Chapter 7-A hidden past revealed
~*~ Hi again. I want everyone to take a moment to marvel at how fast I got this next chapter up. Thank you, Thank you! So yeah here is chapter 7. I hope you all like it. This is basically an explaining chapter so nothing much really happens. Never mind next chapter might be the fluffiest yet, we'll just have to wait and see. Thankyou to everyone who has reviewed so far, check for your name in the credits!
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Hermione and Draco heard a hoarse shout of fury and they both cowered in the grass, desperately trying to make themselves invisible. But Draco had to know what was going on so he continued to watch the road. The figure he had glimpsed before was now surrounded by cloaked men on horse back.
"Well?" one of the men said his voice carried over to their hiding place by the wind. "You said they would be here Lucious, where are they?"
"They are here somewhere close by but the stupid boy is blocking me off."
"The stupid boy is your son. Do you have no control over him?"
"The two children are not a problem, they can be easily handled. When the time is right Draco will bring the mudblood back as an example. For now they do not matter. Let us return to Hogwarts and sort things out there."
An extra horse was brought forward for Lucious and then all the men whirled and rode away.
***
Draco leaned back into the grass he was panting heavily and his skin was covered in a thin sheen of perspiration. Hermione leaned over him.
"Are you alright?" she asked though one look at him answered the question for her.
"Yeah, mudblood. Just give me a minute to catch my breath." he replied croakily.
"Malfoy, we can't go on like this. You have to tell me what the hell is going on. I'm not moving until you fill me in."
"Granger…" he began weakly
"NO!" she shouted strength flooding back to her from their wild run. "No you tell me, NOW!"
Malfoy's cool hand covered her mouth and he looked at her with anger blazing in his eyes.
"Will you shut up." He hissed. "Sound carries on the moors, they've probably heard you. I'll tell you…but before I do you have to understand something. Once you know they will do anything they can to kill you. You will be a danger to them and they will need to dispose of you and fast. Once they know you know it will be like you have a big bloody target on your stomach you, your family and your friends will all be in danger. Now do you still want to know?"
Hermione swallowed her face white.
"If I know," she began cautiously, "will I be more of a help freeing Hogwarts and saving the wizarding world."
Draco stared at her but knew she had to know the truth. He nodded slowly.
"Then tell me!" she stated urgently
Draco took a deep breath and began…
***
"On the 7th year anniversary of Lord Voldemorts downfall my mother and I were taken down into the dungeons of Malfoy Manor where I had never previously been. My mother knew something bad was going to happen and tried to smuggle me out but my father seemed to know what she was trying to do and we were caught. Down in the dungeons I could feel that somehow my mother was passing some of her strength onto me and I stood tall in front of Lucious. My mother had warned me that things were going to be frightening that night and had given me strict instructions to run if my father started reciting a certain curse."
"What curse?" asked Hermione curiously.
"That bit comes later." He snapped, "Don't interrupt me again."
Hermione bit her lip and nodded for him to continue.
"We journeyed through dark stone corridors and I learned many things about my parents. I believe my mother was forced to marry Lucious by her family and might even have been under the imperious curse during the wedding. They certainly had no feelings for each other except hatred that I could see. Also that night I discovered that it was quite possible that Lucious wasn't my father. I remember Fudge being mentioned and my mother going pale and nearly falling."
"Oh, Draco." Hermione breathed reaching out to him. He jerked away.
"Let me finish, Granger. We arrived at a gigantic dungeon that must have been deep underneath the Manor and there was a group of men, death eaters, already there. He told me I always had to obey them and then he told me he was going to give me something. I was excited at first but then he put his hands over his eyes, this was the preparation for the curse my mother had told me about and even though I knew I should have run I stayed glued to the spot. He began to chant and I was hit by unbelievable pain, then I heard my mother's voice shouting at me to run. The pain disappeared and I bolted. I made it out into the corridor when I heard her scream. I turned and saw her lying on the stone floor, I rushed over to her but she was dead. She had taken the curse onto herself when she was already weakened from protecting me. It was too much for her. I looked at Lucius who was staring at her body with the utmost contempt. He called her a stupid woman, and many other things I wouldn't repeat, while I stared at him hating him with all my will. When he noticed me he sent me back to bed and, although I was only 7, as I walked to my room I vowed to kill him one day."
***
Hermione had tears trickling down her cheeks as she listened with rapt attention.
"But your mother… we saw her at the world cup."
"That!" Draco spat out, "that isn't my mother that is one of our maids with some polyjuice potion. The curse my father had tried out on me was one he had created himself and I was his experiment. It obviously was a failure but he didn't know if it didn't work because his curse was wrong or if my mothers protection still lingered on me. He used it on me several times after that but I never had pain from it again and it didn't have the effect he wanted it to."
"What effect did he want it to have on you?" Hermione asked quietly.
"The curse is called Hypnto Impero and has basically the same effect as the Imperious curse. However, this curse can be spread like a blanket over large areas and everyone in those areas is put into a sort of trance. The curse uses more hypnotic purposes than magic which makes it easier to perform and can be maintained without any effort on the part of the curser. Nobody knows about it except the death eaters, me and Lord Voldemort therefore it isn't listed as a forbidden curse and there is no known antidote. Even though the curse didn't work fully on me Lucius still has a little power over me and during my moments of weakness he can sense where I am and can make me do things. There are some things that I have in my favour, though. When he is near or when he is particularly angry I can sense him too, I can block him so he can't go into my mind although that takes a lot of energy as you saw just now and I can't be affected by any of the forbidden curses or the Hypnto Impero. Again I don't know if it is because it didn't work or if it is just a side-effect of the curse in general."
"What do you mean you can't be affected by the Hypnto Impero? You said yourself that he can sense you. And how do you know forbidden curses don't work on you?" Hermione asked, almost dreading the answer.
"I mean he can't put the Hypnto Impero on stronger. And I know it doesn't work because he has tried the Cruciatus and Imperious curses on me often. I pretend they work and so he thinks he has control over me. I haven't always been like my father, you know. In fact although I would never admit it in public Potter and I have a lot in common. I haven't forgotten my vow, I will kill Lucious Hermione but you don't have to be involved. If we weren't out in the middle of nowhere I would have ditched you by now. As soon as we find a house you stay and contact the ministry and I'll apparate to the Malfoy Manor."
"You'll what?" she asked disbelievingly.
"Honestly, Granger," he snapped, "you didn't honestly think that Lucious Malfoy's son would wait until the proper age and take the test did you?! I've been apparating since I was 14."
She stared at him then said quietly:
"So why didn't you leave me?"
"I think you know the answer to that as well as I do Hermione." he brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes and leant down…
***
~*~Don't you just hate me?! Oh well I'll try and get another chapter up ASAP perhaps even by tonight there will be another one for your viewing pleasure (well I hope it is a pleasure anyway!) Reviewing is very important because if you don't I might lose inspiration and poor Draco and Hermione will be left hanging for the rest of their days. For their sake, REVIEW! Thankyou!
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