Draco

Day after second detention

Hogwarts

Walking towards Potions, in a fully separate direction than Granger, Draco could not believe the situation he had inserted himself into. All the same, he preferred this reality to the alternative.

The night prior, he decided that he would indulge in this newly acquired fascination. The constant threat of imminent death at the hands of the Dark Lord due to his inevitable failure had left him feeling reckless, so he said 'fuck it'.

He didn't know what he was going to do when he saw her that morning at breakfast, or in Runes. Nothing he had done for the past 24 hours could be considered pre-planned. Instead of controlling every layer of his disposition, he instead let his instincts lead.

He realized then that he had never truly let himself be free like that. Everything prior had been a perfectly curated version of himself to control the narrative of how people saw him.

Granger was a ball of nerves when he finally saw her face to face, which amused him. He still had an appetite to see her at ill ease, though the tone of the way he viewed it all shifted.

She didn't realize he caught it, but he saw the way her neck reddened when her eyes strayed to his lips. If she wasn't so flustered, the normally observant Griffyndor would have noticed he had been staring at her pouty lips since the start of Runes.

The difference between the two was Draco had made peace with whatever the reason was that she tormented his thoughts. She, on the other hand, looked firmly at war with herself, and that delighted him. At least he could still terrorize her even if he now also wanted to take her with a fierceness of longing that he had never felt before.

Having goals helped him stay balanced. So his newest goal, one in which he needed to find out the way she tasted against his lips, kept him focused.

Turning another corner, several hallways away from the Potions dungeon, Draco's attention was pulled to a dark, morose looking man.

"Draco," Snape drawled, his presence having stepped out from near nothingness to the right of him.

"Professor Snape," Draco nodded back, pausing for a moment. Snape did not normally address him outside of class.

A current of fear fizzled near Draco's heart when a look of apprehension crossed Snape's features; a look that Draco never had seen before on his professor.

"I need you to come with me," was all Snape said before turning in a direction that led Draco to believe they were going to his office.

The two walked in silence, up the hallway, down a corridor, and then down the stairs that deposited the two wizards in the dank, unwelcoming study of Professor Snape.

"Sit," Snape commanded as he closed the door behind them. Draco ignored his request.

"What is this about?" Draco questioned sharply. His eyes quickly scoured the room and noticed Snape had a pensive, which Draco believed had not been there in his prior trips to the Professors office.

"You should sit," Snape tried again, his eyes boring into Draco's. Obstinately, Draco shook his head once again.

"Tell me what is going on," Draco commanded, but his voice gave indication of fear.

Snape sighed and turned on his heel to position himself behind his desk, dividing the two. "Please tell me what progress you've made on the task given to you by the Dark Lord."

The room felt as if dropped in temperature by five degrees. Draco's eyes narrowed. He did his best to look steady.

"I'm investigating options," Draco lied, which seemed evident to Snape.

"The Dark Lord does not believe you are trying."

Draco took a stiff breath, then organized his mind. He needed to be in control of any and all outwardly reactions to this line of questioning. It was not clear if he could trust Snape.

"I have only been back a month," Draco replied, keeping his tone even. "Please, tell me what the Dark Lord expects of me, and I will do what I can to honor his wishes."

He was not being truthful. At that point in time, he had all but decided he would make no effort in the task. Draco had thought maybe he had the entire year before he would likely be killed for inaction. This conversation was making him reevaluate that assumption.

Snape, however, did not move to answer his question. Instead, his professor pushed a vial across the table. Inside were the wisps of a memory destined for a pensive.

Draco's eyes narrowed at the vial, then redirected back up to Snape. His professor's eyes were dark.

"I have been instructed to have you watch this memory," Snape explained.

Then, a funny feeling summoned between Draco's eyes. It felt like someone was knocking at the front door of his mind. Unbeknownst to himself, he had created a nearly impenetrable wall around his thoughts. While the Draco was well practiced at occlumency, it surprised even him that he had become that unknowingly talented at the act.

Draco hesitated on letting Snape in, but the look on the wizard's face before him, and the polite nature of being asked for admittance drew him to allow him in.

A disembodied voice sounding like Snape echoed in his mind. Your mother is being tortured

Draco's body stilled

You cannot react, I am instructed to send a memory back of our interaction. You must remain impassive.

Though his complexion paled, Draco dragged air in through his teeth and nodded.

The Dark Lord means to subject Narcissa to regular crucio curses until there is proof that you intend to carry out your task

Draco's eyes darted to the vial then back to Snape. The memory. It's of her being tortured?

Snape gave a barely noticeable nod.

Heat began to build throughout Draco's limbs, which pooled into his center and charged his whole being into an almost blinding fury.

You must control your emotions Draco Snape warned, still being present in Draco's mind.

Draco's eyes were near slits by then. And what, may I ask, does the Dark Lord need as proof?

He could almost hear his Professor take a breath in his mind. You need to make an attempt. It cannot be planning. It cannot be theoretical ideas. You have to make an attempt on his life.

The severity of the situation toppled over Draco. It was no longer just a matter of his life that was at stake. His mother would endure weeks of torture for as long as he decided to keep this charade up.

In a powerful conjuring of impressive magic for a wizard of his age, Draco forced Snape's presence out of his mind.

With Snape clear from his thoughts, Draco's thoughts turned to Granger.

How foolish had he been to think that his decision to entertain such thoughts about a muggle-born witch, who happened to be best friends with the number one target of his master, could not come with consequences?

He did not even get to live 24 hours in the bubble of ignorance he had created for himself where he could spend the remainder of his days before death exploring these oddly protracted feelings towards Granger.

His Mother could not be a bystander to his selfishness. And that was what the past 24 hours had been. Selfishness. He acted like a child who didn't want to do what he was told. And he rebelled by giving the attention that was meant for the Dark Lord to a mudblood.

Snape was watching him with steady eyes, now no longer having access to the inner workings of his thoughts.

"You will make an attempt soon, yes Draco?" Snape asked, to which Draco nodded. He did not know what he'd do yet, but he could not continue to let his mother be tortured for his disobedience.

Draco couldn't be distracted any longer. He had been a fool to think there would be no consequences to his delinquency.

"In addition to the memory that I have been instructed to show you," Snape began, all of a sudden appearing uncomfortable, "I have also been tasked at disciplining you for your delay in action."

Draco tensed, but sensed something like this must be coming.

"I am to deliver a memory back of you being crucio'd. Do you understand?" Snape explained to Draco slowly, and again Draco nodded, but his face was stony now, more stoic.

"Yes, Professor," Draco spoke aloud, doing his best to not sound condescending in his response, knowing that the Dark Lord would be reviewing the scene.

Again, another knock at his mind's door. Draco considered barring his professor entry this time, but figured it was important.

I will not crucio you at full power

Draco did not react.

But you will need to act as if I had. Do you understand.

The young wizard blinked back to his professor who was about to use an unforgivable curse on him. Snape understood the blink to indicate he understood and pulled back from his mind.

He was not yet a wizard of age, but Draco had seen enough full grown Death Eaters be tortured in the past few months to know how to give the impression he was being hit with the full force of the curse.

Preparing himself in front of Snape, Draco wondered what may have happened if he was given even a day more with his frizzy haired distraction. He dared himself to admit that Granger would have let him in, would have let him explore his oddly held obsession. That maybe she too felt the same as he did.

But that was no longer something he could consider, he surmised, and a moment later, his body was overtaken with concentrated pain.