AN: At the request of Fire-And-Ice-Forever-JB-JH, I am going to make this a long chapter. So, enjoy.
Draco had just set his coffee cup in the kitchen sink when a pain struck him in his stomach. He gasped and doubled over, one hand going to his middle and the other holding onto the counter to support him. It felt like he was being pulled in different directions with hot prongs. He dropped to his knees and he closed his eyes. Dizziness set in and he pressed his palm to his forehead.
"Do get up, Young Mr. Malfoy."
Draco froze at the voice. A voice so cold, it made his blood freeze. He opened his eyes and blinked. He was no longer in the sunny kitchen of Hermione's house. No. He was in his own house, in the ball room. The windows had been covered with magic drapes to block out the sunlight, but Draco could easily see the Dark Lord's smooth head and snake like features.
He was standing in the middle of the room, Death Eaters surrounding the walls. Draco, though, was close enough to see the evil look in Voldemort's eyes. The smile on Voldemort's face was cold. "I have been waiting for an answer, Draco," he said.
Draco didn't say anything. He wouldn't take the mark. He wouldn't do that to the ones that depended on him. He looked up at the Dark Lord and straightened, standing tall. Voldemort raised his brow as if he were curious to the boy's actions. His eyes then lowered and looked at something on Draco's shirt. He looked down and raised his hand to keep it there, but Voldemort raised his wand and summoned it to him. Draco jumped forward to snatch it back, but two Death Eaters reached out and grabbed him, making him immobile.
Voldemort caught the picture easily and studied it. He suddenly paused. He turned the picture to a couple of Death Eaters. "I want these two here. Now," he commanded. They bowed and apparated away. Voldemort then turned to Draco, who had gone extremely pale. He'd slipped the picture into his pocket that morning, not even knowing why he'd done it. But now the Dark Lord had leverage.
Said Lord held out the picture and said, "I will off you one last chance, boy. Take the mark and follow me, or see your precious friends die before your eyes."
Draco stared at the picture. He stared at Hermione and Aneros' smiling faces as they laughed with him. They had trusted him with their secret and with their home. He had to protect them. They had become his closest friends. Draco swallowed hard, his mind made for him. "I'll take the mark," he said.
No sooner had the words left his mouth, that Voldemort seized Draco's arm, pushed the sleeve back, and pressed the tip of his wand into his flesh. There was a burning sensation and Draco's skin began to burn in the pattern of a Dark Mark. He gritted his teeth, forbidding himself to make a sound. He knew that weakness was not an option.
"What the hell do you think you're doing to him?" Hermione yelled. She'd just appeared with the Death Eaters and Anteros. She ran up and knocked the wand away from Draco's arm, leaving the mark half done. The room fell silent as Anteros grabbed the two Death Eaters that had ahold on Draco. He turned and tossed them against the wall before turning to his friend. Draco was relieved to see them.
"You dare to talk that way to the Dark Lord?" Lucius Malfoy said from the side. Draco felt the betrayal of his father cut deep.
But Hermione never took her eyes off Voldemort. "Shove it, Malfoy," she snapped. "Dear Daddy shouldn't mind."
"Daddy?" Draco and Anteros said almost as one. Everyone was shocked, but Voldemort only chuckled.
"I see you have your mother's intelligence."
"Wait," Anteros said. "Voldemort is our father?"
Hermione nodded. "Can't you see yourself in him, Ant? You two look similar." She snorted. "Well, when he was handsome."
"You have your mother's sass, as well," the Dark Lord said. He didn't sound mad. He sounded...amused? He smirked. "What? No hug from my darling twins?"
"After you take the Mark from Draco," Hermione said. Her voice was hard and unmoving. Was this what she had known was going to happen? This was what she was trying to warn Draco about?
Voldemort stared at his children. Didn't the guy ever blink? "I see that you have no respect for the Dark Lord."
Hermione didn't even hesitate. "Remove the mark, or I will do something no one will like," she said with all authority. Draco felt Anteros step closer and place a protective hand on his shoulder. He had complete trust in his sister, but Draco could feel his confusion and some betrayal at being kept in the dark.
Voldemort laughed mirthlessly. "What will you do, dear daughter? Will you take me on?" he taunted. "I will not remove the Mark."
Hermione's jaw ticked and she pulled out her wand. It looked like she was going to send a hex at him, but she only placed the wand on Draco's arm, over the half done symbol. She raised her voice for all to hear. "Draco Lucius Malfoy is now under my command. He will never be a Death Eater, as I have staked my claim on him," she said. "He is mine."
Suddenly, the Dark Mark burned against and shifted up Draco's arm. He grunted as his whole body began to burn where the mark moved. It stopped between his shoulder blades before traveling lower and settling on his back. The burning began to expand and settle along the entire of his lower back.
Draco fell to his knees as the skin cooled. He had the feeling he was now marked. He looked up at Hermione. She had turned from Voldemort and was crouching in front of him. There was hope and concern in her eyes. He stared for a moment and gave a weak smile.
"You have your first follower, hermione. I'm proud," Voldemort said.
