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I know it's late. I know it is not that long. I know I am begining to blather. But (FINALLY) here it is Chapter 8 ...
It had been four days and nineteen hours exactly since she had arrived at Hogwarts for her seventh and final year at the school, she had been counting. Now as the echoing ringing came out from the great bell tower that signalled the end of another lunchtime sent in the Library she added another hour to her total.
As she walked through the bustling corridors that were brimming full with hundreds of happy and busy students that reminded her so much of herself and how she had spent the last six years of her life, never in all that time had she felt so alone. She walked to her next class of the day, Transfiguration, slowly keeping her head bowed down letting her hair cover her face like Harry's old invisibility cloak used to. This was part of her disguise to blend in, now as she was tightly hugging her vast array of books; she only wished that she could go about almost unnoticed, like one of the many ghosts that had patrolled around Hogwarts corridors for hundreds of years before her.
She enjoyed transfiguration, in fact it was probably one her favourite subjects, not only because of the beauty that she found in the realisation that she could change an item into another or improve one into something better with just a short flick of her wand, it also enjoyed it because she was taught by the only withstanding teacher that had not been replaced with another from the 'other side' as she liked to call it. Thankfully she still had Professor McGonagall and although she was sometimes strict and hard on her students she was very knowledgeable and fair and her lessons felt almost like a heaven compared to the others she had to endure.
She walked into the half full classroom of students and she sat herself in her usual seat in the corner of the square room , she methodically got out her books, quill and ink , taking time as she did so, then she sat up with her refreshed quill in her hand ready and poised to learn.
What seemed like many more than the few hours later after that transfiguration lesson she was trudging up to the now well-known portrait and whispering the daily password into it under her breath. Once inside she saw that it held no other presence other then herself so she carried on into her room, dumped her books on the floor and got herself ready for bed.
She then, eagerly but tiredly, fell into the deep folds of her expensive but forgiving bed and laid there enjoying the pure sense of relaxation and freeness that it gave to her. It was not long before she fell into a deep and well deserved sleep after another long and exhausting day that were so common from now on.
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Draco finished his filling yet satisfying dinner by laying his knife and fork politely into place on his plate as he had always been taught to do so as a young child.
'So, what do you think of out new charms teacher, Draco?' Goyle asked in his voice that had finally settled at a deep level after years of it flipping between octaves.
'Alright I suppose, better than the load of trash we had here before.'
'I agree, I mean at least we have a chance of passing out NEWTS this year, not like we really need them is though Draco. Our lives had been laid out before us and to be honest I am bloody thankful for it, takes the pressure of us a bit. In fact I think we are just a waste of talent spending another year here.'
'Yeah I suppose it does have that advantage to it. Not that I am to happy with the idea of our lives already been chosen for us.'
'What do you mean? I thought you couldn't wait to start the real, hardcore fighting. Heard anything about a placement yet?' Goyle asked, unusually forward with his questioning.
'Just leave it, why don't you?' Draco snapped back at him, becoming temperamental with his tiredness.
'Fine, go get some sleep you obviously need it. See you tomorrow then.'
'Yeah, whatever. 'Draco said as he sat there and watched Goyle stride off out the door of the great hall, since when had he become so arrogant and confident? He asked himself. Now he really felt alone as best friends slowly began to leave his side and make their own stand in life.
It was about ten thirty that night, just as Draco was finishing a chapter in his book and was thinking about showering when he felt his left arm itch irritably and uncomfortably. He unbuttoned and unrolled his shirt to find to his horror that the dark mark that had been so brutally and forcefully burned into his skin was slowly beginning to slither and squirm under his pale and translucent skin.
He hated that mark and always covered it up, even when he was only in his own company he never had it on show, this was not just because he wanted to keep it a secret but it always reminded him of what he was. What he breed to be. It reminded him that no matter how far and wide he ran, no matter how clean his thoughts were he would never truly get away from the fact of what he really was. He could never escape it.
And now as he stared at the moving snake's body that began morphing into distorted shapes across his arm he watched it with wide open eyes as he stood there, slightly frozen with fear. Of course he knew what this meant, he had been summoned and he was to leave at once to his home, the headquarters. This was his first proper summoning i as he had never really left the confinements of his home since he had been marked and tagged like some sort of dog. Already it was like a time bomb was slowly ticking away, the second the signal had been sent they would be expecting him and the longer he made them wait the more angry and irritable they would become.
In a sort of trance like state he dressed himself in his black robes which he kept for these sort of formal occasions. Before he left the security of his room he checked himself in the full length mirror.
The person that stared at him back was not a man, a strong and confident death eater; it was a small and unprotected boy. He looked frightened and scared and he had a thin, shinning layer of sweat over his forehead, his complexion had turned a pale and sickly white and his eyes were bright, but not with excitement but with fear.
