Disclaimer: Yes, I don't own Harry Potter. We know this already. Whatever.
Chapter 7: Prophecy
Hermione woke up with a huge headache. She was cold and hungry and in a lot of pain. She tried to sit up but found it too hard and the struggle was just too great. She looked around and realized that she was in a dungeon. Then, she heard voices from far away coming closer and closer. She wondered who they were but was not in a hurry to find out. Whoever it was attcked her last night and she didn't want to see what else they would do to her. She closed her eyes as the voices came even closer. All of a sudden, the voices stopped. She opened her eyes and found two bodies standing in front of her.
"Well, well. I think the mudblood is awake." It was Pansy Parkinson. Blaise Zambini was standing right next to her.
"How are you feeling, mudblood? Did you have a good rest?" Blaise asked sarcastically. "We've been waiting for you to wake up. Now that you're here, we can get the questions over with and begin having fun."
"WHY AM I HERE?" Hermione shouted with rage. "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?"
"Now, now. No need to get all upset. We brought you here to send a message to Draco. We want him to realize the error of his ways. Once he hears our proposal, he will see the light and join us, becoming our Dark Lord."
"The dark side has been defeated, Zambini. Voldemort fell. Harry killed him. It's over. Get over it. Stop whining because you lost."
Pansy kicked Hermione hard in the stomach. "Just because the Dark Lord is dead doesn't mean the dark side is defeated. We are still alive and gathering more and more forces by the day. We will recover from our loss at the battle, and we will emerge even stronger for it. Make no mistake, the light side will be defeated and you and all your little Gryffindor friends will die."
"Pansy, relax." Blaise ordered. "No one is going to die anytime soon." Then he turned to Hermione. "The point Pansy was trying to make before she got carried away was that, yes, we are a diminished group. But no, we are not extinct. All we need is a strong leader. As you probably already know, Voldemort was unable to produce an heir. Therefore, the throne would go to his right hand man, Lucius. Lucius was killed so then Voldemort's throne will go to his right hand man's son. That is Draco."
Hermione screamed in horror. "Why do you still want him to be your Lord anyway? He fought against you! He killed Lucius! He's a traitor. Why don't you just turn your back on him and ignore him, denying him the friendship you used to share. I don't understand. How can you 'forgive' him for fighting against you?"
"And I thought that you were supposed to be the smartest witch to ever have come to Hogwarts." He laughed. "At Draco's induction ceremony, we will combine his blood with the blood of the greatest wizards of our time, Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldermort. Once his blood is combined with theirs and a simple spell is uttered, their personalities will begin to combine. He will no longer want to protect little mudbloods like you. Instead, he will want to squish them, and torture them just for thinking that they are worthy to breathe the same air as he does. NOW, do you understand?"
Hermione thought for awhile before remembering this prophecy. "Yes, I understand. I've even heard of this induction ceremony taking place. I've also read a few prophecies on it. The thing is, in all of the prophecies that I've read, your new Dark Lord goes head to head in a duel against the leader of the light, which of course will be Harry. In the end, Harry comes out victorious. The book is in the library if you don't believe me. Of course, it's in the restricted section so you'd have to sneak in and break a few rules but I doubt any of you Slytherins would mind that much. The book is called Prophecies of the War. Page one hundred and ninety two is where you will find the prophecy that I was explaining to you."
"Yes we have heard this but we have also heard how to counter it. So, please, mudblood, don't waste our time boring us with things we already know are insignificant."
Hermione just sighed. She highly doubted that they knew the counter to the prophecy because even she could not find it. She had done a lot of research on the prophecy one day. For some reason, it captivated her and she wanted to read more about it. She referenced the prophecy in five different books and all of them said the same thing. 'At the induction ceremony of the new Dark Lord, the Dark Side will fall. A battle will come when the Dark Lord must face his equal and fade into shadow. It is inevitable.' She had to think for a little while before realizing who the Dark Lord's equal was going to be but after much thought, she stumbled upon the correct answer. Of course it would be Harry. Harry was the strongest wizard in the Defense Against the Dark Arts and could easily step up and lead the light side to victory.
"Now, we've written a ransom note to Draco. I'm sure he'll be here any moment now. We told him to come alone and wandless and if he does not listen to those instructions, you will be killed. Make no mistake, Granger. You are NOT a necessary part of our plan. You are completely disposable."
