Chapter 3 –

Backfired

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Hermione felt the world close in around her as she and Malfoy apperated away from Hogwarts. Not only from Hogwarts, but also from her friends, her boyfriend, where she felt safe. Now, she could only guess what would happen to her. Malfoy had captured her and her only guess was that it was related to Lord Voldemort somehow, in some weird twisted way to initiate Draco Malfoy into the realm of Death Eaters.

Due to a deranged fear of losing a limb during apparition, Hermione closed her eyes and clung tightly to Malfoy's arm. Gradually, the space surrounding them became less suffocating and she felt her feet hit solid ground once more.

"DRACO!" An outraged voice called out. Hermione opened her eyes and realized she was still holding hands with Malfoy. She tried to wriggle away, but he only gripped her harder and dragged her down the dark corridor they had appeared in.

"Shit," Malfoy uttered under his breath as he heard his father yelling his name. He had them practically sprinting down the corridor towards the repeated yelling of his father. They turned the corner, however, and came face to face with Malfoy Sr. and several masked Death Eaters in the shadows. Hermione's breath caught in her throat.

They skidded to a halt. Lucius Malfoy's face was calm with no smile apparent. The low flicker of the torches on the wall let his long silvery blond hair glimmer, but it did nothing to remove the rage that filled his eyes. Even in the dark, Hermione and Draco could see the fury. They both took a step backward, as if a little extra space would save them from what was about to come.

"You're late," was all Lucius said.

Draco knew that it only meant some form of punishment from either his father, or Lord Voldemort. Or both.

"I'm sorry, father. There was –"

"Tisk tisk. Making excuses already, are we Draco?" Lucius' voice was like venom. "It's a shame to think that you cannot handle a task so simple. We may as well have sent a house elf."

Draco hung his head, but quickly decided that showing defeat was no way to stand up to his father. "I'm sorry, again, father. It won't happen the next time. I swear it." He glared into his father's eyes, pleading for him to let it go. After all, it was only his first task. Surely not everyone did everything right the first time.

"Perhaps there will not be a next time. The Dark Lord would like a word with you. Give me the girl, Draco." Lucius held out his hand towards Hermione, as if she were a piece of property. For some reason, Hermione took a step behind Draco. He may have abducted her, but she concluded that Lucius and his evil cohorts would do much worse.

"No. The task was mine, and I will finish it. Lord Voldemort can speak to me when I am finished," Draco challenged, gripping Hermione's wrist this time.

Without a second's hesitation, Lucius raised his right hand and backhanded Draco across the face. He fell into the wall, and collapsed on the floor. Lucius grabbed Hermione's upper arm and violently dragged her down the damp corridor, leaving his son on the floor.

Hermione struggled to loosen Lucius' grip, but he only squeezed tighter causing her fingers to tingle. After several turns and doors and a few long corridors, Lucius stopped at one particular door. It was definitely metal, as the shimmer from the fiery torches gave that away. Muttering a few spells under his breath, Lucius stood back and waited for the doorway to open.

"Get in there, you mudblood filth. Your time in the spotlight will come." He threw Hermione onto the ground, quickly muttering the counter curse to close the door behind him as he stormed out. Hermione pushed herself to her feet and immediately ran to the door, pounding on it with her tiny fists. She screamed and screamed for help, but outside, they heard nothing.

After several minutes of the attempt at freedom, Hermione gave up and decided to take in her surroundings. There was only a small window up in the corner, barred of course, and no other doors. The walls were slightly damp, and despite it being rather early on a summer morning, Hermione felt herself chilled to the bones. She managed to get a look out the window before sitting down. The window was at ground level, so she figured the chill came from the fact that they were underground.

Great, just great. Now I'm stuck underground with Lucius Malfoy and his cronies who want me dead. Well, at least Harry and Ron had seen who it was that kidnapped me before we disapperated. Oh God . . . Seamus! He must be worried sick.

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Draco sat hunched by the wall, nursing his now swollen cheek. He was furious. And completely terrified. He didn't want to be here; he didn't want to become a Death Eater anymore. He had completely screwed up his first task - - wait! No he didn't. The mudblood was here, wasn't she? And only stupid Potter and Weasel witnessed it. That wasn't necessarily the greatest thing, but it could have been a lot worse. It's not like anyone would believe Potter when he told them what had happened. Look how long it took people to believe his story about Lord Voldemort returning.

Nonetheless, Draco was terrified of what the Dark Lord was going to do with him. He had heard stories about Death Eaters who had displeased the master, but they were merely stories to him. Nothing but scary bedtime stories that followers of Lord Voldemort told their children, reiterating the fact that they should be afraid of him; but also to help the children earn respect for their leader. Draco believed the stories as a young boy, but when it was a real life situation, and it involved you, that level of fear nearly tripled.

The sound of footsteps echoing down the corridor made Draco shudder into himself. He coward against the wall, catching his breath in his throat. A Malfoy was never afraid, but whenever he was, it was only for the worst circumstances imaginable. Facing Lord Voldemort after making a mistake on a task specifically assigned to you just happened to be one of those circumstances.

"You disappoint me, Draco." Lucius appeared from around the corner. Although he was alone, it did nothing to ease Draco's nerves. "Do you honestly think that The Dark Lord will let you get away with this?"

