Fractal
Chapter Ten
A/N: COME ON PPL! I need some reviews!! Please? Pretty please? Sigh...anyways, just....read the fic! and R+R!!!! Oh, can someone PLEASE tell me the name (and correct spelling) of all three Unforgivable Curses? Thanks...oh, if I spell Draco's father's name wrong can someone give me the correct spelling? Thanks^_^
```````````````````
Young grey eyes slowly opened, focusing in on the ugly surroundings; water and mould literally dripped from the walls, small rodents and insects ran around on the floor and it was incredibly dark. Draco immediately sat up, feeling a slight dizzying sensation in his temple. Looking around he saw no one else in his cell, which was a relief. He was sure that he was in some sort of dungeon built by Voldemort, but he just wasn't sure where it was.
There was a movement in the far corner of the vast room, which he saw was lined with different cells, each probably holding an occupant. Torches lit the small, cramped hallway and the sound of dripping water was everywhere. Rats, or at least the noises they made, moved around the cells, moving in and out, looking for food somewhere. The sound of footsteps was unmistakably familiar; Draco listened to them approach, feeling too tired to do anything more than struggle from whomever had come to take him. He stood up slowly, wanting to face the enemy on his feet.
Gently moving his hand down to his waist, Draco realized with sudden shock that his wand wasn't on him anymore. Well, no duh, of course they wouldn't let him have his only defence. The hooded form of a Death Eater appeared at the barred entrance to the damp dark cell and unlocked the door, motioning for him to follow. Though he was reluctant, Draco figured that if he was free he might still have a chance of escaping - and helping Kelsey and Saron as well.
``````````````
"I assure you Mrs. Malfoy, we are doing all that we can to find your son." Dumbledore assured the hysterical woman, putting his hand on her shoulder. She cried into a small handkerchief that she had brought with her for that very purpose, her mascara running down her pale, fair cheeks. Draco's father, Lucius, was nowhere to be found around Hogwarts, something that disturbed even Dumbledore. Even a supposed former Death Eater like the Malfoy would care if his son lived or died, wouldn't he? Pushing that aside, the headmaster returned his focus to the weeping Malfoy woman in the plush chair across from his desk. Narcissa was a good woman, he knew that. Why she ended up with someone like Lucius was beyond comprehension.
"Oh my poor little baby..." She whimpered, sneezing into her hanky. Dumbledore sat there a moment, then got an idea.
"My dear, where is your husband at this very moment? Do you know?" The white-haired headmaster asked her gently, not wanting to upset her further.
"He-he said that he was going somewhere on business. He wasn't clear about where, or when he would be back. He left last night." Narcissa said in a sad, stressed tone, looking down at the floor.
Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you. I'll let you know as soon as we know anything." The old man promised. Narcissa looked up at him and thanked him, blowing her nose once more.
`````````````
"Where are you taking me, Death Eater?" Draco's voice was cold and hard as he practically spit the words out at the cloaked figure leading the way through many twisting halls and passages, too many for Draco to keep up with. He briefly wondered where Kelsey and Saron were, and if they were ok.
"His Lordship Voldemort wishes to see you, young Malfoy." The figure said softly, it's voice filled with equally as much spite as Draco's.
It was many minutes before the two finally reached a set of huge doors, the wood stained black with something foreign that smelled quite awful. The Death Eater opened a door, shoved Draco inside and slammed the door shut behind him, quickly bolting it. He needn't have worried, however - Draco knew that he couldn't escape, even from a Novice Death Eater. Sitting before a roaring fireplace in a red velvet chair, his back to him, was Lord Voldemort. Draco stood at the door, waiting for the Lord to announce his presence.
"Come here, Malfoy." Voldemort said, gesturing with one hand. Draco found himself walking forward instantly, and it wasn't of his own doing. He assumed that the Lord was using some kind of powerful spell on him to control his movements.
"What do you want with me and my friends!?" Draco demanded as he walked forward against his will. He didn't fight it, however; he knew it was useless to resist a spell of this type. Finally he came to a stop beside the Lord's chair. A huge green snake was sitting coiled around Voldemort's legs and it raised it's big head and blinked it's beady black eyes when Draco approached.
"I thought it would have been clear. Do you not listen to your father, boy?" Voldemort said, disapproval in his voice. Draco felt his ears burning at this comment and his fists started to ball up into hard rocks of sheer fighting power.
"I am not my father! I do not want to be him!!" Draco yelled at the Dark Lord, uncaring as to what would happen to him for such an act. Voldemort seemed taken aback slightly for his rudeness, but did not seem surprised.
"Well...I was expecting an answer like that and am not shocked, but I can't say that for everyone here..." The Dark Lord said, a smile lighting on his lips from underneath his hood. There was a movement in the shadows and Lucius Malfoy moved out into the light, looking absolutely shocked. The look on his pale face was one of betrayal, hurt and hatred. Instead of going silent, Draco decided to speak out. He had been frightened to speak to his father for years, but since he was probably not going to make it out alive, he might as well tell him what he felt.
"Yes, you heard me father! I hate you! I hate what you are! I hate what you've turned our family into! Can't you see the hurt mother is going through!? She's a nice person, unlike you!! I will never be like you!!!" The pale boy shrieked at the older man, his fists vibrating dangerously. He was one step away from attacking his father when Voldemort put up a hand, causing Draco's body to seize up and become completely still, including his vocal cords.