"I wouldn't be too sure that he would come, Zambini. Draco and I had a, well our first fight and I don't know if he's still mad at me or not. But I would assume he is. I know him pretty well by now and I know that he is one to hold grudges."
"He would never leave you here with Death Eaters. Merlin Granger, are you that thick? You honestly believe that he would leave you here to die? By Pansy's hands?"
Pansy squealed with pleasure. "Can I really kill her if he doesn't show up, Blaise? Please? Can I?"
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it, Pansy dear."
Pansy began cackling evilly and Hermione just didn't think she could take much more of it. Pansy's voice was really getting on her nerves. "Can you please just SHUT UP!" Hermione shouted at the top of her lungs. Pansy stopped laughing but the smile stayed on her face.
"You know, for a mudblood, you have a lot of guts. I can't wait to see what they look like." Pansy picked Hermione up by her hair and chained her to the wall. "How about we start with just a little bit of non magical torture and then we move on to the crucio curse." Pansy said with glee. She took out a dagger and brought it to Hermione's leg. Slowly, she made a small cut in her upper thigh. Hermione was now in pain but refused to let Pansy know this. She kept on a strong face.
"Pansy, don't hurt her too much. I want her alive when Draco comes. I want him to see her alive and remember why he loves her so much and that he would do anything for her" Blaise said with a laugh.
"Right, don't worry Blaise. I'll keep the bitch alive. I just want to have a little fun. I want to make her bleed. I want her to beg me to kill her. When I'm done with her, she'll be pleading for me to get it over with."
"Good. As long as she stays alive and conscious, you may have all your fun. I'll be right in the next room if you need me." Blaise left and Hermione became very scared. Pansy was sick and twisted. She didn't want to find out what she was going to do.
"Listen, Pansy. You don't want to do this. As soon as Draco gets here, if he even comes, he'll stop you. Then, you and Blaise will go to Azkaban. You know that's how it will happen. Even if you kill me, that's not going to make Draco want to join your side."
Pansy was obviously angered by this because then she took the dagger and stuck it in Hermione's stomach about three inches deep. "You'll do well to hold your tongue, mudblood, unless you want to lose it." Hermione still did not scream out in pain or even let a single tear drop. She was going to show Pansy that she was stronger than this.
"So Pansy, I know you're jealous that I got Draco and you didn't but let's face it, you two didn't make a good couple to start out with. But just because Draco dumped you doesn't mean you should go and get all psycho." Pansy's face turned red and she punched Hermione in the face. "Is that all you've got, Parkinson? I should have known. Draco did tell me you were weak. I guess he was right."
Pansy placed the dagger on Hermione's left wrist. "I'm going to make you bleed until you die, you little mudblood whore."
"Honestly, is mudblood the best thing you can think of to call me? You're a pathetic excuse for a Slytherin. Even I would be better suited for the Slytherin house than you are."
Pansy took this as a sign that Hermione wanted more pain and began making deep cuts in Hermione's left arm. By now, Hermione couldn't care less what Pansy did to her. She figured that they were just going to kill her anyway. Why not make it sooner?
"Come on, Parkinson. Give me your worst. I can take it."
"It's funny, Granger. I can see it in your eyes. You've already accepted your fate, haven't you? You know that you are going to die and there is no way you can avoid your own death. I never thought that I would live to see the day when Hermione Granger gave up and accepted her destiny, to die a slow and painful death."
"You call this painful? I've had paper cuts that hurt worse than this. This is just a walk in the park for me."
Pansy laughed. "Well then, let's get down to the real fun, shall we?" She reached into her pocket and retrieved her wand. "CRUCIO!" Hermione doubled over in pain but still did not scream.
"Parkinson, I refuse to give you the satisfaction of seeing me scream. I am stronger than you think I am and not even the cruciatus curse is going to bring me down."
"CRUCIO!"
Again Hermione felt the pain taking over her body but still she would not budge. She mumbled something under her breath.
"What was that, mudblood?"
"I said... more."
"As you wish. CRUCIO!" Hermione would have clutched her stomach if her hands had not been chained to the wall.
Hermione closed her eyes and let the pain take her. She didn't cry or scream. Instead, she just passed out.
Draco was walking back to his room. He had visited all of their teachers, including the ones that Hermione had but he didn't. He tried to stay out as late as possible, hoping Hermione would be asleep when he got back because he didn't really want to talk to him. He was still mad at her for not wanting to tell Potter and Weasley.