Draco did his best to stand up, using the wall as support. "Father, it was one minor slip—"

"Minor?! You think that having people witness your secret kidnapping is a minor thing, Draco?" Lucius was fuming. Even in the darkness of the corridor, Draco could tell his face had turned an intense color of red.

"I just don't think it's something to overreact—"

Lucius lunged forward and grabbed Draco by the front of his shirt. "YOU DARE QUESTION ME, BOY?" He pulled Draco forward a good foot and a half, and then slammed him back into the wall. "ANSWER ME!"

Draco would've collapsed to the floor if his father had not still been holding onto him. He had cracked his head so hard he was seeing stars, unable to focus on what Lucius was continuing to scream at him . . . something about how his life should revolve around pleasing Voldemort. Draco didn't care anymore. He just wanted to get out of there, to go home and lay in bed.

Suddenly he was being dragged away by his left arm. The pain in his head was unbearable, not to mention the bruising he felt on his shoulder blades, his spine, and . . . hell, his entire backside was aching. He couldn't focus on anything, but he somehow managed to put one foot in front of the other.

They stopped at a huge oak door at the end of a particularly dark corridor. The door had two serpents crawling up each side of it, both carved into the wood with a generous amount of detail. Lucius muttered a few words under his breath, and the door swung open with a creak. He continued to drag his son down another short hallway, only to come upon another door where he muttered a few more words.

"Ah, Lucius." A snake-like voice filled their ears as they entered the surprisingly warm room. Voldemort sat in a high-backed leather chair on the far side of the room, stroking the large serpent draped across his shoulders. "We've been eagerly awaiting the return of your son. Ah, I see that he is with you. Wonderful."

"Yes, m'Lord, but I must ask permission to speak." Lucius said, bowing slightly. Draco took the opportunity to glance around the room. He noted that several Death Eaters stood around the perimeter, like bodyguards. He felt the need to be sick to his stomach.

"Of course, Lucius, carry on."

"In his attempt to capture the mudblood, Hermione Granger, my sorry excuse for a son has failed you, sir."

"Do explain, Lucius." Voldemort shifted his weight to the edge of his chair, as if he was excited to hear about the failure of the Death Eater in training.

"Well, for starters, Draco appears to have let his mind wander while making the Polyjuice potion. The potion failed, sir, just as he was about to apperate. There were witnesses to the kidnapping, including Him, sir."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "Potter?"

Lucius nodded silently.

Voldemort laced his fingers together and leaned back in his chair. "Is this true, young Malfoy?"

Draco used all his strength to stand up on his own, shrugging his father's grip away. "Yes, sir. It is. But let me explain!" A clammy, white hand was help up to silence Draco.

"You shame your father, young Draco, as you shame me. The task of the Death Eater is not one to be taken lightly."

"But she's here—" Draco froze. He was suddenly on his knees without his permission. Looking Lord Voldemort in the eyes, Draco knew he had been placed under the Imperius curse.

"Do you really wish to argue with me, you inferior waste?" Voldemort spat. He stood and slowly walked towards Draco. He was struggling against the curse, but it proved useless. "I did not get to where I am today, young Malfoy, by failing. This was your first task. And you couldn't even accomplish that. What am I to think? Why should I waste my valuable time training you, if you fail with the simplest tasks."

Voldemort turned to face Draco's father. "Lucius. Your boy is a disgrace. I hope you agree?" It wasn't so much a question as a demand. Lucius nodded his head vigorously.

"Of course, master. You have my full agreement in doing with him whatever you desire." Lucius bowed slightly again, backing away into the shadows with the rest of the Death Eaters to watch Voldemort torture his only child.

"Punishment!" Voldemort shouted.

No one moved a muscle.

Draco felt his chest swelling with fear, but he dared not let it show in his eyes. He only pictured the worst. He was already frozen in place, moving exactly as the Dark Lord commanded him to. He didn't want this. He didn't want to be here, to be a part of this ring of evil. Draco didn't want to live his life in fear. He wasn't like his father, and he'd be damned if he went down because of Lucius.

Using only a flicker of his fingers, Voldemort summoned Draco to his side. Involuntarily, Draco's body floated through the air to his side, kneeling once again. Voldemort placed his clammy hand on Draco's head, petting it like a dog.

"Draco, Draco, Draco. What am I to do with you? Such a burden you have come to be." Rubbing his temples, Voldemort began pacing the empty space between Draco and the nearest Death Eater. "So, we know that Harry Potter," he spat the name as if it were poison, "has seen young Malfoy here with Granger. He may know that we have her, but he doesn't know where we are. And that means, Crabbe?"

The heavyset man clad in shabby old robes shifted his weight nervously. "Uh . . . that, uh, he needs a map?"

"No, you idiot! It means we have time. Time to plan." Voldemort's eyes pierced through Draco's as a menacing smile spread across his lips. "Lucius?"

Malfoy Sr. sprang from the shadows. "Yes, master?"

"Would you please escort your son to the cell the mudblood currently calls home? He can spend the time until Potter arrives in there."

Draco's eyes widened in horror.

Oh I liked that one! Reviews )