Hell Tastes Sweet
Chapter Three
After the feast, Pansy went down to the dungeons where the Slytherin common room was. There, sitting in his black leather couch, she found Draco sitting down looking incredibly pissed off.
Bracing herself for the worse, Pansy walked towards him sitting down on the couch right in front of him. Then, Pansy looked around herself and saw that most people, probably exhausted from the trip, had headed directly to their respective bedrooms.
Pansy waited till everyone except Crabbe and Goyle had gone to bed to say:
"What's wrong Draco?."
Draco waved his hand at Crabbe and Goyle and not seeing any reaction from the two said with a most annoyed voice:
"Go away. I need to speak to her alone…."
Both Crabbe and Goyle got up from their seats and, giving Pansy a dirty look, followed the rest of the students upstairs to the dorms.
Pansy didn't know whether to feel flattered that Draco wanted to speak to her on her own or to feel terrified at the prospect of facing an angry Draco.
"They've stripped down my privileges. I no longer have a bedroom of my own…Until further arrangements are made, I'm afraid we will have to see each other somewhere else…" Draco announced showing, from his tone of voice that he was incredibly angry about this.
"Ah…I'm sorry to hear that…Draco…I…well…are you…I mean…are you alright?" Pansy stuttered cursing herself for not being able to string a whole coherent sentence in front of the blond.
"Yes…Pansy…no need for you to concern yourself…in fact, I wanted to show you something…come on…follow me…" Draco said getting up and walking towards the common room's door.
Pansy, not wanting to be told off, got up immediately and followed him through the corridors till they found themselves in front of a wall.
"Courtesy of Saint Potter…" Draco said pacing back and forth three times in front of the door looking concentrated.
A door appeared and they walked in a room that looked a lot like the bedroom Draco used to occupy in Hogwards.
"Room of requirement…great invention…pity it gets used for the wrong purposes…" Draco said sitting on the crimson covered king size bed.
Pansy stood there for a while and almost jumped backwards seeing Draco getting up from the bed and heading towards her.
"I've got some good news…I've been accepted…" Draco said curving his lips in what looked like a smile, a real smile, not one of the usual smirks that deformed his gorgeous face.
"Where?" Pansy managed to ask.
Draco pulled his left sleeve up and turned his arm round as to show her the back of it. There, against the pure white of his skin, Pansy saw a black, skull shaped mark recognising it immediately. That was the Dark Mark. The mark that identified the Death Eaters.
"Draco…oh my…" Pansy exclaimed grabbing the back of an armchair firmly fearing her knees would not be able to support herself making her fall on the floor.
"Well…is that all you have to say?" Draco said looking like he was going to get angry again.
"No…I mean…Draco…isn't it too soon…I mean, you haven't even finished school…and…well…it's so dangerous…" Pansy said looking extremely concerned.
"Don't worry about it…it's not too soon either, my own Dad was a Death Eater before he finished his fifth year here. That's why I've done so much training this summer, I was preparing myself for the test. And now I've passed it, I'll be helping my parents and his friends from here…" Draco said proudly.
"But…why?" Pansy said regretting it immediately. Draco went all stiff and looked, if possible even more angry.
"Why? Are you blind? The Dark Lord needs all the help he can get…this time, I know we will defeat Dumbledore and his buffoon Saint Potter…and the Dark Arts will be strong again…I'm telling you Pansy and mark my words…we will win this war. The Dark Lord has promised great rewards to all the people who will help him…don't you get it?" Draco asked patronisingly.
"Yes…I do…but…" Pansy started saying.
"You surely don't look impressed…Pansy if I didn't know you as well as I do, I would think you're considering to join Saint Potter and his fanatics…" Draco said looking at her coldly.
"NO! Never…Draco, I will always be by your side…you know that…is just that…it's so dangerous…I don't want you to get hurt…" Pansy said putting one of her hands on his left arm just above the Dark Mark.
"Don't make me say it again Pansy…you are not to worry about this…I now know how to take care of myself…" Draco said putting his right hand over the one she had put on his arm stroking it lightly.
"What about our…arrangement…" Pansy said tentatively.
"That stays the same…if you stay by my side faithfully, help me with whatever I ask from you, I will keep protecting you and will ensure that your family is protected as well…you know that even from prison, my father still has a lot of influence…and, besides, he's already planning his escape…" Draco said moving his hand from over hers to her face.
"When will that be?" Pansy asked curiously while enjoying his touch.
"Soon…very soon…but now, enough talk…I've been looking forward this for eight weeks now…" Draco said pulling her towards him and giving her a kiss.
Pansy felt that even his kisses were different. Draco had actually matured a lot in the eight weeks they had been apart. This was quite appealing but, if Pansy had been concerned about Draco getting in something too big for him, now she was sick with worry.
Pansy would never say it aloud fearing, not so much her fellows Slytherin's reaction, but the possibility she may actually be right.
For, although she tried to convince herself of the opposite, she deep down knew that the Dark Lord was doomed. Even not being as intelligent as that mudblood Granger, Pansy was smart enough to see that Harry Potter's repeated victories against the Dark Lord were due to a lot more than sheer good luck and, after his godfather's death, Potter could only be even more determinate to vanquish the Dark Lord for good. With disastrous consequences to all his supporters, including the Malfoys and specially her own parents.
Pushing that terrifying thought out of her mind, Pansy forced herself to relax and enjoy Draco's company.
To be continued…
A/N: Thank you for your reviews!! They really encourage me to do my best!! I'm trying not to overdo things since this is my very first HP fic and I really don't want to offend the more expert fans…I hope I get everything right!