Hermione turned and frowned. She reached out and grabbed the picture from her father's fingers. "You ever hurt my friends again, Daddy," she said, as if the word were an insult, "And I will personally put my own mark on you." She turned to Anteros, who looked proudly at his sister. "Help Draco up. We need to take a look at that mark. His room."
Anteros helped Draco to his feed and led him from the room. Hermione started to follow but stopped when she heard Lucius mumble something that sounded a lot like "Rotten offspring."
She glared at the older man. He hadn't changed since the last time she'd seen him. Still tall, pointed features, long blond hair, and that obnoxious stare that said he thought himself better than anyone. "You should be proud of Draco, Malfoy," she said. "He's some wizard." She continued past him and walked up the stairs of the Malfoy Manor. She continued down the hallway until she found the open door to Draco's room.
It was decorated in Slytherin colors, no surprise there. Draco laid on his stomach on top of the green comforter. His shirt was pushed up to reveal Hermione's mark. She stared at the red angry skin, but it couldn't hide the design of a large wolf in a running pose. It looked like it was pouncing on prey. She licked her lips and swallowed. She hadn't meant for it to be so large. Draco must be in pain.
Anteros was pressing a wet cloth to the skin and Draco was taking shallow breaths. Hermione walked over after closing the door quietly, and brushed a strand of hair out of Draco's face. He looked up, his silver eyes filled with pain, but he didn't make a sound as his best friend pressed against the sore skin. "So," Draco said. "Voldemort."
Hermione sighed. "We can't choose our families, Draco," she said softly. "I'm sorry about the mark, but I couldn't lift Voldemort's. The next best thing I could do was make it my own. It means only that I can call for you when I need to. Nothing else. I swear." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm so sorry I didn't get here in time."
Draco nodded slightly. "I was going to take the mark to protect you two," he said.
"Now you're stuck with my sister," Anteros said, looking over his sister's shoulder at Draco. He smiled slightly. "Just remember to avoid her the second week of every month. That's when she gets her period."
Hermione turned red. She smacked her brother in the arm. "He doesn't need to know that," she hissed.
Draco chuckled a bit at their play, even with something so severe happening around them. "I'll keep that in mine. But, at the moment, I really want to sleep."
hermione smiled and nodded. "Go ahead. I'll have some food ready fo you when you wake up." She watched him fall asleep and left with Anteros.
"You knew this whole time?" Anteros said once the door was closed.
Hermione looked up into her twin's eyes, feeling completely rotten for the look of betrayal in his eyes. "Yes," she said. "I didn't tell you because I knew you weren't going to take it well."
Anteros groaned. "You can't keep something like this from me, Herms. Do you also know who our mother was, by any chance?"
"Is," she corrected. "She's the Auror Emmeline Vance. She's part of the Order."
"She didn't want us?" Anteros asked, sounding a bit lost. Hermione didn't blame him.
"I don't know," she said.
Anteros ran a hand through his hair, messing it up more. "I should track her down and ask her," he growled.
"She didn't want you to get sucked into the violent world of this war," Voldemort said, appearing from the shadows.
"Obviously she failed," Anteros snapped. Hermione understood her brother's anger. Being abandoned and then found again by the monster who was your father, was not a pleasant experience.
"You know, it as your mother who sent you to those Muggles," Voldemort said. "I wanted you to stay here with me."
"You didn't try to find us," Anteros said.
"I was in no position to be raising children. Anyway, you turned out all right." He smiled. "Anteros in Slytherin. Hermione, your mother's blood must have put you in Gryffindor." He turned to her.
"Thankfully, I don't need your approval of where I was sorted," she said, frowning.
Voldemort's smile turned a shade softer. "You're just like her, you know. Strong willed, stubborn, loyal, prideful, and smart. The sorting hat must have thought you were too adventurous for Slytherin. It seems that's the only difference between the two houses, if you bottom line it." He looked at Hermione, his soft smile gone. "This information will come in handy. Remember it." He turned and said, "I will see you at dinner." He vanished into the shadows, once more.
Hermione and Anteros watched the spot where their father had vanished. Anteros looked at his sister, a confused look on his face. "Was he just trying to play match maker?" he asked.
Hermione snorted. "He's wasting his time."
She turned and started to walk past her brother, but he caught her arm. "Hermione, you and Draco are actually pretty good together. You two have even been bonding. Hell, you guys were making out on the front porch just last night."
She blushed and shook her head. "Why do you think Draco's acting so weird, Anteros? We've hated each other for a while. The only reason he's acting like he is, is because we kissed in front of the Lover's Fountain." Anteros looked shocked for a moment and she hurried to explain. "We were flirting a bit for fun, and the moon was high...it all just happened. He's not in love with me. Not really. He's under the spell. The spell will pass in a while and he'll be back to his old git of a person self." She shook her head. "I'm going to go get something for when he wakes up."
Hermione pulled away and started to walk down the corridor. She didn't hear Anteros' words. "I wouldn't bet on that, sis. Not one bit."
AN: I hope you liked it. Tell me what you think. I'd much appreciate it. Hey, Fire-And-Ice-Forever-JB-JH, is this long enough for you? Lol. Just for you, did I write this long and touching chapter. Hope everyone liked it.