A/N WARNING includes lots of blood. On a brighter note, WE'VE REACHED 3000 VIEWS! Thank you people for reading this fanfic and leaving reviews. Brief recap, Hermione stermed out of class after Lavender picking on her, and Draco has just apparated home to meet up with his family. Sorry, this chapter's a lot shorter.
Chapter 12 - Black Magic
Malfoy Manor stood casting a dark shadow upon the moors that Wednesday afternoon. The surrounding trees quaked and rustled, interrupting the silence on the moor. The black iron gates shone in the afternoon sun and the miserable pathway leading up to the manor gleamed with the rain from the previous night. A hooded figure stood by the inside of the gates, guarding the monstrosity beyond. A small figure in black apparated onto the cobbled driveway and fluently walked out, flicking his wand to remove all traces of dirt. Draco moved swiftly towards the gates, keeping his head down. "Halt!" the figure beyond the gates smirked.
"Let me through Scabior," Draco hissed impatiently.
"Draco?" Scabior mused in shock and amusement.
"Scabior," Draco nodded.
"You shouldn't be here," Scabior hissed. Draco looked at him with a confused expression for a moment.
"I haven't got time for this! I'm late as it is Scabior!" Draco said, stomping his foot impatiently.
"You need to leave Draco! Before he sees you!" Scabior growled earnestly.
"Who?" Draco breathed impatiently, heart pumping fast.
"Draco?" a voice said curtly from behind them. "Scabior let him in!" Lucius marched forward to great his son. Scabior, unwillingly, opened the creaking black gate and a ruffled looking Draco strode in, giving him a look of mild curiosity. "Son," Lucius said coldly, nodding his head. "Father," Draco replied with a nod, "I'm sorry I'm late." He wanted to make this short.
"No worries," Lucius replied in the same, cold tone. "Follow me." Confused slightly by the overly cold welcoming, Draco followed him into the mansion he was supposed to call home. He hadn't seen his father - properly seen him - since he had beaten him with his cane. The only thing different now was that he didn't have a murderous gleam in his eyes. He was still treating him as cold as ever.
The house looked the same; black and grey, stone slabbed flooring with numerous amounts of portraits of Malfoy ancestors on the stone walls. The entrance hall never did look very welcoming. The double doors in front were closed and the fireplace was lit but gave off no warmth to heat the miserable room. He used to like it, enjoy the cold look even but now - it was just so dark. "Where's mother?" Draco drawled to his father.
"Busy," Lucius said, not meeting his son's eyes. Noticing this, Draco repeated his question, harsher.
"Where's my mother?"
"I said she's busy Draco!" Lucius shouted angrily. Draco flinched but stood straighter and edged his hand towards his wand pocket. "You never asked me here for lunch did you?" Draco breathed. It made sense now.
"You're growing smarter Draco," Lucius smirked. Of course he hadn't received that letter as a simple invitation to dine with his parents. What had he been thinking?! "Why am I here?" Draco breathed, anger coursing through him like venom.
"I - we - would like to make sure you know where your loyalties lie," Lucius smirked. We?
"Fuck," Draco thought, closing his eyes. "He's here." The doors banged open and the face which haunted Draco's life strode slowly towards the boy, tall and proud. Snakelike. "Where is she?" The snake man hissed in a deadly voice which made the hairs stand up on Draco's back. "My wife has been... Dealt with, my Lord. She will one day understand," Lucius smirked. Voldemort looked down upon Draco, eyes glinting in the fire light. The chandelier swayed above them, chinking ever so slightly. "Draco," Voldemort finally hissed, breaking the silence. Draco was sorely tempted to just say "Yes, that is my name," but knew better of it. Instead he just stood there. Everyone present knew he didn't want to be a death eater. Only Draco knew how much he resented it. It had been alright at the start. Alright until the fact that his father had screwed up in his fifth year because of some crystal ball, had influenced him. Alright, until Voldemort had told him to kill Dumbledore, and let death eaters into the school, and he'd failed. Snape killed Dumbledore. Snape had done this. "Draco, I think it's time I teach you exactly how to treat your elders and show you what your priorities are," Voldemort spoke in a high, icy voice. Draco bowed his head and spoke, "Sorry... My Lord."
"Better," Voldemort smiled icily, "But, I need you to understand that being a death eater isn't a thing where you can turn up whenever, Draco. You will do as I say!" Draco looked up at him and tried not to glower, or snarl, or show any emotion whatsoever. The faintest twitch of an eyebrow might lead to - "Stand in the middle of the room Draco!" Voldemort ordered. "Lucius, would you like to teach your son where his priorities should lie?"
"Yes my Lord," he replied. He prowled over to his son and smirked. Draco took pride in the fact that his own smirk was a lot better than his decrepit father's. "Crucio," Lucius spat, pointing his wand directly at the boy. Draco stood his ground and did not quaver. He hated the cold look in his own father's eyes. "Come on Lucius, you can do better than that," Voldemort smiled evilly. "Crucio!" Lucius said firmer, watching his son start to shake but determinedly stood strong.
