Disclaimer:All characters belong to J. K. Rowling. Just my idea.
A/n:Tada another chapter! Sorry for the delay in updates, I got caught up with work and paperwork, but at least you didn't have to wait longer then a week :) I tried at least. I won't guarantee that the next chapter comes out in a few days, because I'm not sure I'll be able to manage that, but I will try for a week at the latest. Sorry guys, but life is hard right now! Thanks to my beta Tessa Cresswell! On with the story!
"I think you've been saying that for years Granger."
"Blaise, what do you want," I hear Malfoy say, and reach out a timid hand. It locks around his wrist for a moment but he shakes me off.
"Funny story," the other voice- apparently Blaise- says, "I saw you two passing by earlier when I went to grab something for Nott's father, and decided to come and investigate. Draco, your father will murder you when he finds out."
"Shut the door," the blond snaps, and again I note the differences in their voices. Currently, 'Blaise' sounds composed, but Malfoy sounds a bit on edge. Actually, did I go to school with Blaise?
A dull thud enters my ears, and a few footsteps have me scrambling back away from the approaching boy. I nearly fall off this blasted couch- which seems to only have one arm- but a hand grabs me and pushes me back onto the furniture. Unsure which boy it was, I hit the hand away and hear an irritated growl. Oh, that was Malfoy.
"So, why do you have Granger up here," the other boy asks, and his footsteps carry away a bit. I hear him stop walking. "Why are her eyes closed?"
No Malfoy, don't go there. I can only hope that he doesn't start telling this unknown boy about my problems, when he himself barely knows them. "How the bloody fuck should I know why her eyes are closed? I can't read her mind."
I hear the gentle shuffle of clothing, which could mean he moved or shrugged. "Why do you have her up here? She should be in the cellar; your father will beat her to death for being up here- and then he's going to come after you."
"I know what my father would do," I hear Malfoy snap, "but he wanted me to bring Granger up here so that's what I have done. No one was supposed to see, so I should not have to answer these fucking questions."
There's a short pause. "Did you hit her?"
"Where on earth did you get that idea?" This is my body they are talking about, and I cross my arms tightly over the bleeding area. The blood must've made a mark in the shirt. It's not a ton- nothing compared to the wounds Malfoy has healed, but it's beneath the shirt and neither of those boys will be going under there. I refuse.
A hand gently touches my shoulder and I swat blindly at it as another touches my waist. The first hand moves quickly and I hear Malfoy grumble, but this intruding person must be the Blaise character. I grip his wrist and force him off of me.
"I wouldn't get so near, she hates anyone getting close," Malfoy comments from nearby. The too close man is immediately gone, and I breathe a sigh. No one is touching me.
"I'll be back in a moment Granger," Malfoy says, and I hear the two sets of shoes retreating. The sound of a door closing doesn't really comfort me, but it's better than nothing. Whoever this Blaise person is, I doubt I want to meet him again.
But so long as Malfoy is gone, I may as well check that wound in my stomach. Lifting up the shirt a bit, I fumble to touch the mark, hissing when my fingers make contact. Fuck, had he been using a wand or muggle medical supplies? I doubt it's the latter, and groan. That mean's Malfoy probably just walked out with anything useful. I'm not yet adjusted to being blind, but it would probably take too long to locate anything, so I'll just have to leave the cut be for now. I'm not letting Malfoy that close to me, not after everything.
Using the table in front of me to guide me, I stand and reach my hands out in all directions. Nothing seems to be nearby, so I turn to my left and walk a bit, hands feeling in front of me to make sure I don't hit something. I run into a chair and it pains my hurt body, but I need to figure out where things are; Malfoy as a lot of advantages, what with this being his room and the benefit of, well, sight.
Past the chair there is a lot of space. I decide that this is near either the entrance or the bathroom, and turn to my right this time, still feeling around. I touch a wall, and travel down it- one hand on the wall, one dancing in front of me to see if I'm going to hit something.
Low and behold, I hit something with my hand, and it falls and breaks, the sound piercing my ears. I hiss, now wondering if I'm going to step on glass. Merlin, I need one of those Hoover canes to help me walk. But, that's a muggle invention and unlikely to be anywhere in this house and Malfoy isn't likely to conjure one up either. He would rather I sit still anyways, if you ask me. Carefully stepping back, I miss the glass and keep walking backwards down the wall, before bumping into something heavy that hits the floor this time. Thankfully, this is not breakable and just hits the ground with a thud. Curiosity gets the best of me, and I stoop to inspect.
