CHAPTER 15~ Another Round
Draco woke up a few hours later and didn't recognize where he was. The room was brightly lit because there were no shades. He immediately knew it wasn't his room. His shades were always shut. He sat bolt upright and looked around. Hermione was still sleeping soundly next to him. As he looked at her face, he noticed it was a spell.
"Well, well, Mr. Malfoy, I see you have awoken," said a silky smooth voice from beside him.
He looked at the man who had spoken and noticed his father's friend Nott. "What do you want, Nott? What the hell are we doing here? And for the record, where the hell is here?"
"Language, Draco. Here is where the Dark Lord is. Here is where you face your death. Here is where the girl dies."
"Wake her up," Draco demanded.
Nott looked at Draco skeptically. "What would I do that for? To hear her scream? There is no satisfaction in that, Draco. Unless of course it's you who is making her scream. Am I correct in saying this?"
"Shut the fuck up you sick bastard. If you remark one more time on our relationship I will kill you. Now wake her up!"
Nott laughed mirthlessly, his dark eyes becoming darker by the second. "Now, now, how do you expect to kill me if I don't do as you say? Your wand is still at Hogwarts."
Draco glared at the older man, who he once considered an uncle, and said threateningly, "I do not need my wand to kill you. The rage inside my blood will fuel me and make me mad, and then you will see why I have no use for a wand."
"Ennervate!" Nott hissed pointing his wand at Hermione's sleeping form. "Are you happy now? Your sleeping beauty is awake."
Hermione opened her eyes slowly and looked around the bright room. She saw Draco with a menacing glare on his face and also the man who he was glaring at. It wasn't a very friendly scene. "Draco?" she whimpered softly.
Draco's eyes softened as he looked at her. His arms immediately drew her body toward him.
"Where are we?" she asked in the same shaky voice.
"I'm not sure myself. Asshole, over here, refuses to tell me where exactly we are. All I know is that Voldemort is near-by and is planning our deaths."
"Oh comforting," she responded sarcastically. Her glaze averted to Nott. "Who are you? Where are we? And why are you refusing to give answers?"
"Calmer than I expected. I had expected a Mudblood to be a bit more frightened. I guess Gryffindors are too strong to show their weaknesses."
Hermione glared at him. "Shut up and tell me where the hell I am!"
"Somewhere in Europe," he answered smartly.
"Just in Europe or does this country have a name?" Hermione would keep trying until she got an answer. She didn't care how stubborn he was, she just wanted some answers and wouldn't stop questioning until she got them.
"Yes, dear Mudblood, this country does have a name."
Hermione put on her most innocent face and said in the sweetest voice she could, "And pray tell, sweet Death Eater, where the fuck are we?"
Nott was taken aback and his mouth hung open for a while while Draco put his hand up to his mouth to stifle a laugh.
Hermione continued to look at the man innocently as he sat dumbfounded. "What? Too stunned for words? Did the little Mudblood stump the mean old Death Eater? This will go down as a day in history."
"We're in Sweden," Nott whispered.
"That wasn't so hard now, was it?"
The man shook his head as he turned away from her. His head was splitting and he could not make the pain go away. It was as if all the wrongs he had done over the years were flooding into his head and infesting his mind. Everything he had done to hurt another person was now inflicting its pain upon his brain. After a long while and much pain, the pain ceased and he looked up at Draco and Hermione and smiled.
Draco looked at Nott questioningly. "Are you alright?" he asked cautiously not wanting to offend him.
"I'm free!" Nott answered happily.
"Excuse me?" Draco said.
"I have defied the Dark Lord. All the pain I have ever inflicted on another hit me like a full blow to the head, then left. I am no longer brainwashed. I can do as I please."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "Couldn't you always do as you pleased? All people are born free."
"You don't understand. Of course I shouldn't expect you to," Nott said. "Once you receive the Dark Mark, your mind is controlled. It's like the Imperius Curse, but much worse. It is much harder to fight. The only reason I was able to is because my mind was screaming that it was all wrong. Since I was eighteen, my whole life had been a lie. I felt the need to help you."
