(( A.N. Hi everybody! It's about time for this chapter, eh? Way past time, now that I think about it . . . Anyway, I would love to thank all my reviewers, and I am really surprised at how many reviews this story is getting. I hope this chapter clarifies more. Since the beginning, I've only had a few more chapters planned after this one, which means that the story is coming to a close soon. I hope you like this chapter, which is extremely evil, for all you evil-lovers. Read and enjoy!))
Disclaimer: J.K owns Harry Potter. Not me. You guys should know that by now.
Lemanus stalked down the dungeon corridor, his greasy hair hiding the smile that so cunningly snaked across his face. Lucius walked behind him, for the dungeon corridors wee only large enough for one man. He stopped at the cell door that had no lock.
"Petrificus Ostium," Lucius muttered from behind him, with a flick of his wand.
They entered quickly, and shut the door behind him with a snap. Hermione was chained invisibly to the wall, and stared back at them with cold eyes. Inside she was shaking with fear, but she would not let them see how afraid she was. She could not let them see how afraid she was.
Lemanus still smiled under the cover of his long hair. His pasty white skin seemed to stretch across his face as he said, "We have much to talk about, and you will listen without interruption, or I shall see to it that you listen without interruption." Lemanus took a threatening step forward, but Hermione did not move. Although she wanted to be as far away from this man as she could, she stayed still. Lucius smiling behind him was enough to thoroughly chill her bones. Despite herself, Hermione wished more than anything for Draco to appear.
_** ** ** ** **_
Despite himself, Draco wished Hermione was with him at the moment. He could not explain why as he sat on his bed. Maybe I should apologize, Draco thought, but immediately discarded that idea. "Malfoy's never apologize," he muttered under his breath. Maybe it's time to change the Malfoy way, a voice answered back in his head. He dropped that chain of thought completely and went back to thinking about Hermione. What's my problem? I miss her and I saw her yesterday. Father would kill me if he knew I was growing a soft side, Draco thought savagely. Draco still wondered about apologizing to her. He lay on his side, staring up at the ceiling. Little did he know that each second he wasted was costing Hermione dearly.
_** ** ** ** **_
"I suppose I shall start at the beginning, though I find it a dreadful nuisance to explain this to someone so slow-witted as a mudblood," Lucius spat contemptuously.
"This mansion is old, ages old. It dates back to the time a Salazar Slytherin, the greatest wizard of that time. In fact, it was he who put an ancient spell on this mansion. The magic he used to do it has been long lost since, but we do remember this. 'No promise made shall go unbroken, if words within these walls are spoken. No word of the True Blood shall go unbidden, to this you are bound, and forever hidden.' Do you know what that means, girl? The night that you told me you would do anything I commanded, you also bound yourself to me. Don't you see? 'No word of the true blood shall go unbidden.' The True Blood means the blood of the Malfoy family. You are bound to me, and to Draco."
Lucius's words seemed to echo in Hermione's head. "To this you are bound." She looked up at him in disbelief.
"No!" she cried out of desperation. "It isn't true! It cannot be true! It isn't true!"
Even as the words left her mouth, she realized that everything Lucius had said could be nothing but true.
Lemanus responded by promptly smacking her across the face, and she screamed.
"I told you to listen without interruption. Lucius is not finished."
Lucius continued, "The moment that you do not do as I command, I shall know without fail, wherever I am and wherever you are. This is another part of the spell. Shall I demonstrate?" Lucius looked positively malicious. Hermione kept her head down.
"Very well," he said slowly, as if pleased. "You will not pull away from Lemanus when he touches your cheek. To this you are bound."
Immediately Hermione felt something inside of her change. It was like a brick falling into place; it felt heavy. Lemanus, looking delighted at the opportunity, moved forward to touch her cheek. As his long fingernail scraped across her face, the coldness of it pierced her veins. Suddenly she could not bare it, and pulled away.
All at once there was a storm in her body. Every muscle felt as if it was freezing. Suddenly it was so cold that she was burning. Her skin was on fire, and she screamed. Suddenly she couldn't breathe, and the burning increased. Her second scream was loud enough to pierce the stone walls. All at once the burning stopped, but the echo of her scream lingered.
She heard Lucius's voice, a bit distorted for the ringing in her ears, "Quite like the Crutacius Curse, or so I've heard. And that was only for a small command disobeyed. The pain doubles and triples with the importance of the command, I hear." Hermione only glared at him, her eyes as hot as coals.
