Chapter 6 – Survive

"Young Malfoy..." Draco started awake when the hiss sounded from next to him, his eyes opening wide and jumping up from the cot, he was met with a dizzy spell for a moment but blinked it away almost instantly. His eyes adjusted and he saw the black robed figure of Lord Voldemort in front of him, Draco tensed; it had been so long since he saw anyone besides Travers, the latter who had visited a few times with some strengthening potions.

And he knew what a visit meant from Voldemort.

"No acknowledging your superiors young Malfoy?" The hiss was lethal, and Draco knew it didn't matter how he acted or reacted, he was going to feel it, so he only lifted his chin in that regal manner that was inborn to all Malfoy's and met the snake like eyes of the dark wizard full on.

"So... Silence it is. Very well."

Voldemort flicked his wand, and the next thing Draco was flung back against the wall lifted into the air, his back still against the wall, and prostrated spread eagled; he didn't have any time to react before a slicing hex hit him.

Cuts sliced over his cheek and chest, deep gashes that opened up to reveal the muscle beneath, the bleeding started within seconds warm and pulsing.

He groaned with the instant pain but bit on his teeth not to cry out loudly, the cry escaping out as a hiss, he had barely bit it back before a round of crucio was delivered, but it was stopped almost instantly again and through the haze of pain he heard the chuckling of Voldemort. "Mmm I forget, I must not use the Cruciates curse on you anymore... Apparently you are at the limit of endurance before losing your sanity... So."

And then his wand sliced in a motion all too familiar, and even through his pain fogged his rational thought Draco realised he was in trouble. The familiar deep sliced cuts instantly opened up over his chest, the wounds inflected by the sectumsemptra curse resulting in instant massive blood loss. With a familiar laugh he was vaguely aware that Voldemort apparated away, which resulted in Draco instantly dropping to the floor in a heap; his own blood pooling beneath him as he lost consciousness.

Xxx

He vaguely heard the drip of that incessant water leak as the fog started to clear from his addled mind, a groan escaped his lips as the pain also came back along with his hearing, searing burning all over his chest.

"Easy Malfoy."

A firm hand pressed his shoulder, as if to make sure he stays down, Draco forced his eyelids to open, he felt as if his entire being was in the brink of collapsing, his mind was just as exhausted and tortured as his body. His eyes finally blinked open weakly, faint light illuminated around him from the wand in Travers hand; the man which had lifted his hand from Draco's shoulder to pick up a potion vile that he now pressed against his lips in silent request that he drinks.

He weakly parted his lips but did not do much more than that, Travers tipped the potion to pour into his mouth and down his throat, Draco coughed a bit then but managed to let the potion down his throat in the end, the physical pain and weakness immediately started to lesson.

"Wh- Why-" His voice was raspy and weak, his throat muscles barely managing to let him speak; Draco felt as if this torture was never ending, why even still trying to maintain his sanity, it wasn't going to end, Travers must just let him be, let him die or whatever it is the dark lord was trying to do, why wouldn't Travers just let it be?

Evan knew exactly what Draco meant, and pressed his lips in a resolute line, then with a deep breath he responded to the plea. "Malfoy... I'm meeting them tonight to plan. You're going to get you out of here, I don't know how or when yet, but you need to hold on."

Draco only grimaced slightly, the news didn't perk him, didn't do anything. All he heard were mere words, words meant nothing in this dark damp and cold room of pain and isolation; once again Evan seemed to realise the train of Draco's mind, and then with a sigh divulged the information Theo had given him only earlier that day, information that he said Evan must use when needed to get Malfoy to hold on.

"The mu- ... The witch, Hermione Granger, she's the one that's pushing for your rescue, she's -" He gave a covert glance to the blonde wizard, making sure he was listening, satisfied with the look of exhausted concentration he continued. "She's not leaving England without you. Although preparations are being made for her extraction to your chateau in France by your parents themselves. And also-"

Once again he made sure that he was still listening, he was happy to see a slight spark now in the grey eyes, a spark of life he hasn't seen since his confinement after the games. "She's pregnant. I believe it's yours. So, just hang in there. She won't stop till you're out of here."

The widening of the younger blonde's eyes told him that his news was a complete surprise, and then smiled when he saw his raw emotion, the memory of his own happiness momentarily enveloping him from when he found out about his own wife's pregnancy so many years ago. His features twisted into sadness with the accompanying memory of his son being dead. "She's- I'm-?"

He stuttered, not being able to form a coherent sentence in his shock and surprise, Evan patted his shoulder companionably. "Yes. You're going to be a father. So I suggest you do whatever is needed to keep your wits together."

With that Evan stood up and apparated away with a silent pop, he couldn't stay longer in fear of being discovered, but also because he felt he needed to escape from the father to be and try to get his own sadness back under control in private.

DMHG

Draco lay in the darkness, he was very weak and tired still, but his mind was alive with thoughts, Hermione was pregnant. What were the odds of that happening from the one time? Okay well, it happened quite a few times during the one night, but still, the odds of that were completely bizarre!

Then another realisation hit home, she had been pregnant in the games!

The things she had to do, the unhealthy diets, how on earth did she even survive, pregnancies took their toll physically on women, and he knew enough to know the first weeks were also the most critical, how the hell did she then not have a miscarriage?

How the hell had Hermione survived with the pregnancy; he remembered his mother's last miscarriage, her remembered well how happy she had been being pregnant again, he remembered how it tired her, befuddled her brain and memory, the throwing up, the constant sleeping due to the tiredness, and due to something that went wrong she miss carried at twelve weeks.

Awe settled in him.

She hadn't known she was pregnant, so she probably pushed the tiredness and nausea away as exhaustion and stress from the games, then he remembered her throwing up those times in the last days, a smile formed on his face. She was truly one of a kind, she had survived spectacularly even with the symptoms of early pregnancy, and obviously their baby, wow...

The smile widened in the darkness, their baby.

Their baby was obviously also a survivor, he felt something warm developing deep inside of his stomach, something close to the love he felt for his parents, his Hermione. Was it possible to already love a child who hasn't even fully developed yet? The warmth spread, and he knew that yes, it was completely possible, and exactly what he felt.

Draco knew then that he would keep his wits, the dark lord can torture him physically or psychologically, but he would continue finding ways to not give in, to not give up.

Draco Malfoy was the heir of the Malfoy family, one of the oldest wizarding families there was, and they haven't survived centuries because they were weak, no they have survived because they are the strongest, the best, and the smartest.

He would do his family name proud, he would do his witch proud, and he would do his child proud.

Draco Malfoy will survive.