It's a book that much is certain- I would know one anywhere. Flipping it open, I run my fingers over the pages, and pain hits my chest hard, the reality of everything setting in. If I live through all of this, I'll never be able to read again. That's almost too much, and I lean back against the wall. Reading is a large part of my life, and while it was something I couldn't focus on downstairs in my prison, here it is obvious, feeling the pages of Malfoy's book. That's painful, because reading is something I loved so much, and now it's gone from my life. Shoving the text away, I lift up my knees ignoring the stabbing pain in my stomach, and rest my head on my knees, thoroughly depressed.
Sometime later, the door opens and only one set of footsteps enters my ears. I'm sure it has to be Malfoy, for he seemed annoyed enough with Blaise. The footsteps get close and I pray I am right.
"Granger, get the fuck out of there! What are you doing with my book? How did you break that glass? I thought you were in pain, so why are you wandering around my fucking room?"
A hand grips tightly around my upper arm, and I don't protest as Malfoy drags me someplace in the room. My stomach is in pain and although the depression of never reading is still there, I focus on where he is taking me. I have to know where I am in this room to ever learn to navigate. He shoves me onto what feels like the couch again and I become frantic for a moment, attempting to lash out before realizing he isn't even in front of me anymore. In fact, he is grumbling someplace behind me.
"Don't go wandering around my room Granger, you're just going to break more of my things," he says, his voice getting closer. Not a moment later, something heavy covers me and I scream.
It's snatched back. "Fuck Granger, it's a blanket!"
I knew it was a blanket, but having something strange thrown over my head is scary, even if I know in the back of my head that it's a blanket. It is shoved into my hands, and I'm grateful he didn't throw it on me again.
"Get some sleep, it's late," he says, before his footsteps begin to walk off. I don't respond because I don't have anything to say to him, and instead clutch the blanket to the bleeding spot on my midsection. Malfoy is either highly unobservant or doesn't care to do anything about my wound, and I think it's the latter. It's better that he doesn't care though, since I wouldn't let him help me. Lying down slowly on the couch, I find that I picked correctly and the armrest is in this direction. Making myself as comfortable as possible, I clasp the blanket to my body and close my eyes, the chill in the room nothing compared to downstairs.
"I don't know, and I wouldn't tell you if I did!" I spit in his face, but he just uses his hand to hit me. It's only the third time he has done so since dragging me down here, for both he and Bellatrix hate to touch my skin.
"Insolent girl," he spat back, eyes livid grey. I hold my ground, daring him to hurt me. He may have my wand, but that doesn't mean I can't try and defend myself. The bloody word in my arm burns, but I ignore it. The fact that I'm currently locked in a small space with two deadly Death Eaters is more of a concern.
I missed what Lucius Malfoy just said, but the next moment I'm withering in pain on the floor. It's easy enough to figure out what's happened. The pain is beyond anything I have felt in a long time, and cuts off any thoughts I have. All I can focus on is the intense pain rocking through my body.
The spell lets up and I exhale heavily, having been withholding every scream that tried to escape my mouth. I would never give these two people the pleasure of hearing me scream. No, I'm stronger than that and they will not be breaking me.
"She's strong for a Mudblood," Bellatrix snaps, coming closer to me, her hair in disarray as usual, "but I think we can fix that, can't we Lucius?"
They hit me with spells again and again, looking for my breaking point. It hurts, Merlin everything hurts, but they are going to have to try better then that if they think I'll be giving up something about Harry- which I never will, but it's nice to give them the hope that I might. I would rather they focus their energy here on me in this cell then outside of this Manor, searching for Harry. He needs as many distractions as possible, and although this is an unplanned one it keeps some of the strongest Death Eaters focused on other things. Although I do wish they would ask me questions like the Order and interrogate me in a humane way. This is a nightmare.
At some point- and I've lost track of time after so many spells- Lucius snarls. "I've had enough with her Bella. If she won't do this the easy way we can make it hard for her."
I vaguely register what he is saying, but the thoughts don't process. All I can focus on is the enormous amounts of pain all over my body. Before I know what's happening, he tears the middle of my already ruined shirt straight down the middle, exposing way too much of me. I panic and my mind goes into overdrive to stop him, but my body is too physically harmed to do anything. Through my slightly blurred vision I see Bella sneering.
I want them to explain what's happening, but neither says a word as Lucius leans forwards and presses the burning tip of his wand into my exposed flesh, just below my chest.
"Granger," someone says then, and I don't recall that part of the memory. Neither Lucius nor Bella seems to notice, and continue on with what they are doing. "Granger get the fuck up!"
I feel the wand moving on my skin like before, and it's then that I realize its Malfoy's voice screaming in my ear.