He rushed into his bathroom, angry at himself for wasting time, and let the tap flow. He looked himself directly in the eye in the bathroom mirror and cupped his hands together and let the cold water flow into them, he then splattered the water over his young face and he grasped the edge of the basin, panting deeply. He had to get a grip on himself; he was a fucking Malfoy for merlin's sake.
So annoyed at himself for being so pathetic he smashed the boy in the mirror with his cold, hard first as he tried to wipe away that image. His knuckle smashed again the mirror, shattering it into two, this did not change the look of the stubborn boy's face that had a rigid jaw and set mouth, it only distorted it into something even more unnatural and hideous.
He was so angry with himself for being so weak that he hardly noticed the blood that slowly beginning to trickle down his right hand and make small flicks of scarlet onto the cream carpet, he hardly noticed that pain that came with the blood, a sharp and piercing pain that pin pointed where his hand had made contact with the mirror just seconds before. He was numb to the feeling of this sort of pain, physical pain, he had felt it so much in the last few years he had sort of become accustomed to it.
Without giving himself time to think about what was waiting for him there, he quickly thought of the front porch of home and he turned on the spot to apparate.
He felt the usual jolt that felt like he was being pulled by his stomach and he heard a sharp crack, but when that had passed he opened his eyes which he had subconsciously closed and looked at the heavy and somewhat intimidating door that stood closed shut in front of him.
Preparing himself for what or who stood on the other side of the frame he wiped his hand over his forehead to get rid of any unwanted sweat that would give any signs of fear, he then straighten his robes and concentrated on setting his face in a emotionless and rigid position. Without a second thought he then pressed his palm against the solid gold knocker that had the Malfoy crest encrusted on its surface and opened the heavy door with ease.
As soon as he crossed the boundary line into his home his eyes began to quickly dart around the rooms that he could see from his position for any signs of life. This part of the house looked exactly the same as when he had left it just days earlier for school, it was dark and cold and altogether uninviting.
He walked up to the nearest door which belonged to the grand dining room and he listened, the door was closed and inside he could hear mumbling that resembled the sounds of formal conversation, of course he knew this wasn't the same as any other meeting.
Knowing that they would be able to sense his presence and not wanting to be caught acting suspiciously he confidently strode into the crowed room which fell silent as soon as he entered. Around forty faces looked up at the open door and quickly shot back down when they realised it was only him.
They all sat around a long and expensive wooden table that had been in the family ever since Draco could cast his memories back to; when he was a young child he always remembered how his parents would sit at opposite ends and him in the middle. That action about summed up his family, formal and disjointed.
He recognised all the people in the room from the regular parties that he was expected to attend with his parents and all the men and women seemed to be sitting in order of preference of loyalty he assumed. For example that physco that was Bellatrix Lestrange was sitting to left but one of the Dark Lord himself. She was winding a thick piece of her crazy and untameable hair around her bony finger and she was licking her full lips as if she was tasting the hair, one of her many unattractive habits. Her eyes were also manically flitting around the room so she looked completely alert, nothing would miss her gaze.
'Ah Draco, I see you made it, you see I was beginning to think that you had deserted me.' A stone sold voice said in the thick silence, it was draped heavily with authority and a voice so cold and empty could only belong to once being. Lord Voldemort.
Draco slowly raised his bowed head to meet the eyes that belonged to the beast who sat at the head of the table where his father had once sat, he had a large and thick snake wrapped protectively around his neck and he absentmindedly caressed it with his filthy fingernails.
'Yes, my Lord, I am very sorry that I am late, please accept my apology.' Draco replied politely as he slightly bent his body into a bow, the perfect act.
'This one time Draco, but this one time only. You see when my followers are late I begin to wonder what they are doing that could be more important and necessary than their dedication to our side. You comprehend?'
'Of course, my Lord.' And with that Draco's eyes slowly scanned the room for his parents which were not hard to spot as they were seated near Voldemort himself and shared his pallid colour hair. He walked calmly and composed to the empty seat between them and sat down. His mother then quickly squeezed his shoulder which he found strangely comforting that even he had to slightly smile in her direction before his face turned once more back into its blank mask as he turned to their leader who had began speaking.
'As I was just informing you, I have called this meeting to bring us together so that we discuss our plans for the upcoming months. We need to set ourselves stricter targets as have many of you had probably not been paying enough attention to notice so far the boy is still alive.' His voice rose to new levels on the last sentence as his fist thumped heavily against the table making many bodies in the room jump.
Dracos body slowly began to tense up as he knew that Voldemort was getting angry and when he became angry he was not at all forgiving.
Voldemorts black, piercing eyes then moved slowly anti-clockwise around the room meeting everybody else's as if this would help convey the importance of the message he was trying to get across. And as his eyes swept to Draco's he felt an old sensation like his soul had become on show and that, somehow, he would never be happy again. However, this feeling quickly subsided when their eyes lost connection and the Dark Lord had continued to his farther.
