Facing the Inevitable
Disclaimer: The characters do no belong to me, only the Plot. All characters are property of J.K. Rowling.
Rating: PG-13
===Note===
Finally, the beginning of something interesting. I love cliff hangers. Hope you do too.
Chapter 3: Fatal Mistake
Draco was deeply disappointed. He had expected the little witch to consent to failure. Granger should have been wise enough to end the study sessions by this point after seeing them to be pointless. However, she was being surprisingly stubborn.
If Granger insisted on resuming the meetings, Draco wouldn't complain. He had decided long ago that any opportunity to belittle her was worthy of his time. And, he found lately that ridiculing her was easier than he had expected. It amused him to watch her face crimson at the slightest provocation.
Their next session was set for Wednesday evening. Draco spent most of the day accomplishing nothing in particular. He skipped two of his lessons that afternoon. The morning had been spent sleeping well past sunrise.
Sometime around three in the evening, Draco sat half awake in his dormitory. It didn't bother him that the day had been wasted. In fact, he felt a little annoyed that he should have to rise and meet with Granger in the library in half an hour.
Pulling himself out of bed with effort, he grabbed a set of robes and dressed in preparation. As soon he had finished, Draco heard a tapping noise at the window. He turned to spot his family's owl fluttering outside.
He had come to find over the years, that mail was simply not something he looked forward to. This was because the letters he usually received included some sort of critical remark from his father.
Feeling rather frustrated, Draco opened the window and watched the owl land on his arm. He detached the rolled up parchment from the bird's leg and sent it on its way. He read the note after a moment's hesitation.
Meet me in the Room of Requirement at 4:00 pm
There was no signature but Draco didn't even have to guess who had sent it. He didn't particularly look forward to seeing his father that evening, but no one disobeyed Lucius Malfoy.
Figuring the meeting would only last a few minutes, and would no doubt be just another reminder of what was expected of him on his eighteenth birthday, Draco decided to attend his study session afterwards. It hardly mattered if he was a few minutes late.
He finished his preparation and gathered his things before leaving the dormitory. He wasn't quite certain why his father chose the Room of Requirement in which to meet. Generally, he would just pop in for a few minutes through a fireplace. But, he had never been one to question Lucius' ways. There was always a hidden intention which Draco simply chose to ignore.
Leaving the common room, he shrugged off his friends and walked hastily through the nearly empty corridors. His father was not a particularly patient man, and Draco did not wish to face his wrath if he should be late.
He found himself in front of the door he sought before long. Taking a deep breathe, Draco entered and hoped the man was in an agreeable mood.
Lucius stood before a blazing fire with his back to the door. Without turning, he seemed to be able to sense his son's presence. Draco stood in the entryway and waited for his father to make a remark.
"Close the door," Lucius said sternly, "We need to discuss your birthday."
"I thought we already spoke about that." His voice was flat. He was eager to adjourn the meeting.
"You will be leaving school grounds the night before your birthday." Lucius turned to his son at last. His expression was calm. He continued before Draco could respond.
"We've arranged an initiation, so to speak. You will be welcomed into our group at midnight. Our Master is very eager to have you join us."
Draco nodded slowly to show he understood. Believing his father had finished, he turned to leave. He was stopped however, but Lucius' sharp voice.
"Remember what I told you before, boy. This is important for your future, not to mention the future of the family. Don't disappoint me." He snarled as if angry all of a sudden.
Draco wondered if he would be dismissed soon. He received his answer when his father began speaking once more.
"You will be given further instructions at a later date. We need a way to remove you from the school without attracting much attention. We don't want that imbecile Dumbledore getting in the way."
He turned away again to show he was finished and Draco watched as his father drew out a pouch. Floo powder was sprinkled into the fire, and Lucius entered the flames without another word.
Once the man left him, Draco turned and reached for the doorknob. He felt the blood rush to his head as he realized the door was already ajar. He had been quite certain he closed it before his father began speaking.
Hurriedly, he pushed open the door to step through. He found himself staring into her shocked brown eyes.
==========
Hermione prepared in her dormitory for the study session which would take place in a matter of minutes. She didn't bother to collect her books or draw up an idea of what they were to cover that day. Instead, she strained her mind for insults, clever remarks, and such which could be thrown at Malfoy at the slightest provocation.Perhaps this wasn't the ideal way to set the mood for an intense study session. But, Hermione felt certain it would be far more useful than reading up on Advanced Charm work again.
Satisfied that this time, there would be no retreat on her part, Hermione left the Gryffindor common room and headed towards the library.
She settled at their usual desk and waited for Malfoy to appear.
She waited for quite some time.
Hermione began tapping her foot impatiently. After ten minutes, she started looking about her anxiously as if expecting him to emerge from the shelves. After twenty minutes, she was down right irritated.
Standing, she decided he obviously wasn't going to come after all. Hermione made a mental note to scold him later for this, and left the library.
Hurrying through the corridors, she wondered if she could catch Harry and Ron before Quidditch practice. She halted abruptly however, when she recognized a certain blonde haired wizard walking a distance ahead of her.
Angry that Malfoy should skip the session without giving even so much as a word to her, Hermione fully intended to walk up and smack him. She increased her pace to catch him.
Malfoy turned suddenly to a door. He entered the room before Hermione had the chance to call out. Determined yet to cause him some sort of pain, she rushed after him. Pausing at the door, Hermione recognized it as the same room which they had used for Dumbledore's Army meetings back in her fifth year. Curiosity rose in her as to what Malfoy was doing there.
Without further hesitation, Hermione reached out and opened the door a crack. She could see dancing flames and another figure in the dimly lit space.
Lucius' voice drifted to her as if from a distant memory. She recognized it only after a moment of contemplation. She knew it was possibly idiotic of her to listen further, but her curiosity kept her in place.
"You will be leaving school grounds the night before your birthday." Lucius said.
Hermione wondered at the words.
"We've arranged an initiation, so to speak. You will be welcomed into our group at midnight. Our Master is very eager to have you join us."
Hermione's mouth became agape. Although the details were unknown, there was only one master who he could be referring to.
She had always known Lucius Malfoy was a Deatheater. It had been something she just accepted after Harry told her of what he witnessed the night of Cedric's death. She wondered why it never occurred to her that the tradition would be passed on to his son.
Hermione pressed her ear closer to the door and strained to hear more. But, strangely, all she heard was the brief roaring of the flames. She realized too late what that meant. Lucius had left, the meeting was over.
Quickly, Hermione took a step back. The door however, was already opening. She looked up just in time to catch the near panicked expression in Malfoy's eyes. That was the last thing she saw before she flew backwards into the stone cold wall.
She felt her wand fly from her hand as the disarming spell hit her. Dazed, she blinked away the blurred image before her and realized Malfoy had his wand raised to her still.
Slowly, she slid to the floor, her limbs useless and weak. Hermione heard his footsteps before she saw him, and realized he was standing over her now. She didn't protest when she felt herself roughly pulled to her feet. The pounding in her head increased as he shook her.
"How long have you been here!?" Malfoy demanded of her. Hermione wished she could speak, but the words wouldn't form.
===Note===
Really now, this story is much more difficult to write than my last. I think I liked things better when they were fast paced. Perhaps I'll do that with the chapters after this...
Right, review please.
-Captive