Draco stared at Nott. It wasn't menacing, but confused. He had never encountered a Death Eater who was strong enough to fight off the curse, with the exception of Snape, and he had never expected Nott would be the one to do it. His father was strong-willed and would be able to fight it if he tried, but he would never want to. Lucius Malfoy sold his soul to Voldemort and wouldn't do anything to get it back.
"Don't look so surprised, Draco. I've been wanting to fight him off for the longest time, but never had an excuse to do so previously. You've always been one of the few people I've cared for and I will risk my life to make sure that you and Hermione get back to the castle safely."
Draco finally asked, "Was it you who brought us here in the first place?"
"No. I'm sad to say, it was your father."
He nodded. "I'm not surprised. So how do you plan on getting us out of here?"
Nott looked thoughtful for a moment. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe you know how to apparate. You learned when you were very young?"
"Yes."
Nott nodded and continued, "Good, good. Your father said he would come up at four to bring you and Hermione before Voldemort. It's 3:57 now. I will lend you my wand. What we'll do is I will petrify myself and you will take my wand. I'll say that you stole it and used it to apparate. Is that okay?"
Draco nodded and watched as Nott's wand fell to the floor. He picked it up and turned to Hermione. "Hold on to my hand and don't let go till your feet touch the ground." Hermione nodded and took Draco's hand. "Ready?" She nodded again, and they were suddenly spinning through the air.
When their feet finally touched ground outside the Hogwarts gates, Hermione leaned onto Draco so she wouldn't fall over. Their feet were still bare, and they were still clothed in their pajamas. The ground was covered in a thick layer of snow, so they were freezing. Draco performed a heating spell, so they would be able to make it to the school without freezing.
~
"Ennervate!" Lucius Malfoy hissed at the petrified Nott. Nott sat up and stared blankly at Lucius. "What the hell happened here?" Lucius roared as Nott got to his feet.
"I'm not exactly sure. One minute they were sitting on the bed, the next your son jumped on me and took my wand. He petrified me and he must have apparated or something and took the girl with him.
"You know what this means, don't you?" An evil smirk appeared on Lucius' thin lips. "It means that you now go before our Lord and explain to him your failure. This should definitely be and interesting night. Let's be on our way. If our Lord can't have two teenagers, he will have one adult." Lucius bound Nott's hands and feet and levitated him down to the dungeons where Voldemort awaited them.
They stepped into the dank, dark room. Voldemort watched as they steadily approached his large chair.
"My Lord," Lucius bowed.
"What is the meaning of this?" Voldemort hissed in his snake-like voice, his red eyes boring into the two men before him.
"Nott has failed you, My Lord," Lucius explained. "He let them get away, again. Draco stole his wand and petrified him then he apparated himself and the Mudblood."
Voldemort looked upon Nott with utter disdain. "How could you have let this happen? You knew that I wanted them dead. You know what the penalty for failure is."
Lucius placed him back on the floor and undid the binds that held him. Nott nodded slowly and stood tall before Lord Voldemort and stared him in the eyes
"Avanda Kedavra!"
~
"Nott's dead," Draco muttered as they stepped into the warm castle. "Once again, we go to Dumbledore. I hate this routine."
Hermione rubbed her thumb lightly against Draco's. She couldn't find any words of encouragement for him because she knew he would snap at her and she didn't want him to get even more upset than he already was.
They stepped into Dumbledore's office. "Mr. Malfoy, Ms Granger, I expected I would see you here once again when you weren't seen all day. What is it I can do for you?"
Draco sighed and told Dumbledore of the day's events. Hermione never seemed to have much to say, whether she was scared or just didn't like to tell stories, he didn't know.
"Well, it does seem like we have a bit of a problem here," Dumbledore said as he eyed the couple in front of him. "I think that we will be relocating your room and giving you a new password. I will not take any chances. Follow me please. I will have the house elves bring your things to your rooms."
Draco and Hermione followed Dumbledore through the corridors toward their new dormitory. They were both feeling apprehensive and didn't like what was going on around them.
