Hello! I know, I know I'm so sorry for not updating in such a while! I had a throat operation and I have practice exams during this school break and I've been up in my neck in revision and extra homework. I've also been busy recovering from my operation!
But here is the next chapter and I thank everyone who reviewed! You are all so loyal! This chapter is for you guys!
Disclaimer: Own nothing
Hermione stumbled back into her room where Draco was waiting for her. He instantly jumped up when she retched open the door and her nearly collapsed into his arms.
"My God!" said Draco in alarm, "What did he do to you?!"
Hermione had just come back from her first session with Lord Voldemort; he had given her a run through of the curses she was to grasp. He remembered his first time. It had been horrible. The thought of it made him always shudder.
Hermione was as pale as a ghost and she was covered in cold sweat. As soon as Draco caught her knees gave way and she completely collapsed. Draco picked her up and carried her to her bed and placed her down and sat next to her. He ran his fingers through her curly brown hair and whispered comforting words in her ear. But this would not stop her trembling.
She had been training in Dark Magic for the past three weeks. It was hard and humiliating work and no matter how many times her master directed an Unforgivable curse at her she never got used to any of them. She hadn't really been making much of a process, until today.
"What happen?" Draco asked softly. Hermione stared straight in front of her, the horror visible in her wide brown eyes.
"Get up," Voldemort's icy voice reached her throbbing ears. Hermione stumped to her feet, shaking.
"Master," Hermione gasped, "W-What did I do for such a punishment?"
"It was no punishment; you need to understand how powerful your torture must be! How to make your enemies suffer! First you must understand how it feels before you can cast it upon anyone else! Hate needs to swell through your vein and your blood. The feeling must be in very inch of your body! But it can not come in force; it must be natural." hissed Voldemort, "Like this! Cruico!"
Hermione could not help but let out another scream of agony. Her very part was on fire. She could not breathe! She could not touch or feel anything but the pain. Of please, please stop!
Suddenly it stopped. She remained on her floor, her muscles ached and felt like she was about to vomit, but she held it back.
"Wipe your face," sneered Voldemort. Hermione did not realize that she had been crying and she wiped her eyes, feeling ashamed of letting Voldemort seeing her tears.
She pushed her body from the floor and she could feel her legs shaking. She knew her knees would give way at any moment. Voldemort watched her lazily.
"This is how you will make our enemies feel when you have grasped these curses," said Voldemort, "Now I want you to try."
Voldemort waved his hand through the air and with a pop a muggle man was between the Dark Lord and his new pupil. Hermione looked at him. He was half naked and he was shaking and staring around in utter and complete terror.
"Do you know this muggle?" sneered Voldemort. Hermione shook her head and the man looked at her and his eyes begged her for an escape.
"Who do you see when you look at his thing?" hissed Voldemort.
"I see the person I hate most," recited Hermione, like she was back in class and was answering a teacher's question.
"Wrong!" hissed Voldemort angrily, "You see a person that has caused you grief and hurt. You want them to pay. Feel the anger! Feel the hate!"
Hermione narrowed her eyes and stared at the man, who was swaying back and forth and had his hands clutching together and was muttering. He seemed to be praying. He might as well beg Voldemort for his life, which would probably be more productive then praying to God. The God he prayed for did not live here.
Hermione raised her wand and shouted, "Cruico!" But nothing happened. Damn it!
"You are not concentrating!" snapped Voldemort. Hermione cried again, "Cruico!"
Again nothing happened! Fucking hell, Hermione's mind screamed at her, come on Hermione get angry! She thought about of how the Order had left her here and abandoned her to death and the mercy of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. She thought of how she felt towards Ron and Lavender the year before and the anger and hurt began to coarse through her blood.
The man in front of her seemed to changed in her mind's eyes into Mr. Weasley and he said to her, "why would we want to save you? You are not important; you are no family to us."
She thought of Harry and Ron and how much it hurt her when they always came to her for help with their girl problem and their homework. All the times she had to hide her hurt and anger from them for using her for her brains.
