Hey everyone!!!!! WHOA....... This chapter is SCARY!!!!! Well I think so!!!!!
Sorry its taken me so long to do BUT..... I have my reasons....... While I have
been writing this chapter I have ALSO been writing the NEXT chapter....at the
same time....make sense....ok well basically the chapter AFTER this one is
ALMOST done so you wont have to wait as long to read MORE!!! Yaya!!! Sorry
if that made no sense at all!! Well, I think this is the chapter you have
been waiting for. Does Draco get his dark mark.........WELL read it and find
out!!!! Haha!! Its all here!!! Tehe!! Thank you SO much for all the
reviews!!! I love you ALL!!!! OMG I had my prom the other night and it was
GREAT!!!!!! Sorry I just had to get that in there somewhere!!! Ok well...just
one more thing..... I need to make a shout out to my friend hobz and make a
shameless plug for her story...haha!!! Ok its called HARSH INFATUATION and
its by SBLOMIE!!! And its REALLY good!!! So she wants you to all go and
read it!!!!! Haha!! Ok take care every one and I hope you enjoy this
one....I'm sorry if its not what you wanted to happen but I planned it ages
ago so I'm sorry again......please don't be mad.....it will all be ok in the
end...haha!!! Ok ill shut up now...take care all...bixxxx
X
It had been four hours. Four....Whole.....Hours since Dumbledore and Snape had left Draco to himself. When he had first arrived here, he had wondered around, looking at all the bookshelves. Looking at the binds of the books, generally seeing if there was anything of interest to read.
Once he had taken in the bookshelves, he headed over to the bathroom. He was shocked at what he saw. Considering he was the only person currently occupying this room, the bathroom was extremely large. So much so, it was big enough to fit the entire Slytherin Quidditch team into the bathtub with room to spare.
Once Draco had accustomed himself to the room, he sat down on the floor, infront of the blazing fire and began to polish his broom. He polished it once. Then again. Then again. Once he had done it a fourth time, he decided to get up and have another look at the books on the shelves.
He found one that did interest him, "How to disembody your enemy". He read it threw once, imagining all the gruesome things that happened in the book happening to Potter. It made him laugh out loud.
However, it only took him a maximum of 1 hour to read this particular book, when he suddenly found himself bored again.
He was now lying on the comfy sofa in the middle off the room, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. He guessed it was pretty late by now. He didn't have a watch and there were no windows so he could only imagine what time it was.
As he was lying there, his thoughts strayed to Ginny. His girlfriend. Was she his girlfriend now? He guessed as much. Ofcourse, they had never really made it official. They had never once called each other that. They were still hiding their relationship from the rest of the world. But whenever Draco thought about her, he felt a funny feeling inside. Something he had never felt before. He had never told her he loved her, but he was pretty sure that he did. He'd never loved anyone before, but this odd feeling was almost an answer to his queries. Did he love her? Well he sure wanted to find out.
While these thoughts were passing through his mind, he was unaware that he was fingering his ring. The blue diamond was sparkling in the light of the flickering fire. It was almost his connection to Ginny. The thing that bound them to each other. He felt content when he was wearing his ring, knowing that Ginny was wearing hers too.
A few more hours passed. Although Draco had done very little that day, he felt tired. His eyelids were heavy, and even if he wanted to stop them, they just seemed to close of their own accord.
He began to doze. He knew he was still awake however. He could still sense the presence of the fire next to him, and he was still absentmindedly fingering his ring.
After a few more minutes of dozing, he suddenly heard a 'popping' sound. The sound that could be heard as someone apparated or dissaparated. He kept his eyes closed, feeling to tired to open them fully, although he did crack one eye slightly open, his curiosity getting the better of him.
He gasped when he saw a hooded figure standing before him, at the far end of the sofa to which his legs rested.
He hurriedly sat up, trying to see under the hood of the creature.
"What....who..." He stuttered. He was visibly shaking. How could someone get in here? Dumbledore promised him it was impossible. He gave him his word.
The hooded creature almost glided over to Draco, towering over him. Draco buried himself in the pillows, trying to escape the hooded creature that was now practically breathing down his neck.
The hooded creature then reached out and too a hold of Draco's upper arm. Draco let out a yelp. He was certain this creature was a Death Eater, come to suck out his soul. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to whimper, and keep a hold of the small amount of dignity he had left.