"This is your new dormitory. I am sure the house elves have been prompt in moving your items. The password is 'inexplicable anger.' Goodnight, children." He walked swiftly back down the corridor and left them standing in front of a large portrait of the four founders of Hogwarts.
"Inexplicable anger," Hermione muttered. The portrait swung open and revealed a room that was exactly the same as their previous common room. The same colors, same furniture, same position.
They sat on one of the couches and just held each other for hours. Neither was tired as they had slept most of the day, and they were both shaken from the day's events.
"Draco, what lengths will he go to?" Hermione asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What lengths will Voldemort go to to capture and kill us? I mean, he's had us in striking distance twice and has failed both times. What will he do to get us?"
"I don't know. He is a sick person-if you could call him that-and he will probably do anything to get us. I don't want to scare you; I'm simply giving you the facts. He will more than likely devise some twisted scheme and try to lure us into a trap."
"I'm not afraid, Draco. I was just curious and I figured I'd ask you since you are more informed in that area than I."
Draco caressed her cheek softly and looked at into Hermione's deep, brown eyes. He leaned in slowly and his lips brushed softly against hers. "I will protect you," he whispered. "I will go to the end of the world and further for you."
Hermione nodded once and kissed him again. Her hands played with the hair on the nape of his neck as she deepened the kiss. He pushed her onto the couch and let his hands roam over her body. She pushed his shirt up a little and ran her hands up and down his chest. The only time they broke away was so they could each pull the other's shirt off.
Their clothes were thrown haphazardly around the common room. Draco kissed Hermione's bare chest and stomach before kissing her mouth again. He positioned himself over Hermione's wet opening and decided to tease her a bit. He kissed her for a long time before Hermione moaned. She couldn't wait any longer, and she thrust her hips toward his so he would get the point. He broke his lips away from hers gently and he smirked.
"Please?" she whimpered. "Please? I need you."
Draco slid into her and she let out a small gasp at the sudden friction between them. He began thrusting in and out of her gently as she relaxed a bit. She moved to his rhythm. They were one.
He moaned when she wrapped her legs around him to pull him farther inside of her. Hermione was breathing deeply and yelled out Draco's name as he quickened his pace.
The perspiration from both their bodies made it difficult for them to hold onto each other. Draco's hands kept slipping off her slick body and continued to do so as he again quickened.
Hermione dug her nails into Draco's back as she moaned to go faster. He could feel the marks she was leaving and began sucking on her neck to keep from calling out in pain. She let out a low groan as his hands massaged her breasts.
"I'm coming," Draco groaned as he broke his mouth away and quickened his pace again.
Hermione arched her back in anticipation, which made both she and Draco growl louder. They both screamed as he came into her.
She leaned up and kissed his lips again as his hips slowed against hers, but didn't completely stop moving. She didn't want him to stop anyway; it felt so good. He was everything she wanted and needed.
His tongue massaged hers as it slid easily into her awaiting mouth. The kiss was deep and passionate as if it might be their last.
Hermione eased her grip on Draco's back as he stopped moving against her and focused all his attention on her lips. Draco sighed into her mouth as the pain eased. Hermione noticed and broke away from him. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, it's just, I think you need to cut your nails. I'm gunna have some nasty marks there for a while."
She grinned sheepishly and her cheeks turned redder than they had been. "Sorry about that," she mumbled.
"It's not a problem."
He captured his lips in hers again and they made out for a while.
Draco broke away because of lack of air and laid his head against her chest. She ran her fingers through his wet hair and pushed it out of his eyes. His face was still flushed as he tried to catch his breath.
Hermione leaned down and kissed his forehead lightly. "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too."
Her thumb ran gently across his cheek and he relaxed against her body and closed his eyes.
"I'm so tired," he mumbled.
"So sleep," she answered easily as she stroked his cheek again.
"What if I don't wanna?"
"You will anyway 'cause you need to."
He smiled against her skin. "Of course I will." He yawned and fell into a deep sleep. Hermione followed his example not long after.