All these thoughts brought tears to her eyes. The hurt and anger crashed her chest and broke her heart. She did not want to suffer like this! Someone else had to suffer now, she was sick of it!
Her vision was blurred and she raised her wand. The man in front of her had black hair just like Harry and she could not see him but his outline. But she thought of Harry and she screamed, "Cruico!"
Screaming reached her eyes. But it was not her own. The voice was unfamiliar and hoarse. The screaming brought some sort of comfort to her. Someone else was bleed from the outside. Suddenly the screaming stopped and Hermione dropped to her knees. All the energy she had had been thrown from her and she tried to keep her breathing steady. The man in front of her was whimpering and crying like he was five-years-old again. But Hermione did not care for him.
Suddenly without warning vile fluid filled her mouth and she threw herself forward just as vomit poured from her mouth before she could even stop herself or realize what she had done. She pushed her herself way from her pool of vomit and up against the wall. She wiped her mouth and forehead, which was drenched in cold sweat.
Her navy blue dress was in tangles at her feet. She felt herself began to tremble uncontrollable. She raised her eyes to Voldemort. His expression was difficult to read. He looked angry, disguised and happy at the same time.
He waved his wand and the pool of vomit and the muggle prisoner disappeared, "You must learn to stomach your own feelings Miss Granger. But that was a reasonable effect. You will be sent again tomorrow for more practice."
He waved his wand and the door opened as Hermione pulled herself up using the wall. She gave a bow before stumping out the door and nearly tripped over her own feet. She was glad to be out if the room as she leaned against the wall of one of the corridors…
"I have to go back tomorrow," whispered Hermione, "for more practice."
Draco remained silent and just continued to watch her. She turned to look at him and said, "Why didn't you warn me it would be so hard?!"
Draco raised his eyebrows at her, "You have to learn by yourself Hermione. I can not help you this time."
Hermione turned away from him and she felt extremely exhausted, "I wouldn't have guessed it would take so much out of you. I thought I could handle it…"
Draco suddenly laughed; a mirthless laugh, "You're not immune just because you're smart and able to grasp many things instantly or with little practice. The Unforgivable curses are among the hardest curses to learn. You don't need brains to be able to cast them; you need emotions, the right emotions at the right level. Not many can handle them when they first try. The inability to cast them at first is normal, but you learn in the end. Although it seems you are taking longer then most Death Eaters. I couldn't at first either…but…you get used to it…"
His voice trailed off and Hermione knew he did not want to discuss his side of his training. Hermione's was bad enough, imagine the expectations Draco had what with his family reputations and his father's role in Voldemort's circle! It was probably be a humiliation towards the Malfoy name if Draco did not exceed in Dark Magic, which was to prove since his first assignment hadn't gone too well, not that Hermione would ever tell him that!
"Draco," said Hermione quietly, "does your family know about…us…"
Draco cringed inwardly at her question. He knew she would ask this eventually. If his mother or aunt or his father found out that he and Hermione…a muggle-born…were together, well he would be in extreme amount of trouble, one, for breaking the Malfoy family's most ancient rules of not having anything to do with muggle and muggle-borns and two, for bring even more shame to the Malfoy name with associating with Hermione.
He thought of Blaise and Theodore's reactions. He knew downright that his parents and relatives would not at all be as understand as them.
"No," said Draco, avoiding Hermione's eyes, "They don't know anything because if they did-"
"We would be throttled," finished Hermione. Draco turned to the girl next to him and said, "But that doesn't mean we can't."
She smiled as he brushed her cheek and he lowered his mouth to hers. Hermione slipped into a dream like daze and soon his lips were at her neck and her breathing had increased and she tipped her head back.
His lips and hands were everywhere; the buttons on her dress began to be undone. Hermione pulled Draco by the front of his shirt until he was lying on top of her; he broke their kiss and looked down at her, his grey eyes dark.