"Stop," Voldemort said emotionlessly, raising his hand. Lucius raised his wand and looked at his master. Voldemort strode over to Draco, a smirk held in place. "Do you know why I am doing this Draco?" he asked coldly. Draco looked at his Lord and said in a calm voice, "Because I am disappointing you, my Lord."
"Indeed you are Draco. You don't show up at meetings and recently, you refused to kill the Podmore family!" Voldemort said dryly, harshly. Ah, here were those recent events again. Draco had made up the excuse that he was really under pressure with school work, but it apparently wasn't good enough. "Are they dead, my Lord?" Draco asked, tentatively.
"Indeed they are. Bellatrix, a much more faithful death eater, took three highly trained death eaters and slaughtered all of them, once she'd tortured them, of course," Voldemort smiled wickedly. Draco bit his lip. One of them had been in the order. Did they know? It had been a week. Wait - why did he care about the order?! He needed to get this out of his head. Everything out! If Voldemort used Legilimency on him and saw anything, he had had it. "Draco," Voldemort hissed, "You have something to hide?" And he could feel Voldemort trying to get inside his head. He scowled and turned away. "CRUCIO!" He shrieked, turning to thrust his wand at the boy, who instantly felt his veins turn into hot wires and knifes stab into him. He screamed out through his teeth and rocked on the balls of his feet, willing the pain to go away. He. Could. Not. Breathe.
Finally the wand lifted and Draco found himself on the floor, bleeding, coughing up blood through blood stained teeth. He stood up quickly, angry with himself for showing weakness. "Lucius," Voldemort drawled, "Would you like to teach your son a lesson?" Lucius stepped forward and backhanded Draco's face and spat, "He's no son of mine." The colour from Draco's eyes drained, as well as all expression on his face. He knew it was coming but... But then his eyes hardened as he stared with hatred into the cold, grey eyes of his father's. It was expected. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw Voldemort smirk. "That will be all then, Lucius." And then, a scream. "BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" A female yelled and ran up from the cellar door, sobbing. "Draco!" She sobbed, trying to get to her son.
"Lucius you told me she was taken care of," Voldemort drawled.
"You locked mother in the cellar, just to keep her away from me?" Draco breathed angrily.
"Narcissa go to our room, you don't need to watch this!" Lucius hissed.
"He's my SON!" She screamed, trying to get to her son but Lucius was holding her back.
"Mother do as he says, I'll be fine!" Draco demanded.
"No I won't, I won't! Please! My Lord I beg of you!"
"Cissy," Lucius warned.
"Mother just leave! You don't need to be involved!"
"Shut your mouth Draco, you have no right to -" Lucius began.
"Shut up! You leave out of this!" Draco yelled, then his voice softened, "Mother, please go. Now." Narcissa looked at her son desperately before backing away into the next room. Draco nodded at her. The door closed. Silence.
"You ought to tame that wife of yours, Lucius," Voldemort smirked after a long pause. Draco looked up from the floor and at the beast, looking him dead in the eye. "Do not -" he began, but was interrupted by a stare from his furious father, so he reiterated, "My Lord, my mother is a -"
"Your mother is the wife of a death eater and therefore my property!" Voldemort snapped harshly. That was too far.
"My MOTHER is nobody's property!" Draco yelled, looking from the man in front of him to his father, who was not unhappy by the dark lord's statement, and that just enraged the boy even more. He wanted to leave. Merlin he wanted to leave so badly. "Your mother, Draco, will be the last thing you discuss if you do not learn some respect!" Voldemort spat. "Women," he mused after a minute, "I don't know how you put up with her Lucius, they can be ever so stubborn. I wouldn't blame you if you just slit her throat. Of course I never bothered with a woman myself, love is weakness." Draco glowered at the pair of them. And then - "Draco, the cruciatus curse doesn't seem to have an effect on you anymore, as you didn't seem to learn your lesson in the summer," Voldemort drawled, his lips curling slightly. "My Lord?" Draco asked coldly. Voldemort noticed the tone and his smile broadened. "Draco where are your manners?" hissed Lucius, worried at how rude his son was being and wondering if this would have an influence on how the dark lord treated the family. "Tell me, Draco, have you heard of the 'maledictionem viginti et uno diebus' curse?" Voldemort asked quietly, smiling. Everything went silent, even Draco. "My, my, my Lord," Lucius stuttered, "That's ancient magic."
"Indeed," Voldemort mused, "Incase you haven't heard of it, Draco, it literally translates to 'The Curse of Twenty One Days.'" Draco had heard of it. He'd seen it, in a book, a few years back. It was banished by the ministry hundreds of years ago and labelled 'Unforgivable'. "Stand still, Draco, it will hurt less," the snakelike man hissed evilly. Lucius glanced up at him and then down at his son, worriedly. "My Lord - he's just a foolish boy. Surely you need not do this?" Lucius asked slowly.