'How could she not want to tell them? I feel like shouting it off rooftops that I love her and would die for her and yet she's afraid to tell her best friends? I don't understand it. How dare she?' Draco was livid by the time he got back to the common room. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
He walked straight up to his room, not even glancing towards hers. He quickly got changed and hopped into bed. Tossing and turning was getting him nowhere. He couldn't sleep and he knew he wouldn't be able to until he and Hermione had settled this argument.
Draco stood up, walked through the bathroom that connected their rooms and entered her room. Nothing. There was no one there. He walked down to the common room. No one there either. He saw a note on his bedroom door that he had neglected earlier. He went and picked it up to read it. It said:
Draco Malfoy,
We have the mudblood. If you wish to see her again before she dies
then you will have to meet us in the Slytherin Dungeons as soon as
you get this note. Come alone and do not even think about bringing
your wand. We suggest you come quickly because we do enjoy having
our fun with her.
Sincerely,
Blaise & Pansy
Draco was infuriated. How dare they steal his Hermione and even admit in their letter that they were torturing her? They were going to pay for this. 'If they've harmed one hair on her head I'm going to Avada Kedavra them right to the grave.'
He ran down to the Slytherin Dungeons and he could hear Pansy's cackling from far away. He was just about to enter the room he heard Pansy's voice coming from when a hand reached out and stopped him. It was Blaise.
"So nice of you to join us, Malfoy. Your mudblood wasn't so sure you would but we knew you better than that."
"Zambini, I swear if you let Pansy alone with her I'm going to..."
"You'll what? Listen, Malfoy. We are the ones in control so stop trying to make threats. We are the ones who have your girlfriend tied up and tortured. I suggest you listen to our offer before you go and decide on a plan of action first."
"I'll listen to what you have to say but I'm warning you, it better not include Hermione's death or else."
"Let's discuss this with the girls present." He opened the door that led into the room. "Shall we?"
Malfoy stepped forward first and ran to punch Pansy in the face. "I swear to Merlin I'm going to rip your head off and make a bowl out of it considering it's already so very empty."
Blaise ripped him off of Pansy and sat Draco down. Pansy calmed herself and took a seat as well. Blaise walked over to check on Hermione's condition, then walked back to the other two. Draco tried to stand up and run to her but Blaise and Pansy sat him back down.
"Here's our offer. You come back to the dark side, become our Dark Lord. You never speak to the mudblood again, or else she dies. You become the best leader we have ever had and lead our side to victory. The whole point is, she will live."
Draco thought about this for a second. If he was to become the Dark Lord, he would be forced to kill all muggle borns, including Hermione. He knew that that also meant he wouldn't necessarily be forced, but that he would do it willingly. Draco was well informed of the induction ceremony and he knew that after it, he would hate all mudbloods. That meant Hermione.
"And if I do not agree to become your great leader? What then?"
Pansy looked bored, as if this was not a possibility. "If you refuse the honor, then we will kill her. Draco, darling, don't do this to yourself. Just give in."
"What makes you think that I wouldn't just tell Dumbledore?"
"Because man." Blaise began. "We placed a spell on Hermione. So if you were to tell anyone about this, she would have died. You should be proud of us. We learned from you, Draco. Remember when you used to help us out with this stuff? What made you change?"
Draco looked defeated and tired. It was obvious that he needed sleep. "She made me change. For better or for worse. I saw her and steadily began noticing the effects she had on me. She kept getting to me. I thought it was lust at first but then I realized that I was falling for the little witch. I tried to stop. I really didn't want to love her but I couldn't stop myself. Look at her, Blaise. She's an angel. She's so beautiful and stubborn. I love the way she looks when she's studying and the way her nose wrinkles when she's thinking really hard. I love how she always knows the answer to any question the teachers ask. She amazes me with her ability to take a bad situation and laugh at it. She's everything that I could ever want from a woman. She's independent and strong. I love her, and I will always love her no matter what. Even if you mix Salazar Slytherin and Voldemort's blood in with mine, I will love her until the day that I die. And when I die, I will find her in the after life. This you cannot change."
Blaise stepped back for a second, contemplating all that Draco had said, then laughed. Pansy joined in. "Loving her will most definitely be the end of you, Malfoy." Pansy shrieked. "But I promise you that you will be our Dark Lord, regardless of your love, and you will be the most feared man in all the world and in the history of magic. You will do this, or she will die."