She grinned at him and ran her fingers through the front of his blonde hair, his famous smirk crossed his boyish face and his crammed her lips in hungrily one swift movement. And Hermione melted beneath him, all her worries gone fast.
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Draco lay on his back in Hermione's bed, watching the girl next to him. She was covered in red sheets, lying on her stomach. Draco reached up and twisted a brown curl around his finger, she looked at him and he smiled.
Maybe this is what pure happiness felt like, he though. Hermione's eyes shone, her the golden-brown more visible in her bright brown eyes.
"What if things go wrong in the war?" whispered Hermione suddenly, "What if our side doesn't win?"
Draco shook his head and moved his body towards her. He moved an arm under her stomach and run his fingers through her curls, watching them string back into place after his contact, hugging her to him.
"We'll worry about that when it comes to it," whispered Draco kissing her forehead, "don't worry yourself about it."
He kissed her lips and smiled. Her pretty face relaxed for a moment before she lifted her head and said, "What do you think that Harry and Ron would say when they find out…?"
Draco's smile dropped. Right now he did not want to talk about Pothead and his loyal Weasel. He sighed and said, "Well I suspect that would be very annoyed."
Hermione raised her eyebrows at him and suddenly a smirk appeared on his lips and he strings himself to her, pushing her onto her back and pinning her beneath him in one movement. Hermione gasped at his sudden move and he smirk widened and he lent down and whispered in her ear, "But at this current moment I have no desire what so ever to revolve my thoughts of them."
Hermione raised her eyebrows playfully, "And, pray, do tell what you desire to revolve your thoughts?"
Draco lowered his lips to her neck and kissed and nipped at the skin, "I…can…show…you…much…better…then…words..." he said between the caresses of his lips, as Hermione smiled, "Yes, I thought you might."
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The month of January came and went; the coldest of the winter months were almost over. Hermione Granger had been away from her old life to almost six months now, not that she knew it. Time had no more meaning to her, she concentrated with her work and all that she had to learn.
She no longer saw herself as a hostage of Lord Voldemort. She was one of them now; a follower; a sheep. That was all she was. She did not want to go back to the Order and her old friends but she did not exactly want to be a Death Eater.
She belonged nowhere, no place. She only wanted to be with Draco, that was why she had chosen his side over her own ethical mind and now there was no going back. But she was happy; what was the point in holding onto hope when she had no more hope in her old friends?
She might as well just let them go; for her own bloody sake!
She had trained hard and mastered all the normal Unforgivable curses in a quick pace. She knew that the Dark Lord was impressed but would never tell her. She laughed at herself for sounding so much like Draco, she was turning arrogant because she was good and she knew it. She always had!
She was no longer trained by Lord Voldemort, but by Blaise Zabini. She had to admit, he was a good teacher, better then she expected him to be. He had changed his attitude towards her a little when he saw how determined she was to excel at the Dark Arts and that her loyalties lay with them. Overall Hermione believed he was a nice boy.
Theodore Nott on the other hand did not like her at all. He defiantly disliked her at Hogwarts but now he seemed to hate her. She guessed it was mostly jealousy that she had achieved so much in such a small amount of time and that Draco and Blaise saw her differently now, not just a filthy little annoying know-it-all Mudblood. She knew he didn't trust her.
But with all this Hermione continued with her way and found that none of this really mattered to her, that is until Lucius Malfoy approached her one evening. She had been in one the training rooms on her own, going over some new hexes that Blaise had shown her and she was finding it rather hard to grasp them, so she decide to practice.
"Furticlus!" Hermione pointed her wand at a patch of parchment but nothing happened. The curse was to set the opponent on flames, with engulfed their entire body and the advantage to the curse was that the more water added to the fire, the more furious the fire become. Sort of like the Greek Fire. There was no counter curse and so the victim would slowly be burnt to death in agony.
