(( A.N. OK, I was in the mood to write a super long chapter, so here it is! Please review it when you're finished... this time, tell me what I can IMPROVE ON. b Ignore /b Ok R&R!!!))
As the cell door clanged shut before her, Hermione let out a sob of anguish. She heard the lock click, followed by distant footsteps on the cold stone floor.
So I've been kidnaped, Hermione thought faintly. By the Malfoys. She tried to piece it all together in her head, but found herself too tired to do so. In fact, the more she thought about it, the less sense it made. Why would the Malfoys (a rich and respectable family, to be sure) go through all the trouble to kidnap a muggle born like me? Hermione thought incrediously. Certainly not just for Malfoys's pleasure. Or his revenge. There must be another reason, Hermione thought stubbornly. Even as all of this flew through her mind, she felt it collapsing.
Although Hermione knew her situation was real, she could not bring herself to believe that she had become a birthday present. The very thought of it made her fill with anger. I am not property, she fumed. I am not something that can just be traded, that can just be given. I am a person. Why can't they see that? She wondered angrily. She felt the storm, the anger, ebb away ever so slowly. It was replaced by despair and fatigue. Hermione rested her head against the wall, not wanting to think about anything. The next day came all to soon for her.
_** ** ** ** **_
Draco's eyes snapped open in terror. He sat up, glancing around his room, reminding himself that he had come back to reality. Another nightmare, he thought disgustedly. He always seemed to have the same one, with only minor changes each time.
Strangely enough, Draco would be wandering through a rose garden, smelling the roses as he walked past. He always seemed to be looking for something, but all he saw were the blood red roses. This aggravated him to no end; just as he was becoming angry, Draco would see a glint out of the corner of his eye. He turned toward it in triumph, knowing that he had found what he was looking for. As he came closer to the object, so did another person. Draco could never seem to tell who this person was. Before Draco could reach the shining object, the mysterious person would take out a knife and cut it down. Then a sadness so profound that his whole body shook rocked through him. He would wake up, feeling scared and depressed. Often Draco puzzled over this dream, especially wondering how an object so small could cause him such pain.
A few more moments of reflection and Draco came crashing back to his waking life. His gift. Granger. The initiation. The secret mission. Draco had not been able to think about any of it last night.
First, there was Granger. Draco had not known what to feel about his birthday present. Now he decided that it was very complicated. Why couldn't father have just given me the Firebolt II I wanted? Draco wondered. The words, 'family tradition' popped into his head. Draco sighed knowingly. A Malfoy tradition was never to be broken and always to be honored. Draco decided that this particular one was very annoying, if not more. He dreaded visiting the mudblood he hated later that day.
Second, the Death Eater initiation. Draco had found it strange when his father had said there would be no mistakes. That didn't seem to make sense to him. As for becoming Death Eater so soon, Draco was excited. He would be able to go to Hogwarts next year and brag to Crabbe and Goyle that he was already a Death Eater and they had a year yet to wait. It was true that Draco could hardly wait until the end of summer.
Third, there was the mission. Draco smiled at the thought of this. To work for Lord Voldemort himself was what draco had always wanted. Just like my father, Draco thought smugly. He wasn't even out of school yet and he had a top notch job. I would be hard, working as a spy for the Dark Lord while juggling quidditch and school work to keep his teachers satisfied. After all, if a former top notch student's grades suddenly dropped, some wretch like McGonagall was bound to notice and became suspicious.
Draco put all this out of his mind as he dressed and walked downstairs. He found his mother sitting in the breakfast room sipping coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. She jumped as Draco entered, slopping coffee all down her white blouse. She put her cup down with a shaking hand.
Narcissa Malfoy looked like the kind of woman that had once been beautiful beyond belief. It was true. Narcissa was still beautiful. Today she wore a ruffled white blouse, which was tucked into slim fitting black riders pants. She wore pearl studded black boots and her shiny brownish-black hair was pulled up into an elegant bun, with small ringlets flowing around her face. However, Draco did not overlook the bags under her eyes or the way that her mouth was pinched into a permanently worried expression. The once copper tone of her skin was now pale and washed out. The charm her honey brown eyes once held had vanished; something deeper now resided in her eyes.
"Draco, it's you. Good morning," she said more calmly. She turned her attention back to the Prophet.