Draco woke up a few hours later and didn't recognize where he was. The room was brightly lit because there were no shades. He immediately knew it wasn't his room. His shades were always shut. He sat bolt upright and looked around. Hermione was still sleeping soundly next to him. As he looked at her face, he noticed it was a spell.
"Well, well, Mr. Malfoy, I see you have awoken," said a silky smooth voice from beside him.
He looked at the man who had spoken and noticed his father's friend Nott. "What do you want, Nott? What the hell are we doing here? And for the record, where the hell is here?"
"Language, Draco. Here is where the Dark Lord is. Here is where you face your death. Here is where the girl dies."
"Wake her up," Draco demanded.
Nott looked at Draco skeptically. "What would I do that for? To hear her scream? There is no satisfaction in that, Draco. Unless of course it's you who is making her scream. Am I correct in saying this?"
"Shut the fuck up you sick bastard. If you remark one more time on our relationship I will kill you. Now wake her up!"
Nott laughed mirthlessly, his dark eyes becoming darker by the second. "Now, now, how do you expect to kill me if I don't do as you say? Your wand is still at Hogwarts."
Draco glared at the older man, who he once considered an uncle, and said threateningly, "I do not need my wand to kill you. The rage inside my blood will fuel me and make me mad, and then you will see why I have no use for a wand."
"Ennervate!" Nott hissed pointing his wand at Hermione's sleeping form. "Are you happy now? Your sleeping beauty is awake."
Hermione opened her eyes slowly and looked around the bright room. She saw Draco with a menacing glare on his face and also the man who he was glaring at. It wasn't a very friendly scene. "Draco?" she whimpered softly.
Draco's eyes softened as he looked at her. His arms immediately drew her body toward him.
"Where are we?" she asked in the same shaky voice.
"I'm not sure myself. Asshole, over here, refuses to tell me where exactly we are. All I know is that Voldemort is near-by and is planning our deaths."
"Oh comforting," she responded sarcastically. Her glaze averted to Nott. "Who are you? Where are we? And why are you refusing to give answers?"
"Calmer than I expected. I had expected a Mudblood to be a bit more frightened. I guess Gryffindors are too strong to show their weaknesses."
Hermione glared at him. "Shut up and tell me where the hell I am!"
"Somewhere in Europe," he answered smartly.
"Just in Europe or does this country have a name?" Hermione would keep trying until she got an answer. She didn't care how stubborn he was, she just wanted some answers and wouldn't stop questioning until she got them.
"Yes, dear Mudblood, this country does have a name."
Hermione put on her most innocent face and said in the sweetest voice she could, "And pray tell, sweet Death Eater, where the fuck are we?"
Nott was taken aback and his mouth hung open for a while while Draco put his hand up to his mouth to stifle a laugh.
Hermione continued to look at the man innocently as he sat dumbfounded. "What? Too stunned for words? Did the little Mudblood stump the mean old Death Eater? This will go down as a day in history."
"We're in Sweden," Nott whispered.
"That wasn't so hard now, was it?"
The man shook his head as he turned away from her. His head was splitting and he could not make the pain go away. It was as if all the wrongs he had done over the years were flooding into his head and infesting his mind. Everything he had done to hurt another person was now inflicting its pain upon his brain. After a long while and much pain, the pain ceased and he looked up at Draco and Hermione and smiled.
Draco looked at Nott questioningly. "Are you alright?" he asked cautiously not wanting to offend him.
"I'm free!" Nott answered happily.
"Excuse me?" Draco said.
"I have defied the Dark Lord. All the pain I have ever inflicted on another hit me like a full blow to the head, then left. I am no longer brainwashed. I can do as I please."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "Couldn't you always do as you pleased? All people are born free."
"You don't understand. Of course I shouldn't expect you to," Nott said. "Once you receive the Dark Mark, your mind is controlled. It's like the Imperius Curse, but much worse. It is much harder to fight. The only reason I was able to is because my mind was screaming that it was all wrong. Since I was eighteen, my whole life had been a lie. I felt the need to help you."