Draco looked over to Hermione and noticed she was starting to wake up. He tried to jump up and run over to her but Blaise held him back. Instead, Pansy sauntered over to her. "Good morning, mudblood." She said with happiness in her voice. "Have a good nap?"
"Parkinson, I'm tired and I'm hungry. Waking up to your ugly face is enough to make me want to scream. Just leave me alone and I promise when I get out of these chains, I won't torture you the same as you did me. Other wise, I make no promises."
Draco laughed at her boldness and to his surprise, so did Blaise and Pansy. "She's been going on like this for a while now. Keeps asking for more, literally." Pansy said with a chuckle. "I'm more than willing to give it to her." She whips out the dagger once more and sticks it in Hermione's stomach, laughing merrily all the while.
Hermione still did not let out a sound of pain. "Parkinson, you are weak." She still had not opened her eyes yet. (She believed that the first thing she saw when she woke up should not be the face of the most hideous person in the world -at least in her opinion.-)
Draco pushed Blaise away and ran to Hermione. He lifted up her chin for him to look at her, but she kept her eyes clothes and spat in his face. "You stay away from me, you piece of filth. You are not worthy of touching me in such a manner. Compared to you, I am royalty. If I were you, Zambini, I would worship the ground that I walk on."
Draco laughed once more, but this time he spoke so she would hear his voice. "Baby, I'm here. It's me. I've come to save you from that filth you spoke of."
She opened her eyes and was ecstatic to find that it was in face Draco. "Draco? I wasn't sure that you were going to come. I want to tell you before anything else happens" she began rambling, "You don't have to be mad at me anymore. I told Harry and Ron. I told them that I loved you and that you loved me. I said that if they couldn't accept you in my life then I wasn't going to be friends with them anymore. But they said that they would still be my friends and that I didn't have to worry. And Draco, I'm just so happy. They've even agreed to spend time with you to get to know you better. Isn't that great, Draco?"
Draco looked at her with tears in his eyes. "Yeah, babe. That's great. But the thing is, I've got to save you now and I only know one way. And that is to give in to their psychotic demands. I want you to live Hermione. I want you to live a happy and full life with your friends. I'll never forget you though."
"Draco, what are you saying? I don't understand."
"He's saying, mudblood, that he has agreed to be our Dark Lord so that you can live and have a life. Almost a shame, isn't it. I was so hoping that I'd be allowed to kill you." Pansy said with a frown on her face.
Draco looked at Blaise and Pansy. "If I'm going to do this, I have my own little provisions to throw into the agreement. I want an oath, in blood. We'll do it the magical way, sealing it with the spell. The oath is that even when I am your Dark Lord, no one lays a hand on Hermione. She remains safe regardless of what may come."
"What if she attacks us? We can't claim self defense?"
"NO! You don't get to touch her, no matter what. Then, you will let me handle her." He turned to face Hermione and saw tears streaming down her face.
"Draco, don't do this. Don't give in. You're better than that. Don't become their Dark Lord. It's in the prophecy that at the induction ceremony you will become the leader of the good instead but I don't trust it anymore. I just don't trust in fate any longer. Please, just let me die. I'm unimportant. You just worry about fighting AGAINST those freaks, not leading them."
"I can't Hermione. They outnumber us. Look around." Just then, fifty Death Eaters walked into the dungeons, armed with wands. "I have no choice. I will make sure, with every ounce of power that I have, that you will live and have a great life and be safe." He unchained her from the wall and she practically fell into his arms. "Death Eaters," he addressed them. "I am your new leader. My induction ceremony will be on the eve of Christmas. For the time being, you will allow me to spend as much time with her as I wish. Do not address me in the halls or in class. I get this time to myself. The penalties for disobeying my rules are greater than you can imagine."
Blaise said a spell and Draco was bound to his word. If he refused the position of the Dark Lord now, Hermione would automatically be killed.
Draco picked her up in his arms, cradling her as if she was precious to him. He carried her out of the room, ignoring all of the stares they were getting.
In the corner of the room, Pansy and Blaise were smiling. Their plan had worked out just as they had expected it to. All they had to do now was to wait for Draco to rise to power and forget all about his mudblood love.
A/N ... okay, so how did you like it? if you didn't, it's okay. My sister helped me write this one, so it's got some of her ideas in it too. Review please. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks to all of you guys that have reviewed, it really means a lot to me. I get so excited to check my mail. You guys rock.
All righty, now I'm going away on spring break so I won't update for over a week. Just be patient with me. I'll update as soon as I get back.