"Morning," Draco said, sitting down and buttering himself a raspberry crumpet.
" I was planning on going riding today. Would you like to come?" Narcissa asked lightly, not taking her eyes off the paper.
Draco decided that a day of riding horses was exactly what he needed.
"Yeah, I think I'll come," Draco said.
_** ** ** ** **_
Hermione woke with a start as the cell door clanged open. How long had she been sleeping? With no sunlight, Hermione couldn't tell if it was morning or night. To her great relief, it was only a house-elf that shuffled in.
"Croch brings you food, and Master Malfoy sends his greetings," the house elf said cheerfully.
"Well, tell Master Malfoy to shove it up his ass," Hermione said sweetly, smiling brightly at the house-elf.
Croch did not reply, but gave her a scathing look and set the food down.
Hermione was starving and she reached for the food. Her hand stopped halfway there and wouldn't move any further. Terrified, she tried to take a step but her foot was jerked back suddenly. Invisible shackles, she thought with despair. Now there was no chance of escaping at all. Croch moved the food closer and exited.
Hermione was on the verge of tears. No, she thought suddenly. Now is not the time to break down, you need to think, Hermione told herself sternly. She ate the food quickly, then leaned back against the wall and thought long and hard about ways to escape. Suddenly a brilliant idea popped into her head. It was the only way to escape. She would have to wait until Malfoy came, though. But she could wait.
_** ** ** ** **_
Draco sighed, making his way down to the dungeons. It was after dinner and his father had asked about the mudblood. Draco said he would go to the dungeons right after dinner. Now he wished he was soaring through the skies on his Firebolt II.
Hermione looked up as the cell door creaked open. This time it was Draco Malfoy, her arch enemy. The one that she couldn't trust one tiny bit. Remember that, she told herself. No matter what he says.
"Granger," he said curtly, his pure blue eyes piercing hers.
Hermione said nothing, but held his gaze, not willing to look away.
"It's good that my father hit you last night, Granger. It's about time you were put in your place," as he said this, Draco's eyes sparkled, full of malice.
"My place," said Hermione softly, "Is between Harry and Ron, not between your legs, Malfoy."
"I highly doubt that somehow," Draco said, a smirk playing across his face.
Hermione's temper flared dangerously, but she forced her face to stay calm.
"Let me go, Malfoy," she said slowly, her hateful eyes boring into his. He gazed back at her, then gave a genuinely amused smile.
"And why in the hell would I do that, Granger?" Malfoy asked, a strange look in his eyes.
To his surprise, Hermione laughed at him, shaking her head slowly.
"Figures, Malfoy. Neither you nor your father could see it. It's not just my parents that worry for me, Malfoy. Don't you think that Harry and Ron will get a little suspicious if I don't return their letters for a few weeks? They'll come to see me and I won't be there. They'll pin it on you, Malfoy, somehow. You know they will," she said, with a look of triumph.
Draco took a moment to think things over. It was true, if Hermione disappeared, they would become suspicious. But to flat out accuse him? That was ridiculous.
Draco took a step closer to her, then another. Then he leaned both hands against the wall, with an arm stretched out on either side of her, blocking her escape. His face was very close to hers as he said, "I wouldn't count on them coming to your rescue, Granger. Do you really think that they care about mudblood filth like you? Those two are best friends, although I noticed how they sort of drag you along everywhere . . . pitiful, really."
Hermione didn't reply, but was barely managing to keep her face calm. She was tired of him having this power over her, this command. Anger flared up inside her.
"I hate you," Hermione said, unable to control her anger any longer, "you bastard."
Draco's expression changed from amusement to anger. He grabbed her shoulders, and Hermione suppressed a scream.
Draco pressed his body up against hers.
"I wouldn't be saying things like that . . . in your position," he whispered slowly, his eyes looking her up and down. Hermione tried to struggle, but his toned muscles easily overpowered hers.
To her surprise and relief, he released her as suddenly as he had grabbed her. He turned around so that she couldn't see his face. He stood still for a few seconds, then turned to look at her.
"I've had enough of your face for one night, Granger," he said, angrily whirling around. Hermione saw what she had been looking for. His wand stuck out of his back pocket, and without a sound, Hermione grabbed it and stuffed it into her robes. She smiled wryly as Draco slammed the door.