"Ah come now Lucius. I understand that you want to protect your son but, after all, he is a rebel, a heretic, a traitor!" Voldemort chuckled. Draco stood defiantly, glaring at the back of the beast's head. "Of course, my Lord. He is... In need of punishment," Lucius replied. Voldemort grinned maliciously. "Maledictionem viginti et uno diebus!" The dark lord hissed, breaking out into an insane laugh as a jet of icy blue, green enlaced light shot from the man's wand ten feet before hitting the Slytherin directly in the stomach, causing him to emit an ear splitting scream, although he tried to keep most of it in. A burning hole appeared in his uniform and he sidled into the wall, trying to stay upright. He could feel everything soaking in blood, his blood. It was like the curse Potter had done to him the previous year but worse, so so much worse. The pain was excruciating, as bad as the cruciatus curse no, worse. Screaming through clenched teeth, letting out short, sharp breaths of agony, Draco lifted his head to look up at his torturer, silently begging him to stop. It was pitiful, he knew, but if begging would work then Salazar let him beg.
He fell. And then, blackness. He heard murmurs and the tiniest of pops, signalling the departure of Lord Voldemort. The world was swaying as if he were standing on a boat, but he was lying on the hard flagstone tiles of his home. Home. Home? What the fuck did that word even mean. The last thing he heard before completely blacking out was a muffled cry and running footfalls against the hard floor. He felt a body over him and a sensation of being lifted and... Embraced? Then - nothing.
He could feel a wet sp - someone was sponging his forehead!? He sat bolt up right - or at least tried, the result being very painful and made him fall back onto a very soft surface. "Draco," a female soothed. He opened his eyes and tried to focus, but everything was hazy. "Draco," that voice said again. "I'm sorry." She was sobbing. Why was she sobbing? Where was he? And who was she? "I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry!" A lock of hair fell into his face, a long, brown curl. Pansy? No, brown and blonde. His vision cleared. "Mother?" Draco asked slowly. The older witch smiled through tears and nodded fervently. And then it all flooded back in one wave. The letter, his father, Voldemort, the torture and, more importantly, the curse. "How long have I been here?" Draco asked heavily, wondering exactly where 'here' was. He attempted to sit up again but was again met with the same throbbing pain presumably left by the curse - or the continuous torture, so he settled to propping himself up on his elbows. "Only ten minutes dear," Narcissa smiled thickly. She looked a mess, with mascara smudging her eyes and tears streaming down her cheeks. Draco had never seen her like this. "Mother it's not your fault," Draco sighed, as he wrenched the blankets covering him off to look at the wound, only it was being covered by a large, white bandage. He looked skeptically up at his mother. "It was necessary, Draco. I need you to replace this whenever it soaks with blood and at least every morning and evening," she quipped.
"I need to get back to school," Draco muttered, his surroundings finally coming into focus. He was in the living room, as his mother obviously didn't have the strength to carry him up to his room. She had been so drained lately, ever since 'he' had started coming here more often. "Draco you can't go now!" his mother said, frowning, "Give it a day or -"
"A day?! Mother I need to get to school now!" Draco moaned, attempting yet again to get off of the sofa.
"My healing spells are weak, Draco! You can't apparate like this!" Narcissa pleaded, instinctively grabbing his forearm. He winced and she quickly let go, but she did not move her concerned gaze from his eyes. "Don't go," she pleaded softly, but Draco shook his head and stood up, wobbling slightly. Once he had regained his balance, he looked at his mother and said firmly, "I need to go."
"Draco, this isn't your father's fault -"
"My father's?! You heard him did you not?! He practically disowned me!"
"Draco he did not!"
"He DID! He hates me and I hate him no loathe him, too! And so should you!"
He hadn't meant to loose his temper with her, and he now fully regretted it once the tears came rolling down her cheeks. She was so thin. He hadn't been treating her well he was sure of it. But she still loved him. Both he and him. "Mother I didn't mean -" Draco began, but she was already getting up to leave. Draco looked after her and then turned on his heal, limping as defiantly as he could, out through the opposite doors. The next set of double doors lead him to the driveway, where Scabior looked him up and down disapprovingly. "I warned you," he muttered to Draco as quietly as he could, but Draco was in too much of a bad mood to acknowledge him. That was when Scabior grabbed Draco's wrist as he brushed passed him and Draco looked at him, irritated. "Let go," Draco hissed.
"Unless you're going to sort out your priorities, I suggest you don't return here. You are not a friend here, not unless you start acting like one of us."
Draco stared at him for a few moments before nodding and leaving. It was not a threat, more a warning. He left through the black iron gates that secured the manor, and disapparated, with a pop.
A/N what father would lock their wife away in a cellar to stop her protecting her son! I've never liked Lucius. And Scabior, he's not really mentioned enough in my opinion. Was he trying to help Draco? Comment what you think will happen next in your reviews. See y'all next Friday.
IMPORTANT: I'm not online next week so I won't be able to update this on the 23rd or 26th. Will be updating this Friday though.