Draco stared at Nott. It wasn't menacing, but confused. He had never encountered a Death Eater who was strong enough to fight off the curse, with the exception of Snape, and he had never expected Nott would be the one to do it. His father was strong-willed and would be able to fight it if he tried, but he would never want to. Lucius Malfoy sold his soul to Voldemort and wouldn't do anything to get it back.
"Don't look so surprised, Draco. I've been wanting to fight him off for the longest time, but never had an excuse to do so previously. You've always been one of the few people I've cared for and I will risk my life to make sure that you and Hermione get back to the castle safely."
Draco finally asked, "Was it you who brought us here in the first place?"
"No. I'm sad to say, it was your father."
He nodded. "I'm not surprised. So how do you plan on getting us out of here?"
Nott looked thoughtful for a moment. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe you know how to apparate. You learned when you were very young?"
"Yes."
Nott nodded and continued, "Good, good. Your father said he would come up at four to bring you and Hermione before Voldemort. It's 3:57 now. I will lend you my wand. What we'll do is I will petrify myself and you will take my wand. I'll say that you stole it and used it to apparate. Is that okay?"
Draco nodded and watched as Nott's wand fell to the floor. He picked it up and turned to Hermione. "Hold on to my hand and don't let go till your feet touch the ground." Hermione nodded and took Draco's hand. "Ready?" She nodded again, and they were suddenly spinning through the air.
When their feet finally touched ground outside the Hogwarts gates, Hermione leaned onto Draco so she wouldn't fall over. Their feet were still bare, and they were still clothed in their pajamas. The ground was covered in a thick layer of snow, so they were freezing. Draco performed a heating spell, so they would be able to make it to the school without freezing.
~
"Ennervate!" Lucius Malfoy hissed at the petrified Nott. Nott sat up and stared blankly at Lucius. "What the hell happened here?" Lucius roared as Nott got to his feet.
"I'm not exactly sure. One minute they were sitting on the bed, the next your son jumped on me and took my wand. He petrified me and he must have apparated or something and took the girl with him.
"You know what this means, don't you?" An evil smirk appeared on Lucius' thin lips. "It means that you now go before our Lord and explain to him your failure. This should definitely be and interesting night. Let's be on our way. If our Lord can't have two teenagers, he will have one adult." Lucius bound Nott's hands and feet and levitated him down to the dungeons where Voldemort awaited them.
They stepped into the dank, dark room. Voldemort watched as they steadily approached his large chair.
"My Lord," Lucius bowed.
"What is the meaning of this?" Voldemort hissed in his snake-like voice, his red eyes boring into the two men before him.
"Nott has failed you, My Lord," Lucius explained. "He let them get away, again. Draco stole his wand and petrified him then he apparated himself and the Mudblood."
Voldemort looked upon Nott with utter disdain. "How could you have let this happen? You knew that I wanted them dead. You know what the penalty for failure is."
Lucius placed him back on the floor and undid the binds that held him. Nott nodded slowly and stood tall before Lord Voldemort and stared him in the eyes
"Avanda Kedavra!"
~
"Nott's dead," Draco muttered as they stepped into the warm castle. "Once again, we go to Dumbledore. I hate this routine."
Hermione rubbed her thumb lightly against Draco's. She couldn't find any words of encouragement for him because she knew he would snap at her and she didn't want him to get even more upset than he already was.
They stepped into Dumbledore's office. "Mr. Malfoy, Ms Granger, I expected I would see you here once again when you weren't seen all day. What is it I can do for you?"
Draco sighed and told Dumbledore of the day's events. Hermione never seemed to have much to say, whether she was scared or just didn't like to tell stories, he didn't know.
"Well, it does seem like we have a bit of a problem here," Dumbledore said as he eyed the couple in front of him. "I think that we will be relocating your room and giving you a new password. I will not take any chances. Follow me please. I will have the house elves bring your things to your rooms."
Draco and Hermione followed Dumbledore through the corridors toward their new dormitory. They were both feeling apprehensive and didn't like what was going on around them.
