had discovered was 'Jade' sighed, and Draco heard the first man's voice again.
"And it'll kill you both if you stay down here." The mayor reasoned; his voice was so calm and stern that Draco almost felt more at ease himself –until he realized what was happening.
There was a moment of silence in which heavy thought lingered in the air, and finally Marc spoke, his voice quiet and calm.
"…Are you two really quite sure about this? You're very young, Jade, and Mr. Mayor, sir…"
"Nine years isn't such a dramatic difference between us, Marc. I'm positive."
Draco could almost hear a small smile creep upon the girl's face, and then there was silence. Whether the silence was true, or he had blocked everything out was unknown to Draco, and the next thing he knew he was slumped on the floor against the pillar with his head supported by his arms. He wondered how long he had been sitting there, consumed by the events he had just overseen, and the distant striking of the giant grandfather clock in the main entrance of the school above let him know that it was ten-o-clock at night. He had sat through dinner in its entirety, sitting there, lost in thought . Draco then remembered exactly where he was and he froze, listening for any movement or sound from behind him. All he heard was a quiet snoring, and some deep breathing, letting him know that the captured muggles were sleeping.
Taking a moment to think, he made his decision and carefully stood. He drew in a short, bracing breath and emerged from behind the pillar, slowly making his way down the same cell block that Snape had walked a few hours ago and stopped at the very last one.
He turned to the left once he came to the end, not sure of what he would see but deciding that prolonging it would make it no better. In the dimness of the back of the cell, the only thing that Draco could make out from within it was a heap that seemed somewhat disheveled and appeared to be on some sort of incredibly long chain, bound by the arms with wrist-shackles. His face fell and his uneasiness felt no better. After hesitating a moment, he awkwardly cleared his throat. The figure stirred and slowly pushed itself up. Draco repeated his action, this time with slightly more confidence and felt successful when he saw the person's face look up at him.
"Hey. Over here." He whispered, as to not draw any attention from the other three in the cells across the hall. Very tiredly, the body attempted to pull itself to its feet and with a quiet rattling of the chains, slowly made its way towards where Draco stood at the door, visibly trembling before coming within ten feet of him.
Once the figure stepped into the dim torch-light, Draco froze uncomfortably. It was the same girl who he had seen captured on that horrible night in England with his father…Her eyes wide with obvious fear, and recognition.