'If you may my Lord I feel that I have some information for you.' He spoke up, his voice surprisingly loud and confident compared to the opposite of how he felt on the inside. But he realised that to gain the trust of the many before him he would have to help him, and if Voldemort trusted you, believe me, your life was kept on this side of hell.
'Yes'. He smiled creepily and over-nice showing a prime example of his many drastic mood swings.
'I-I-I feel that you should now that Harry Potter has-s not returned to school-l.' He said, his voice begingging to break under the protruding glances of all the bodies in the room that were so much more powerful and experienced than himself.
'Not a surprise to hear that as this is what we expected , but I thank you Draco for your conformation on this subject. Do you have any idea of where he would be?'
'N-n-no my Lord, of this I have no answers.'
'Well I suggest that you think of some as you are our one individual member that can see the world through the eyes of a boy your age.'
'I-I-I will be sure to do so, my Lord' and as he said this he bowed his head and he felt another small but reassuring squeeze on his right leg from him mother.
The conversation then moved on and with it the attention did so to. He only hoped that his questioning had been finished for the night.
That evening discussions fell deep into the night and debatably into the morning but it was hard to tell in the room they were all locked in as it had no clock or any windows which could give some indication of the time. It made Draco feel costrophobic after hours of the dark talk which contaminated the air in which he breathed in, it made him want to choke. The hard seat beneath him was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and his eyes began to ache and droop after his long day. Conversation thankfully never fell onto him again and he only concentrated on pretending to be listening and taking in all the information.
Draco felt so relived once the meeting had finally ended. He speedily headed out of the entrance of the room as quickly as he could manage without looking too keen to escape, however as he was leaving the room and rubbing his heavy eyes a bony hand fell on his back. He turned around after a few seconds of realising what to do, his tiredness had affected his reaction time, but thankfully it was only his mother waiting behind him.
She lead him into one of the many empty rooms in the family mansion and look her time closing the door behind her before she slowly turned around to face her only son. They both stood there in silence as the seconds ticked by until his mother finally coughed and spoke;
'How are you Draco? How is school?' She pleasantly asked.
'Fine, mother.' He replied rigidly, not meeting her eyes. He did not expect the repose that these through-away comments lead to.
'Draco, you really must stop these silly pretences and masks you constantly put on for everyone! I am your mother, for heaven's sake. Relax. You are my only son and although you hate the fact you know that I can read you like a book. You're hurting and you're tired and you're fed up, I can tell. I know times are hard, I understand that ...'
'-No you don't! How could you possibly understand what it is like, what this is like' He replied, his voice raising as he pointed to his arm where the dark mark was etched deep into his pale skin.
'Come here, Draco.' She replied, trying to sooth his temper whilst reaching out to touch his muscular shoulder, but he quickly turned round to face her before she had time. They stared into each other's eyes; Narcissa trying to calm her hurting child, Draco angrily forcing his gaze into hers. However, this didn't have the same effect as he had hoped it would as it enabled him to look at his mother for the first time in what seemed like years.
Her face had sunken into her fragile bones and her neck had become taught, she had dark purple circles under her eyes and hidden frown lines were beginning to show on her smooth forehead. What he did not realise was that his mother was seeing these same changes on his younger, adolescent face.
The door then quietly opened behind them, breaking the connection. However, it was only a house elf that had entered the room as they had heard a commotion from the corridor outside had had come to check that everybody was fine.
'Oh Master Draco, Mistress Malfoy, please except my apologies, I did not wish to intrude...'
'No matter we were done anyway.' Draco quickly relied, looking away from his mother. He then rushed out of the door, his black cloak billowing behind him, and he apparated back to Hogwarts.
His room was filled with yellowish morning light that streamed through his unclosed curtains, the light in the room which he apparated into hurt his eyes after hours of him straining them in the dark, musky rooms of his house for hours prior. He looked out his window to see a sun rising sweetly and slowly in the distance, just as normal. It was morning already and he had not slept for over thirty-six hours.
He quickly debated whether to skip school for a day and go to sleep and rest, but he would never do this no matter how tempting it seemed, this year was too important and he must never give anybody anymore reasons for people to question his movements. So he unenthusiastically walked into his bathroom and had yet another cold shower to try and wake up his system, but all it managed to do was surprise it into shock and make it shake uncontrollably.
Giving up on the advantages of a cool shower he resorted to magic, not even giving himself the opportunity to reflect on last night's events. He didn't want to ever have the opportunity to think about it, he just wanted it all to fade away.
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In the room next door, despite the large thump of his landing Hermione Granger had not even stirred in her deep sleep. She would wake up later that morning completely unaware to the double life that her roommate led and the discussions that had taken place just hours before. She would always remain in the deep dark relating to his movements and that would be the way it would always stay. Forever.
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