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Chapter 7: Prophecy
Hermione woke up with a huge headache. She was cold and hungry and in a lot of pain. She tried to sit up but found it too hard and the struggle was just too great. She looked around and realized that she was in a dungeon. Then, she heard voices from far away coming closer and closer. She wondered who they were but was not in a hurry to find out. Whoever it was attcked her last night and she didn't want to see what else they would do to her. She closed her eyes as the voices came even closer. All of a sudden, the voices stopped. She opened her eyes and found two bodies standing in front of her.
"Well, well. I think the mudblood is awake." It was Pansy Parkinson. Blaise Zambini was standing right next to her.
"How are you feeling, mudblood? Did you have a good rest?" Blaise asked sarcastically. "We've been waiting for you to wake up. Now that you're here, we can get the questions over with and begin having fun."
"WHY AM I HERE?" Hermione shouted with rage. "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?"
"Now, now. No need to get all upset. We brought you here to send a message to Draco. We want him to realize the error of his ways. Once he hears our proposal, he will see the light and join us, becoming our Dark Lord."
"The dark side has been defeated, Zambini. Voldemort fell. Harry killed him. It's over. Get over it. Stop whining because you lost."
Pansy kicked Hermione hard in the stomach. "Just because the Dark Lord is dead doesn't mean the dark side is defeated. We are still alive and gathering more and more forces by the day. We will recover from our loss at the battle, and we will emerge even stronger for it. Make no mistake, the light side will be defeated and you and all your little Gryffindor friends will die."
"Pansy, relax." Blaise ordered. "No one is going to die anytime soon." Then he turned to Hermione. "The point Pansy was trying to make before she got carried away was that, yes, we are a diminished group. But no, we are not extinct. All we need is a strong leader. As you probably already know, Voldemort was unable to produce an heir. Therefore, the throne would go to his right hand man, Lucius. Lucius was killed so then Voldemort's throne will go to his right hand man's son. That is Draco."
Hermione screamed in horror. "Why do you still want him to be your Lord anyway? He fought against you! He killed Lucius! He's a traitor. Why don't you just turn your back on him and ignore him, denying him the friendship you used to share. I don't understand. How can you 'forgive' him for fighting against you?"
"And I thought that you were supposed to be the smartest witch to ever have come to Hogwarts." He laughed. "At Draco's induction ceremony, we will combine his blood with the blood of the greatest wizards of our time, Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldermort. Once his blood is combined with theirs and a simple spell is uttered, their personalities will begin to combine. He will no longer want to protect little mudbloods like you. Instead, he will want to squish them, and torture them just for thinking that they are worthy to breathe the same air as he does. NOW, do you understand?"
Hermione thought for awhile before remembering this prophecy. "Yes, I understand. I've even heard of this induction ceremony taking place. I've also read a few prophecies on it. The thing is, in all of the prophecies that I've read, your new Dark Lord goes head to head in a duel against the leader of the light, which of course will be Harry. In the end, Harry comes out victorious. The book is in the library if you don't believe me. Of course, it's in the restricted section so you'd have to sneak in and break a few rules but I doubt any of you Slytherins would mind that much. The book is called Prophecies of the War. Page one hundred and ninety two is where you will find the prophecy that I was explaining to you."
"Yes we have heard this but we have also heard how to counter it. So, please, mudblood, don't waste our time boring us with things we already know are insignificant."
Hermione just sighed. She highly doubted that they knew the counter to the prophecy because even she could not find it. She had done a lot of research on the prophecy one day. For some reason, it captivated her and she wanted to read more about it. She referenced the prophecy in five different books and all of them said the same thing. 'At the induction ceremony of the new Dark Lord, the Dark Side will fall. A battle will come when the Dark Lord must face his equal and fade into shadow. It is inevitable.' She had to think for a little while before realizing who the Dark Lord's equal was going to be but after much thought, she stumbled upon the correct answer. Of course it would be Harry. Harry was the strongest wizard in the Defense Against the Dark Arts and could easily step up and lead the light side to victory.
"Now, we've written a ransom note to Draco. I'm sure he'll be here any moment now. We told him to come alone and wandless and if he does not listen to those instructions, you will be killed. Make no mistake, Granger. You are NOT a necessary part of our plan. You are completely disposable."
"I wouldn't be too sure that he would come, Zambini. Draco and I had a, well our first fight and I don't know if he's still mad at me or not. But I would assume he is. I know him pretty well by now and I know that he is one to hold grudges."
