Chapter 10: ...Into The Fire
Michelle forced her hands between their bodies and pushed against Draco as hard as she could. He only moved a few inches, but it was enough to give Michelle room to breathe.
"I don't understand." She fought to control her emotions.
"It's simple really. I am going to become one of the Death Eaters and you are going to help me." Draco's voice was lifeless.
"I hate to break it to you, but I'm not going to help you do sh..."
Draco slapped her hard before she could finish. Michelle's hand immediately went up to her cheek. Her eyes flashed with anger as she tried to rub the burning sensation from her face. Two of the figures grabbed her wrists while forcing her to her knees in front of Draco. She struggled against them. She tried yelling out spells, but her efforts were cut short by kicks to her stomach. Falling forward, she coughed harshly at Draco's feet. She took the opportunity to spit at him. One of the figures grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back. Michelle smiled wickedly at Draco in hopes of confusing him. She needed to buy some time. She needed a plan.
Her eyes shifted to some movement behind Draco. One of the figures was pulling an object from the pocket of its robe. He handed it to Draco, who held it up for her to see.
Michelle groaned.
"A knife! You have got to be kidding me!" She squirmed as Draco tauntingly moved it in front of her face. "I'll have you know I've been stabbed a couple of times and survived. This is getting a bit redundant if you ask me..."
"I'm not asking...and I'm not going to stab you..." Draco nodded at the man on Michelle's right.
"Uh...okay?" Michelle's gaze shifted to her right side. The man was lifting her hand and forcing it palm side up. His other hand slipped around her to cover her mouth as Draco ran the knife over her palm slicing it open.
Michelle cried out, but her expression of pain was muffled. The man who'd handed Draco the knife squeezed her palm to force out as much blood as possible. He dipped his finger into the pool that had formed. Michelle stared as he drew the mark of a Death Eater on Draco's now exposed forearm. Her wet blood gleamed on Draco's white flesh almost making her sick. Draco then sliced into his own palm and his blood was added to the drawing. The fourth figure came closer and waved his wand over Draco's arm while saying some sort of chant. Michelle couldn't hear what he was saying. Her two captors released her arms. She pulled her injured hand into her chest protectively.
Draco looked down at her. "Don't worry. Only one step more and we'll be done."
"Great. There's a re-run of Buffy I want to watch tonight..." Michelle pulled herself to her feet.
Draco chuckled coldly. "I'm glad to see your humor hasn't left you...yet." Draco motioned with his arm and the figures backed away several feet. They formed a rough circle by extending their arms and wands out from their sides. Michelle guessed she wouldn't be able to just run past them.
"So, what does happen now?" Michelle figured she had to move quickly when she got the chance. A crazy thought had entered her head, but it would only work if they really were on Malfoy land.
Draco began circling her, taking slow, measured, strides. "Once the mark is permanent I will be a Death Eater."
"Better stock up on deoderant because water is now your enemy..."
"The mark becomes permanent when I complete the next task."
"That task being..." Michelle wanted to keep him talking.
"Killing the person whose blood was used to create the mark."
"Hey, there's a shocker. You can kill yourself first if you want..." She turned her head to follow his movements.
"Very funny...you know what I mean."
"I don't think you can do it."
Draco's grin broke out wildly. "Is that so?"
"Yep. You like me. You won't be able to go through with it."
"I am going to follow in the footsteps of my father and his father and all the Malfoys before them. I will go through with it." He had made his circles smaller as he spoke. Draco paused directly behind Michelle. He took her by the waist and pulled her up against his body. With his arms wrapped around her tightly, he felt her struggling. "That feels very good..."
Michelle raised her foot and stomped down on his as hard as she could. She felt him cringe, but he didn't let go. She twisted and shook them both, but to no avail. He was stronger than she thought. Michelle stopped fighting him. It was obvious it was doing no good and it was making her tired.
Draco bent his head. Using his nose, he pushed some of her hair away from her neck. He began kissing her skin till he heard one of the figures clear his throat.
He shot a glance towards the figure. "She owes me. This won't take long..."
"Sounds like that rumor's true..." Michelle regretting smarting off as Draco took the opportunity to bite her.
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you..." He continued to kiss her, moving up her neck to her ear.
Michelle held back a cry of disgust. If he sticks his tounge in there so help me..., she thought.
But instead of feeling his tounge, she felt his breath as he whispered to her.
"Please tell me you have a plan..."
Michelle's breath caught in her throat. She didn't believe what she'd heard.
"What?" She turned her face towards his and whispered.
He continued kissing her ear lightly, "You better have a plan because I can't stall them for much longer."
Michelle locked her eyes on his. She saw fear in them for a brief moment before he put the wall up again.
"When it happens, think about going to my apartment..."
"When what happens..." Draco ran his tounge along the curve of her ear.
"You'll know, trust me." Michelle could sense the Death Eaters becoming restless so she resumed her struggle.
Draco lifted his face and spun her harshly.
"This is going to be rough...well, for you anyway..." He laughed and nodded towards the men surrounding them.
Michelle was in no way prepared. Draco's hands clenched around her throat. She immediately reached up and tried to pull them away. She grabbed at his wrists, but he kept squeezing tighter. She was becoming light headed.
Draco felt her weakening. He let go and watched her wither to the ground. She coughed and sputtered, drawing in deep breaths desperately.
Michelle curled up into a ball on the grass. All she could think about was how she'd been fooled and she was going to die.
Draco knelt next to her. He could hear the men murmuring. They would expect him to finish her off now. He pushed her onto her back. Straddling her waist, he casually put his hands around her throat, but didn't apply any pressure. She could feel the blood from his palm slick against her skin this time.
"Do you have anything to say before we are finished?" Draco watched her anxiously.
"Incindio spherical." Michelle lifted her bleeding hand to make a circular motion, pointing just inside the ring of figures. Flames shot up from the ground as the grass caught fire. The figures weren't being touched, but Michelle had created a temporary barrier.
As Draco's attention was diverted to the spectacle around him, she punched him in the jaw with all the energy she had left. He fell to the side and Michelle used the momentum to roll their bodies. She was running out of time.
"My apartment...think about going there now!" Michelle stretched herself out over him. She forced her hands around him. She could only guess that they would need to be touching as much as possible. She tried to apperate, but nothing happened.
"Shit!" She yelled out desperately. The figures were starting to get the flames under control. A thought popped into her head. "Give me your bloody hand!"
"What?"
"Your hand...the one you cut open...hold it up." Michelle yelled out the fire spell again and could hear one of the figures cry out in pain. Just a few more seconds. She just hoped the noise from the fire was covering up her yelling at Draco.
He held up his hand and Michelle stretched his arm up over his head. She pulled her injured hand out from under him. By taking hold of his bleeding hand with hers, they looked like a bizarre couple who had fallen while ballroom dancing. There was only one thing more to do to get closer. Michelle caught Draco's eye.
"Let's try this again..."
Draco nodded in agreement just before Michelle's lips were on his.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N: Okay, we're getting close now. Definitely one chapter left, probably 2. I'm not sure where FPC went, but since RB67 and CSHP have caught up I'm feeling guilty making you two wait. Hopefully FPC will return once she's done with her tests...GSE's or something? Let me know what you think of this one.