Suddenly the door behind her opened and Hermione swirled around to see Lucius Malfoy standing in the doorway. He was staring at her in hate, as he usually did but something was different about this look. It held more anger, more vengeance…
"What do you want?" she asked curiously. She had not been face to face with Draco's father unless it was with someone else, but now they were alone and the look on the man's face made her uneasy. Very uneasy.
He slammed the door and Hermione instantly tightened her wand. Something was not right. She knew it.
She repeated her question, "What do you want?"
A sudden smirk, which was so much like Draco's touched his face and he sneered, "I only simply want to discuss a little matter with you Mudblood."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him at the offensive name but she also smirked and said in a sweet voice, "Oh do tell Inbreed."
Hermione retained satisfaction from the furious look on his face, "How dare you-"
"Oh get to your point of coming here! Because if you are here to insult me and scorn me like a six-year-old child you will leave! I have more important matters to deal with!" said Hermione turning her back on the man.
"Oh, like my son!" he spat back at her. Hermione froze…oh no…
She turned at look at him with a blankly confused expression and said slowly, "Draco? No. I was meaning practicing…what would I have to do with your son?"
Lucius' smirk reappeared back on his face, "do not play games with me, they don't work. I have heard some stories concerning Draco and yourself!"
"What sort of stories?" asked Hermione raising her eyebrows, "from whom?"
"Young Nott," spat Lucius. If Lucius was not standing there Hermione would have gone to find Nott at that moment and curse him like never before! That bloody basterd! Just because she bet him in a duel and humiliated him!
"And what does Draco say about these stories! Are you actually going to believe Nott! I mean, do you really think your son will fall for someone like me, as you so plainly put it, a Mudblood? I would have thought you would have raised him so that he would never even want to touch me?!" snapped Hermione
Lucius stared at her in disbelief. Almost instantly Hermione felt uncomfortable, the look on his face was making her stomach twist. She thought he might be looking at her in shock from insulting herself, but…
"I never said what Nott told me," said Lucius still staring at her, "How would you…unless?"
Hermione felt her stomach drop…OH NO! She had said the wrong thing! She let it slip! Of shit, oh shit, oh shit! What was she going to do?!
"But he would never betray me like this," Lucius seemed to be talking to himself more then to Hermione, "he would never disgrace the family name…he would never! He wouldn't dare!"
Suddenly the door opened again and in walked Theodore Nott himself. Hermione felt anger surge through her, just the person she wanted to kill…
"Ahhh Nott my boy," said Lucius, "Just the person I wanted to talk to. I just informed the girl about the rumors of what you told me about her and Draco."
Theodore looked at Hermione, his dark eyes bored into her chocolate ones. Hermione saw the hate shimmer in them. She knew she was done for. Theodore would never get her out of this one; he after all, had caused this little confrontation.
"No Mr. Malfoy," said Theodore slowly, not taking his eyes off Hermione, "I believe I was mistaken."
Hermione just caught herself to hide her shock as Lucius stuttered, "W-What-t?"
Theodore turned his gaze to the older Malfoy, "Yes, I do apologize for any inconvenience. But they were only rumors. Forgive me; I should have spoken to Draco before I consulted you. I only spoke to your son moments ago and he conformed that the rumors were not true. He asked if I had gone mad for even suggesting such a thing…"
Lucius remained silent for a moment before saying, "Ah, well, I see. Of course Draco would never be that disobedient. Well, I take my leave, goodnight Nott."
Completely ignoring Hermione he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. The silence lingered in the room after Lucius. Hermione turned back to Theodore who was about to also leave when she stopped him.\
"Why did you do that?" she asked him. He stopped dead, his back to her. He slowly turned around and his face held an expression between disbelief and hatred.
"Defiantly not for you," he spat.
"So why trouble yourself with lying to Malfoy?" she said. Theodore suddenly laughed a cold laugh, "I did it to save Draco for being murdered for his stupidity. Just because he and Blaise are blind as bats doesn't mean I am too."
"You don't trust me," Hermione said, stating the obvious.