"He would never leave you here with Death Eaters. Merlin Granger, are you that thick? You honestly believe that he would leave you here to die? By Pansy's hands?"
Pansy squealed with pleasure. "Can I really kill her if he doesn't show up, Blaise? Please? Can I?"
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it, Pansy dear."
Pansy began cackling evilly and Hermione just didn't think she could take much more of it. Pansy's voice was really getting on her nerves. "Can you please just SHUT UP!" Hermione shouted at the top of her lungs. Pansy stopped laughing but the smile stayed on her face.
"You know, for a mudblood, you have a lot of guts. I can't wait to see what they look like." Pansy picked Hermione up by her hair and chained her to the wall. "How about we start with just a little bit of non magical torture and then we move on to the crucio curse." Pansy said with glee. She took out a dagger and brought it to Hermione's leg. Slowly, she made a small cut in her upper thigh. Hermione was now in pain but refused to let Pansy know this. She kept on a strong face.
"Pansy, don't hurt her too much. I want her alive when Draco comes. I want him to see her alive and remember why he loves her so much and that he would do anything for her" Blaise said with a laugh.
"Right, don't worry Blaise. I'll keep the bitch alive. I just want to have a little fun. I want to make her bleed. I want her to beg me to kill her. When I'm done with her, she'll be pleading for me to get it over with."
"Good. As long as she stays alive and conscious, you may have all your fun. I'll be right in the next room if you need me." Blaise left and Hermione became very scared. Pansy was sick and twisted. She didn't want to find out what she was going to do.
"Listen, Pansy. You don't want to do this. As soon as Draco gets here, if he even comes, he'll stop you. Then, you and Blaise will go to Azkaban. You know that's how it will happen. Even if you kill me, that's not going to make Draco want to join your side."
Pansy was obviously angered by this because then she took the dagger and stuck it in Hermione's stomach about three inches deep. "You'll do well to hold your tongue, mudblood, unless you want to lose it." Hermione still did not scream out in pain or even let a single tear drop. She was going to show Pansy that she was stronger than this.
"So Pansy, I know you're jealous that I got Draco and you didn't but let's face it, you two didn't make a good couple to start out with. But just because Draco dumped you doesn't mean you should go and get all psycho." Pansy's face turned red and she punched Hermione in the face. "Is that all you've got, Parkinson? I should have known. Draco did tell me you were weak. I guess he was right."
Pansy placed the dagger on Hermione's left wrist. "I'm going to make you bleed until you die, you little mudblood whore."
"Honestly, is mudblood the best thing you can think of to call me? You're a pathetic excuse for a Slytherin. Even I would be better suited for the Slytherin house than you are."
Pansy took this as a sign that Hermione wanted more pain and began making deep cuts in Hermione's left arm. By now, Hermione couldn't care less what Pansy did to her. She figured that they were just going to kill her anyway. Why not make it sooner?
"Come on, Parkinson. Give me your worst. I can take it."
"It's funny, Granger. I can see it in your eyes. You've already accepted your fate, haven't you? You know that you are going to die and there is no way you can avoid your own death. I never thought that I would live to see the day when Hermione Granger gave up and accepted her destiny, to die a slow and painful death."
"You call this painful? I've had paper cuts that hurt worse than this. This is just a walk in the park for me."
Pansy laughed. "Well then, let's get down to the real fun, shall we?" She reached into her pocket and retrieved her wand. "CRUCIO!" Hermione doubled over in pain but still did not scream.
"Parkinson, I refuse to give you the satisfaction of seeing me scream. I am stronger than you think I am and not even the cruciatus curse is going to bring me down."
"CRUCIO!"
Again Hermione felt the pain taking over her body but still she would not budge. She mumbled something under her breath.
"What was that, mudblood?"
"I said... more."
"As you wish. CRUCIO!" Hermione would have clutched her stomach if her hands had not been chained to the wall.
Hermione closed her eyes and let the pain take her. She didn't cry or scream. Instead, she just passed out.
Draco was walking back to his room. He had visited all of their teachers, including the ones that Hermione had but he didn't. He tried to stay out as late as possible, hoping Hermione would be asleep when he got back because he didn't really want to talk to him. He was still mad at her for not wanting to tell Potter and Weasley.