"Well, you've heard him Lucius. What do you want to do with him?" Voldemort said, an amused smile on his face. Draco stared at the withered old being, only able to move his eyes as he stood there, completely still, his back rigid. The older Malfoy moved out so he was standing closer to his lord, obviously trying to avoid tears from coming to his eyes. It was clear that he was hurting deeply from the wound Draco had inflicted on him, but quite frankly he didn't care. His father was evil and he was not, it was that simple.
"He won't become one of us..." Lucius said tightly, his own fists balling up, "So we kill him." He said through tight lips. Tears still threatened at his eyes and he even had to close them momentarily so he wouldn't be caught crying. If the Dark Lord noticed, or even cared, he did not show or express it.
"No no, Lucius, I think that's being to lenient with him. How about we torture him first? Since you brought up the idea, I do believe you should do it." Voldemort said happily, gently reaching down and rubbing the skin of the snake that was coiled around his legs. Then his voice turned cold. "Besides, I want revenge for what he did to me. He's strong, yes, but it's obvious we can't harness his power." Draco smiled inwardly at that; the Dark Lord thought he was strong enough to hurt him.
"What-whatever you say, my Lord." The older, much paler Malfoy said haughtily - though it was obvious that he was covering up his pain - drawing out his wand from his robes. Lucius approached his son, bearing his weapon in front of him, looking angry and sad at the same time. He raised it, a curse bubbling forward from his lips...
"No, wait!" Voldemort said suddenly, raising his hand once more. Lucius' wand stopped in midair, hovering there for a moment. Both Malfoy's looked towards the cloaked monster, questioning. There was a clicking sound and all at once Draco found himself able to move again and his wand was restored to him. It came flying at him from across the room and he caught it with ease, immediately wielding it in front of his monster of a father, the lesser of two evils in the room.
"You will battle each other." Voldemort said with glee, turning around to watch his most trusted servant and his traitorous son fight it out. Draco raised an eyebrow at this momentarily, then focused on his father and held his wand at the ready. He knew that it was the ultimate test to see if Draco's words about his father were really true. Lucius looked rather nervous about this idea, but Draco liked it just fine. He would get even with his father once and for all, finally stopping the pain that he and his mother had to deal with every day of their lives since before the pale-faced boy could ever remember.
"If you give up now, Draco, I will not kill you." Lucius said, trying to sound threatening. Unfortunately it completely backfired on him and it sounded more like he was desperate. The Dark Lord ignored this fact, however, waiting patiently for the fight to begin. Draco wondered; should he make the first move, or let his father take the upper hand? He had faced pain before; he was no stranger to it. Finally waiting no longer, he uttered his first curse;
"CRUCIO!!!!!" Draco shrieked, watching as a bolt of yellow light with a concentrated white centre hit his father, immediately making the older man squirm and writhe with pain. He had not expected his son to be able to cast such a powerful spell; he had fatally underestimated Draco's abilities. Voldemort cackled in glee at this most unexpected turn of events.
"B-bindus!!!!" Lucius managed to stutter between sharp breaths and whimpers of pain. He was still on his feet; apparently he had managed to somehow screen out some of the curse's effect. Draco felt a power wrap around his body and he was suddenly not able to move; his eyes opened wide in shock as his entire body went taut. Unfortunately for his father, only Draco could stop the curse he had set upon him and he was cursed to have it continue until he could not stand it anymore. Such a foolish mistake. Looking satisfied, the still shaking and whining Lucius made his way across the room, past the Dark Lord, his knees bobbing this way and that as he tried to make it across the floor to his bound son.
Draco forced his lips to move; it would be the only way to stave off his father. From between seemingly frozen lips he muttered 'crucio maximus', sending Lucius into a tailspin of pain. His body toppled over and he howled in sheer torture as he writhed on the floor, unable to screen out the pain because his mind could not focus on it.
Voldemort clapped. Though Draco was bound he had clearly won, as Lucius was screaming and howling for mercy on the ground. The Dark Lord clapped his hands once more and Draco was unbound and the curse placed on Lucius was lifted. He lay on the floor, unable to move after such a wash of pain and torture.
"Excellent! So they are teaching you worthwhile things at Hogwarts now, eh?" Voldemort said with glee, standing up from his chair and approaching Draco. The pale boy looked to his father laying on the floor, not sorry at all for what he had done to him. He had deserved every second of it, the bastard, for putting him and his mother through such hardships for so many years.
"I didn't learn it from Hogwarts..." Draco said icily, pointing his wand at his father's weak, frail form, "I learned it from watching him." The room went deadly silent; so that had been why he had been able to cast such a powerful curse without hurting himself. Lucius said nothing, keeping himself balled up in the feral position on the floor. It would be too embarrassing to face his lord now, after what happened.
After many more moments of silence, Draco looked up at Voldemort's ugly face. "Where are my friends?" He asked, his voice low, icy and very dangerous. Voldemort raised an eyebrow, his face still half-shadowed under his hood. Draco could see one of those crimson eyes staring at him, sizing him up almost. Then...
"Take him to his friends. Perhaps then he'll shut up...." Voldemort said softly, turning back to his chair and sitting down once more in front of the fire. This turn of events startled Draco; he had expected the Dark Lord to kill him or something. Perhaps his beating his father had left more of an impact than Draco had known.
"I need to talk with you, Lucius." Voldemort added, looking down at his right hand man laying on the ground in a pathetic position of surrender and weakness. Draco stayed as long as he could until finally another Death Eater came along and grabbed his elbow, forcing him back into the damp, dark hallways.
