Again, I'd like to give a very big Thank You to all my reviewers :) You guys are the ones that get me to stop procrastinating and write!
This chapter's longer than the last one, and I'll try to make the next one even longer ;)
Now, on to the story....
Chapter 4 The Suffering
The body of Harry Potter lay sprawled out along an icy stone floor. His fingers were freezing yet his forehead, including his scar, was hot. His current condition was unstable, but he still could breathe. He could still think. He could still survive.
***
When Harry awoke, the rock walls of the cell, seemed to sway back and forth. Harry tried to stand up, but the short chains around his ankles and wrists pulled him back before he could get unto his knees.
"Ahhh," sighed a weary Harry as he crashed back onto the granite.
"Having some trouble Potter?"
Harry looked up and saw his resemblance slying leaning against the wall. He immediately tried to regain composure. "What do you want Malfoy?"
The strong determination in Harry's voice sent a tingling through Draco's spine. This was the reaction he wanted.
Draco stepped away from the wall and moved closer to Harry. "Oh you know, the usual… to make your life a bloody hell."
Both pairs of brown eyes locked in two equally determined glares. "You'll never break me Malfoy."
"Oh yeah, just let me try."
***
Tears burned in Hermione's eyes and silently ran down her pale cheeks. She lay sprawled out on top of Ginny's bed, staring at a picture that lay atop Ginny's dresser. It had been taken the day after Harry's defeat of Voldemort. It was of her, Harry, and Ron. They were standing next to the Gryffindor table, with their hands over the other's shoulders. Harry was smiling. He looked so happy, so relieved. The weight he had carried for so many years had been lifted. They had all thought it was over. They thought they were now safe.
'I guess we were wrong,' thought Hermione, 'nothing in this world is fair.'
***
"So at what time did you discover that Harry Potter was missing,"
Ginny Weasley looked even more ghostly and pale than usual as she sat in the middle of a circle of reporters. She took a deep breath, and stared at the ceiling refusing to look into the eyes of the curious wizards and witches. "I'm not exactly sure… I think it was around 4."
"How do you know that he's dead? No one's found a body yet. Are you positive of this?"
Ginny blankly gazed at the slightly overweight witch who was taking down every word with a peacock's quill, which was longer than the length of her face.
"There was a note."
"What did it say?"
Ginny paused. The memory desperately tried to resurface in her mind, but Ginny wouldn't let it. It wasn't something she wanted to relive.
"I rather not say," replied Ginny in a soft reserved voice.
"Do you know who's in possession of this note?"
"Yes."
The crowd breathed together. Once they knew this next identity they would have a new name to investigate.
Ginny didn't say another word, but before another witch could say a word, Molly Weasley burst into the room filled a motherly rage.
"Out! Out! Out!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, "you nosy fools. Don't you have anything better to do than apparate into my living room and trouble a child who already has enough on her mind? All of you, get out before I report you!"
The wizards and witches squirmed and within seconds a dozen pops were heard as they apparated from the Burrow.
"That nerve those reporters have," muttered Molly as she knelt down next to the chair where her daughter sat, "Ginny dear."
The kindness in her mother's voice caused Ginny to look her straight the eyes. Molly Weasley looked back at her. She saw fear and a deep sadness, emotions that a mother never wishes upon their child.
"We'll all miss him. I know you do, and I will too."
Molly pulled Ginny close a she noticed a tear trickle down her pure white face. "We'll never forget him, but Ginny the world goes on. We have to be strong dear, strong for Hermione. She's a strong girl herself, but now she needs us more than ever. Can you do that for me dear?"
Ginny blinked. A voice in her head cried, 'what about me? Who will be strong for me?' but she let it die. Harry would have wanted Hermione to be comforted, and she would carry out his wishes. "Yes mother, I'll try."
"That's my girl," said Molly pulling Ginny in for an encouraging hug, "we'll get through this. We will."
***
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are you just going to stand against the wall all day? I thought you had lives to ruin."
Harry smirked at Draco, who was still leaning against the wall like he had for the past 15 minutes. His own face smirked back at him.
"This, Potter, is all part of the plan. We wait now, and act later. I have to give your little friends some time to suffer first. They think you're dead, you know."
"How clever, Malfoy. I think Crabbe and Goyle could have thought of a more creative plan than that."
"Well that's not the whole plan."
"What's the rest of it?"
Draco smiled. "You want me to tell you all the itty bitty little details so you can try to stop me, don't you Potter. Well, it's not going to work. You'll just have to wait and see what happens, like everybody else."
"Fine then," replied Harry as he let his head rest on the floor. He didn't want Malfoy to know, but the truth was that every bit of his body ached, and he didn't know how long he'd last.
The cell was silent for a few moments. Draco picked a few pieces of lint of his shirt. Harry shut his eyes. Draco traced his fingers over the solid stone wall.
"I guess," began Draco, 'that I could let you in on a few details. You are chained up in a cell in my family's secret dungeon miles away from any civilization."
Harry didn't respond, but Draco continued on anyways. "Basically, I'm going to give them sometime to agonize over your death, and then I'll reappear the night before everyone leaves for Hogwarts. That way the outside public won't have much time to pester me with questions, and then I'll go on to Hogwarts as you. We'll see what happens there," Draco grinned, "and Hermione will think I'm you… that's going to be fun now Potter, won't it."
Draco didn't get the reaction from Harry that he was hoping for. All he got from Harry was a snore. A disappointed Draco headed to the barred door of the cell. He took out a key, opened it, walked out and then locked it again. 'Just wait Potter,' he thought, 'I'll make your life a living hell, then not even your dreams will save you.'
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Well, I hope by now the basic plot is clear, but remember, I'm very fond of surprises, so you never know what might happen next! ;)
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