'How could she not want to tell them? I feel like shouting it off rooftops that I love her and would die for her and yet she's afraid to tell her best friends? I don't understand it. How dare she?' Draco was livid by the time he got back to the common room. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
He walked straight up to his room, not even glancing towards hers. He quickly got changed and hopped into bed. Tossing and turning was getting him nowhere. He couldn't sleep and he knew he wouldn't be able to until he and Hermione had settled this argument.
Draco stood up, walked through the bathroom that connected their rooms and entered her room. Nothing. There was no one there. He walked down to the common room. No one there either. He saw a note on his bedroom door that he had neglected earlier. He went and picked it up to read it. It said:
Draco Malfoy,
We have the mudblood. If you wish to see her again before she dies
then you will have to meet us in the Slytherin Dungeons as soon as
you get this note. Come alone and do not even think about bringing
your wand. We suggest you come quickly because we do enjoy having
our fun with her.
Sincerely,
Blaise & Pansy
Draco was infuriated. How dare they steal his Hermione and even admit in their letter that they were torturing her? They were going to pay for this. 'If they've harmed one hair on her head I'm going to Avada Kedavra them right to the grave.'
He ran down to the Slytherin Dungeons and he could hear Pansy's cackling from far away. He was just about to enter the room he heard Pansy's voice coming from when a hand reached out and stopped him. It was Blaise.
"So nice of you to join us, Malfoy. Your mudblood wasn't so sure you would but we knew you better than that."
"Zambini, I swear if you let Pansy alone with her I'm going to..."
"You'll what? Listen, Malfoy. We are the ones in control so stop trying to make threats. We are the ones who have your girlfriend tied up and tortured. I suggest you listen to our offer before you go and decide on a plan of action first."
"I'll listen to what you have to say but I'm warning you, it better not include Hermione's death or else."
"Let's discuss this with the girls present." He opened the door that led into the room. "Shall we?"
Malfoy stepped forward first and ran to punch Pansy in the face. "I swear to Merlin I'm going to rip your head off and make a bowl out of it considering it's already so very empty."
Blaise ripped him off of Pansy and sat Draco down. Pansy calmed herself and took a seat as well. Blaise walked over to check on Hermione's condition, then walked back to the other two. Draco tried to stand up and run to her but Blaise and Pansy sat him back down.
"Here's our offer. You come back to the dark side, become our Dark Lord. You never speak to the mudblood again, or else she dies. You become the best leader we have ever had and lead our side to victory. The whole point is, she will live."
Draco thought about this for a second. If he was to become the Dark Lord, he would be forced to kill all muggle borns, including Hermione. He knew that that also meant he wouldn't necessarily be forced, but that he would do it willingly. Draco was well informed of the induction ceremony and he knew that after it, he would hate all mudbloods. That meant Hermione.
"And if I do not agree to become your great leader? What then?"
Pansy looked bored, as if this was not a possibility. "If you refuse the honor, then we will kill her. Draco, darling, don't do this to yourself. Just give in."
"What makes you think that I wouldn't just tell Dumbledore?"
"Because man." Blaise began. "We placed a spell on Hermione. So if you were to tell anyone about this, she would have died. You should be proud of us. We learned from you, Draco. Remember when you used to help us out with this stuff? What made you change?"
Draco looked defeated and tired. It was obvious that he needed sleep. "She made me change. For better or for worse. I saw her and steadily began noticing the effects she had on me. She kept getting to me. I thought it was lust at first but then I realized that I was falling for the little witch. I tried to stop. I really didn't want to love her but I couldn't stop myself. Look at her, Blaise. She's an angel. She's so beautiful and stubborn. I love the way she looks when she's studying and the way her nose wrinkles when she's thinking really hard. I love how she always knows the answer to any question the teachers ask. She amazes me with her ability to take a bad situation and laugh at it. She's everything that I could ever want from a woman. She's independent and strong. I love her, and I will always love her no matter what. Even if you mix Salazar Slytherin and Voldemort's blood in with mine, I will love her until the day that I die. And when I die, I will find her in the after life. This you cannot change."
Blaise stepped back for a second, contemplating all that Draco had said, then laughed. Pansy joined in. "Loving her will most definitely be the end of you, Malfoy." Pansy shrieked. "But I promise you that you will be our Dark Lord, regardless of your love, and you will be the most feared man in all the world and in the history of magic. You will do this, or she will die."