"No I don't," Theodore spat angrily, "You may have Draco and Blaise wrapped around your finger but you don't have me. I only see the filthy little Mudblood that doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut and doesn't have any friends because nobody can stand her, besides Potter and Weasley."
"Well it looks like you don't know me at all Nott and it shows me that you are extremely shallow," snapped Hermione.
"Yeah, well we will see whose side you will stick to when we have the final battle," said Nott, walking to the door, "I just have a funny little feeling that you suck up to those who would save you, no matter what side your on."
Hermione remained silent and Theodore smirked at her, knowing full well he'd just hit her pride and there was nothing she could say in return.
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"Can I ask you something," said Hermione. She sat on the floor at Blaise's feet. He sat on a chair, cleaning his wand. He was just like Draco, she thought, bloody clean freak!
"Ask away," said Blaise not looking up from his wand.
"Why'd you accept to train me?" she asked. Blaise sighed and looked down at her, "Because you not as bad as I thought you might have been."
Hermione nodded slowly, "So why is it so different with Nott? I mean, I've never really done anything to him, but he hates me."
"Hmmm?" said Blaise sarcastically, "I wonder why that is? Maybe because first of all, you're a Gryffindor and he's a Sytherin and secondly, he's jealous."
"Yes," said Hermione, "I know, but it's just that he seems not to trust me to the max, what's with him?"
Blaise watched her for a long time. Hermione felt slightly uncomfortable under his stare. She hated his judging stares; they sent shivers down her spine.
"If I were to tell you," said Blaise slowly, "You are to swear to me that you will not repeated the story to anyone, living or dead and not say who told you?"
"Yes," said Hermione, her eyes lit up in curiosity like they always did when there was something new to learn.
"Theodore's mother was a Gryffindor," said Blaise and he smirked at the shocked look on Hermione's face, "She was kind and brave and all that you Gryffindor are and such. His father was a Slytherin and a Death Eater. The first time our Master was in power, both Theo's parents were on the dark side. But it wasn't until the last few days before the Dark Lord's downfall that Theo's mother showed her true colours."
"She had been on Dumbledore's side the entire time. She had made Theo's dad fall in love with her and married him just so she would keep close to the Dark Lord's plans and slip information to Dumbledore. After she had Theodore, she did not want anything to do with him so she gave him to his father," continued Blaise, "That's why he doesn't trust you so much. He sees that same situation that you and Draco as his parents. He thinks that you will turn back to the light side and be a double agent like his mother was. I suppose you remind him of his mother and he hates his mother."
Hermione stared at Blaise for a few moments before looking away, now it made entire sense. Why Theodore mistrusted her so much, why there was a vermin look on his face every time they saw each other or she was in the room. She being with Draco and her situation reminded him of his own mother and what she had done to her husband and son.
Hermione felt a surge of pity and guilt. Maybe she had been too hard on him, now that she understood just what he had to live with. His mother was a traitor, not only to the Dark Lord but his father and to him as well.
"Who was his mother?" Hermione asked.
"I dunno if you have met her at all, I not sure what happened to her after the Dark Lord met Potter. She sort of went into hiding and hasn't been seen since. But I did hear something a couple of years ago from my mother that she married from muggle-born I think. I think her name was Andromeda Black."
Hermione's head snapped up, "What?!"
"Andromeda Black," repeated Blaise, "She's Draco's aunt. Well disowned aunt; she's Draco's mother's sister. Draco and Theodore are cousins by blood. Didn't you know that?"
"No," said Hermione in disbelief. She should have prepared herself for all of these shocking discoveries! And what was even worse was that Theodore had a half-sister that he didn't even know about; Tonks! But it probably would be best if he didn't know such information.
"Well come on," sighed Blaise standing up, "Enough story telling for one day, it's time to practice. Let's see what you've learnt."
Soooooo, whatcha think? I couldn't resist in putting in some sort of family affair in there. What do you reckon about Andromeda Black being Theodore's mother? And about Theodore and Draco being cousins? Please, please review!