Chapter 10
Draco felt as if he were looking on from outside. Oddly at a disconnect from the situation, he stood motionless and watched. Bellatrix stalked towards the girl who was curled on the floor, her back to Draco. Hair matted, falling from the knot it was tied in, dirty clothes and a slightly more angular frame... But still. There was no mistaking her.
The boy choked down the fear that was taking hold of him, his tongue caught in his throat. His blood scorched through his veins, his heart pumping at a frantic speed while his brain muddled along afterwards, wasting time. He felt mute. He felt frightened. He felt sure. It was her. It was his, Hermione.
"Surprise," Bellatrix hissed, kicking the captive once in the stomach, causing the girl to curl tighter into a ball. "Roll over," Bellatrix commanded, the voice that boomed from her lungs only made the girl cover her face with her hands. The crazed woman stooped down and withdrew a small dagger from her belt, sawing the cords that bound Hermione's wrists. "I said," She barked, spit flecking Hermione's cheek, "Roll over!" The girl began to cry and this seemed to only make Bellatrix more infuriated. The dark witch stood and set her muddy boot on Hermione's waist, forcefully shoving the girl onto her side.
A dirty strip of cloth wove between Hermione's lips, gagging her. Her brown eyes were wells of tears and even so something about her was hardened. The girl did not look up at him but rather past him, her bony torso rising and falling with labored breath. Her gaze was no longer calculating, looking for answers rather completely apathetic.
The sound of bones snapping cleared Draco's daze. Hermione's mouth wrenched open as she let out a shriek, something unbridled and primitive like a wounded animal. But in that pain, the old Hermione's vigor flashed across her face, gathered in her eyes. Bellatrix brought her fingers to her lips as if she wanted to feel the manic grin spread across her own face. The woman drew back her leg once more, letting it rest lazily on Hermione's neck.
"Please," The girl whimpered, souring Bellatrix's glee, "Don't hurt me." The woman combatted Hermione's sound with her own yell,
"Oh woe is me! Little mudblood girl crying out for her Mummy? What's this?" Dark, greasy curls fell across Bellatrix's face, "Don't you dare 'please' me you whore. Do I look like your filthy Muggle Mum to you?!" With newfound anger Bellatrix dropped to the ground and began beating Hermione with her fists, her eyes half lidded all the while, teeth bared.
"What're you doing?" Draco sputtered, "You're going to kill her!"
"No, no," Bellatrix mumbled, thinking for a moment. Her hands went slack at her sides and she looked up at her nephew, a hideous grin curling in and around her sparse teeth, "You are." She stood and surveyed her handiwork for a moment more like a demented child preparing to massacre a colony of ants. "You're going to kill this girl to prove yourself to the Dark Lord." Bellatrix clicked her tongue, sauntering over to where her nephew stood, her tongue poking through the spaces where teeth should have been. "Just a little slice, a little stab," The woman coaxed, her fingernails grazed the skin of his scalp as she combed through his hair "And then it will be all over, my love."
There was a rustling outside the door accompanied by voices. Narcissa's muffled cries could be heard through the wood paneling. Bellatrix merely raised a hand and there was an audible click as the heavy locks secured themselves. Palms smacked against the thick oak doors for a moment but then the noise ceased, leaving the room eerily quiet. She circled the boy like a lioness before closing in on him, her breasts pressing into his shoulder blades as she stood on tiptoe, her lips brushing his earlobe, "Do you hear that? Mummy is counting on you, Draco." The young man jerked his head away from her touch, his fists balling tightly as her laughter resurged.
The dark witch rested her chin on Draco's shoulder, her arm snaking around his torso in her best mimic of affection. "Kill her," she mused, slipping the dagger into his pocket, "With your two hands. No magic."
The expression on Bellatrix's face could not be mistaken. Lust entranced the woman as she watched her nephew withdraw the dagger with shaking hands. "Do it," She murmured, her fingers on her bottom lip, her slimy tongue darting out in excitement. Draco staggered closer to Hermione on shaking legs. The girl lay on her side, eyes staring forward vacantly.
Draco fought to take each step. He fought to keep color from his cheeks. He would remain composed. He would do what he knew he had to do. He glanced down at the weapon in his hands. The lip of the blade was coated in a waxy black liquid. Draco swallowed. His arm burned. Poison.
"Kill her, Draco!" Bellatrix thundered, her hands gripping the cloth about her thighs, her heaving breasts flushed.
And suddenly, Hermione looked up at him. The intensity in her eyes nearly as cutting as the dagger's edge as she mouthed,
"Do it."
Draco dropped the knife.
Behind him Bellatrix seemed to swell with fury, her long fingers curling around her wand as she extended her arm.
"Traitor," The woman seethed, wand aimed at her nephew, "Imperius."
Before Draco could so much as inhale he felt a strange lightness in his heart. Warmth spread from his toes upward, gently caressing his mind and removing all his worries. His heart slowed, beating softly in his chest, far away from his thoughts. The boy knelt down and picked up the dagger. Hermione gaped up at him, her chin trembling, her lips spread in an unpleasant sob. His eyes felt tired, the image of Hermione growing more unfocused, as if he were looking through frosted glass.
"Please, Draco."
Draco smiled softly down at the girl, his arm raised in preparation, his free hand touching Hermione's freckled cheek. There was a calming echo that hummed in the boy's head,
"Kill her."
Hermione's jaw wrenched open, her eyes wide and glassy.
"Kill her."
There was a distant sound of screaming. Of choking. Of sobbing.
"Kill her."
Hermione's quivering hands desperately attempted to push Draco away. Tried to stall his hand. Tried to touch his face.
The dagger clattered to the floor.
Hermione's eyes went blank.