Draco looked over to Hermione and noticed she was starting to wake up. He tried to jump up and run over to her but Blaise held him back. Instead, Pansy sauntered over to her. "Good morning, mudblood." She said with happiness in her voice. "Have a good nap?"
"Parkinson, I'm tired and I'm hungry. Waking up to your ugly face is enough to make me want to scream. Just leave me alone and I promise when I get out of these chains, I won't torture you the same as you did me. Other wise, I make no promises."
Draco laughed at her boldness and to his surprise, so did Blaise and Pansy. "She's been going on like this for a while now. Keeps asking for more, literally." Pansy said with a chuckle. "I'm more than willing to give it to her." She whips out the dagger once more and sticks it in Hermione's stomach, laughing merrily all the while.
Hermione still did not let out a sound of pain. "Parkinson, you are weak." She still had not opened her eyes yet. (She believed that the first thing she saw when she woke up should not be the face of the most hideous person in the world -at least in her opinion.-)
Draco pushed Blaise away and ran to Hermione. He lifted up her chin for him to look at her, but she kept her eyes clothes and spat in his face. "You stay away from me, you piece of filth. You are not worthy of touching me in such a manner. Compared to you, I am royalty. If I were you, Zambini, I would worship the ground that I walk on."
Draco laughed once more, but this time he spoke so she would hear his voice. "Baby, I'm here. It's me. I've come to save you from that filth you spoke of."
She opened her eyes and was ecstatic to find that it was in face Draco. "Draco? I wasn't sure that you were going to come. I want to tell you before anything else happens" she began rambling, "You don't have to be mad at me anymore. I told Harry and Ron. I told them that I loved you and that you loved me. I said that if they couldn't accept you in my life then I wasn't going to be friends with them anymore. But they said that they would still be my friends and that I didn't have to worry. And Draco, I'm just so happy. They've even agreed to spend time with you to get to know you better. Isn't that great, Draco?"
Draco looked at her with tears in his eyes. "Yeah, babe. That's great. But the thing is, I've got to save you now and I only know one way. And that is to give in to their psychotic demands. I want you to live Hermione. I want you to live a happy and full life with your friends. I'll never forget you though."
"Draco, what are you saying? I don't understand."
"He's saying, mudblood, that he has agreed to be our Dark Lord so that you can live and have a life. Almost a shame, isn't it. I was so hoping that I'd be allowed to kill you." Pansy said with a frown on her face.
Draco looked at Blaise and Pansy. "If I'm going to do this, I have my own little provisions to throw into the agreement. I want an oath, in blood. We'll do it the magical way, sealing it with the spell. The oath is that even when I am your Dark Lord, no one lays a hand on Hermione. She remains safe regardless of what may come."
"What if she attacks us? We can't claim self defense?"
"NO! You don't get to touch her, no matter what. Then, you will let me handle her." He turned to face Hermione and saw tears streaming down her face.
"Draco, don't do this. Don't give in. You're better than that. Don't become their Dark Lord. It's in the prophecy that at the induction ceremony you will become the leader of the good instead but I don't trust it anymore. I just don't trust in fate any longer. Please, just let me die. I'm unimportant. You just worry about fighting AGAINST those freaks, not leading them."
"I can't Hermione. They outnumber us. Look around." Just then, fifty Death Eaters walked into the dungeons, armed with wands. "I have no choice. I will make sure, with every ounce of power that I have, that you will live and have a great life and be safe." He unchained her from the wall and she practically fell into his arms. "Death Eaters," he addressed them. "I am your new leader. My induction ceremony will be on the eve of Christmas. For the time being, you will allow me to spend as much time with her as I wish. Do not address me in the halls or in class. I get this time to myself. The penalties for disobeying my rules are greater than you can imagine."
Blaise said a spell and Draco was bound to his word. If he refused the position of the Dark Lord now, Hermione would automatically be killed.
Draco picked her up in his arms, cradling her as if she was precious to him. He carried her out of the room, ignoring all of the stares they were getting.
In the corner of the room, Pansy and Blaise were smiling. Their plan had worked out just as they had expected it to. All they had to do now was to wait for Draco to rise to power and forget all about his mudblood love.
A/N ... okay, so how did you like it? if you didn't, it's okay. My sister helped me write this one, so it's got some of her ideas in it too. Review please. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks to all of you guys that have reviewed, it really means a lot to me. I get so excited to check my mail. You guys rock.
All righty, now I'm going away on spring break so I won't update for over a week. Just be patient with me. I'll update as soon as I get back.
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