"You shall never disobey," Lucius said, his voice droning in her ears. Suddenly she felt nauseous, and made a gagging sound. Lucius merely laughed.
"We have wonderful plans for you," Lemanus said, his voice sinister. "Wonderful plans."
_** ** ** ** **_
"That's it!" Draco said, jumping up off his bed. "I'm being stupid. We both are! I don't care if I screw up the damn Malfoy tradition."
He stalked out of his room. On second thought, I'll make her apologize, he thought uncertainly. That's what I'll do. He made his way down to the dungeons quickly, deciding to make a bold entrance.
_** ** ** ** **_
Lucius's eyes glinted dangerously as he approached Hermione. He firmly placed his hands on her hips, smirking in a most Draco-like fashion.
"You didn't think I would let my son have you all to himself, did you?"
As Hermione realized Lucius's intentions, and the power that he had over her, she jumped back as if electrified. Lucius only smiled, like a cat looking at a trapped mouse. Fear pulsed through Hermione, her heartbeat rising as he backed her into the wall.
"The door crashed open, and Draco stalked through. "Hermione Granger . . . " he started, before freezing at the scene before him. Lemanus stood in the corner, looking characteristically sinister, and Hermione was backed into the wall, Lucius's hands on her hips.
"Father?" Draco said, sounding truly surprised for the first time Hermione had ever seen. Warmth rushed through her, despite Lucius standing there in front of her. Everything would be okay. For once, everything would be okay. Draco's expression turned from confusion to anger. For a dangerous moment, he felt like hitting his father. By the time Lucius had turned around, however, Draco's face was expressionless.
"What are you doing?" Draco said quite calmly, his eyes boring into his fathers.
"I was talking to Miss Granger," Lucius said carefully, watching draco's expression change at her title. "I was looking for you so I could tell you first, but you were nowhere to be found. Granger is going to become a Death Eater, Draco."
Draco momentarily forgot what his father had been doing in the shock of the last sentence. He couldn't manage to utter a word. Hermione being a Death Eater was uncomprehensible.
"Do you remember when I told you about Salazar Slytherin doing magic on this manor, Draco?" Lucius said swiftly, obviously trying to stall him. Lucius then launched into an explanation of the magic, the True Blood, the manor, and Hermione. Draco could scarcely keep his mouth from hanging open by the end.
"So . . . Granger has to do whatever you say, just because she told you she would the other night?"
"Precisely, Draco. Isn't it wonderful?"
"It's brilliant. But can you physically hurt her if she refuses to do what you say?"
Lucius gave him a scrutinizing look "That is what I said, wasn't it?"
"Of course," Draco said absently, his head reeling," but what about Lord Voldemort? We won't approve of a mudblood becoming a Death Eater!"
"Oh, but he will, once he finds that she will be our answer to killing Harry Potter."
Hermione's head snapped up, and she gasped. "I will not!" she said furiously. "You can't make me!"
Lemanus spoke up. "We never said anything about you doing the killing, girl. That will be Draco's job."
Draco looked up, meeting Lemanus's fish-like eyes. He suddenly looked away, not able to take the freezing glare. Something tickled at the back of his mind.
"We said you were going to be a spy, did we not?" Lemanus said. "Unfortunately, we are not to tell you anymore until the initiation, which is the day after tomorrow."
"For now, we must go. Lucius, I will talk with you in private," Lemanus said, taking a leave. Lucius, to Draco's utter surprise, inclined his head to Hermione before leaving.
It's too much, Draco thought angrily. Hermione did not look at him. She would not look at him, and pain stabbed at his heart. Without hesitation, he sat down next to her. It's time to break the Malfoy family tradition, he thought finally.
"I'm sorry, Hermione."
She looked up at him in surprise, and saw in his eyes what she could not have in the words. He meant it. That simple statement from him meant everything; he was sorry for Pansy, and his father, for her, for him, and he was sorry that she had to be here.
Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry too, Draco." He looked at her face and saw why she cried; she cried for what Lucius had almost done to her, for Narcissa, for Draco becoming a Death Eater, and for being there. Suddenly Draco didn't want her to cry. More than anything in the world, he wanted her to smile.
He took her head in his arms, and she leaned against his chest.
"Don't cry," he pleaded. "It's okay."
"No, it's not," she said sadly.
Draco leaned his head against the wall and stroked her hair. He knew she was right, and that it would probably never be okay.
"It will be okay," Draco whispered into her hair. "I'll make it okay. I promise."
(A.N. Random question: If you had to guess, how old would you say I am?)