"This is your new dormitory. I am sure the house elves have been prompt in moving your items. The password is 'inexplicable anger.' Goodnight, children." He walked swiftly back down the corridor and left them standing in front of a large portrait of the four founders of Hogwarts.
"Inexplicable anger," Hermione muttered. The portrait swung open and revealed a room that was exactly the same as their previous common room. The same colors, same furniture, same position.
They sat on one of the couches and just held each other for hours. Neither was tired as they had slept most of the day, and they were both shaken from the day's events.
"Draco, what lengths will he go to?" Hermione asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What lengths will Voldemort go to to capture and kill us? I mean, he's had us in striking distance twice and has failed both times. What will he do to get us?"
"I don't know. He is a sick person-if you could call him that-and he will probably do anything to get us. I don't want to scare you; I'm simply giving you the facts. He will more than likely devise some twisted scheme and try to lure us into a trap."
"I'm not afraid, Draco. I was just curious and I figured I'd ask you since you are more informed in that area than I."
Draco caressed her cheek softly and looked at into Hermione's deep, brown eyes. He leaned in slowly and his lips brushed softly against hers. "I will protect you," he whispered. "I will go to the end of the world and further for you."
Hermione nodded once and kissed him again. Her hands played with the hair on the nape of his neck as she deepened the kiss. He pushed her onto the couch and let his hands roam over her body. She pushed his shirt up a little and ran her hands up and down his chest. The only time they broke away was so they could each pull the other's shirt off.
Their clothes were thrown haphazardly around the common room. Draco kissed Hermione's bare chest and stomach before kissing her mouth again. He positioned himself over Hermione's wet opening and decided to tease her a bit. He kissed her for a long time before Hermione moaned. She couldn't wait any longer, and she thrust her hips toward his so he would get the point. He broke his lips away from hers gently and he smirked.
"Please?" she whimpered. "Please? I need you."
Draco slid into her and she let out a small gasp at the sudden friction between them. He began thrusting in and out of her gently as she relaxed a bit. She moved to his rhythm. They were one.
He moaned when she wrapped her legs around him to pull him farther inside of her. Hermione was breathing deeply and yelled out Draco's name as he quickened his pace.
The perspiration from both their bodies made it difficult for them to hold onto each other. Draco's hands kept slipping off her slick body and continued to do so as he again quickened.
Hermione dug her nails into Draco's back as she moaned to go faster. He could feel the marks she was leaving and began sucking on her neck to keep from calling out in pain. She let out a low groan as his hands massaged her breasts.
"I'm coming," Draco groaned as he broke his mouth away and quickened his pace again.
Hermione arched her back in anticipation, which made both she and Draco growl louder. They both screamed as he came into her.
She leaned up and kissed his lips again as his hips slowed against hers, but didn't completely stop moving. She didn't want him to stop anyway; it felt so good. He was everything she wanted and needed.
His tongue massaged hers as it slid easily into her awaiting mouth. The kiss was deep and passionate as if it might be their last.
Hermione eased her grip on Draco's back as he stopped moving against her and focused all his attention on her lips. Draco sighed into her mouth as the pain eased. Hermione noticed and broke away from him. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, it's just, I think you need to cut your nails. I'm gunna have some nasty marks there for a while."
She grinned sheepishly and her cheeks turned redder than they had been. "Sorry about that," she mumbled.
"It's not a problem."
He captured his lips in hers again and they made out for a while.
Draco broke away because of lack of air and laid his head against her chest. She ran her fingers through his wet hair and pushed it out of his eyes. His face was still flushed as he tried to catch his breath.
Hermione leaned down and kissed his forehead lightly. "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too."
Her thumb ran gently across his cheek and he relaxed against her body and closed his eyes.
"I'm so tired," he mumbled.
"So sleep," she answered easily as she stroked his cheek again.
"What if I don't wanna?"
"You will anyway 'cause you need to."
He smiled against her skin. "Of course I will." He yawned and fell into a deep sleep. Hermione followed his example not long after.