The hooded creature leaned in further, until he was mere inches away from Draco's face. Then, with out warning, the creature reached out a hand and removed the hood from his face.
He then reached out a cold hand and placed it under Draco's chin, making Draco face him.
Draco still had his eyes tight shut, and kept them so until he heard the creature talk.
"Open your eyes boy and face me like a man!"
Draco's insides contracted and he felt the sudden urge to vomit. He knew that voice. He didn't have to open his eyes to find out just who it was. However, that decision was not his to make as the voice spoke again: "Open your eyes you quivering fool!"
Draco slowly opened his eyes, and looked into the raging face of.....his father.
Lucious Malfoy towered over Draco like a lion would its prey. He had blood shot eyes and was wearing a sneer. He was shaking with anger all over and Draco just KNEW what ever he was about to say, was NOT going to be good.
Lucious Malfoy was in such a state of anger, he had the urge to throw something....so he did. He held Draco in a tighter grip and threw him across the room so he feel into a book shelf. Some of the books tumbled out off the shelves and hit Draco on the head.
Draco tried to get up, but his back hurt from hitting the bookshelf and he groaned aloud.
He felt, rather than saw his father walk across the room and stand in front of him. "You're weak boy!" Was all he said before he grabbed the scruff of Draco's robes, like a mother cat would her kittens, and dragged him to his feet.
Draco stood at full height, and looked his father in the eye as if daring him to hit him to punch him or something.
Lucious only stared back with a look full of malice and hatred. He hated Draco right now. Not for betraying him, but for being weak.
"You're a disappointment to me Draco. I thought you were better than this"
Draco said nothing.
"Speak to me boy!"
Again Draco said nothing.
Lucious' anger was boiling and he threw a punch at his son with all his might, knocking the wind out of him.
"You are a disgrace to the name of Malfoy!" He seethed, as he watched Draco try to stand up straight, recovering from the blow.
"I'm sorry father. I wanted to make you proud. I really did." Draco sat down on the arm of the sofa; he was physically shattered. His body could take no more blows.
Lucious calmed enough to talk at a reasonable level to his son. "And you will. Once we take a visit to the Dark Lord."
Draco paled and mustered up all his strength to look his father in the eye.
"No father!" was all he said.
Draco instantly regretted it as he saw the anger boil up in his fathers face again. He prepared himself for the worst.
"WHAT! NO? I don't think so son. You will do as I SAY. Is that clear? Or I will be forced to take drastic measures."
Draco almost laughed as he stood to face his father. "What will you do father? What will you do that you haven't already done? You've beaten me, you threatened me. The only thing left would be to kill me!" He yelled.
"Don't tempt me Draco." Lucious said, with all the calmness in the world.
Draco's shoulders slouched as he listened to his father's last sentiments. His father would stoop so low as to kill his own son. He shouldn't be shocked by this...but he was.
Draco was still at a loss as to how his father managed to get here in the first place. Hadn't Dumbledore put wards around the room so no one could get in? As if reading his mind, Lucious spoke up.
"It was the ring" Draco looked at the ring on his finger then to his father with a questioning look on his face. "I enchanted it before your mother sent it to you. Do you remember me saying in the letter that I had had a few difficulties with it, that's why it was late?" Draco nodded. "I was having trouble with the charm. I though that maybe you would try and hide from me when it came to your initiation so I put a charm on it so that when ever I needed to get to you, no matter where you are in the world, that ring will show me where you are, and take me to you."
Draco was shocked. It was the ring all the time. The small piece of jewelry that he had received for his birthday was what had led his father to him. The thing that he had worn on his finger since his birthday with out a second thought had now put him in this position where he would have to face his fate.
Lucious walked the gap between himself and Draco, and took a hold of Draco's arm. Draco struggled to get free, but his fathers grip was too tight. Lucious reached into his pocket and took out a small pouch. He emptied the contents onto the small coffee table. Out fell a simple muggle paper clip. Lucious looked at his son and gave him a psychotic smile, before reaching out to pick up the paper clip.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Draco yelled, still struggling to get out of his father's grip. But it was too late. Lucious picked up the paper clip and Draco felt the familiar tug of a port key. He took one more glimpse at the room that he had occupied for the last few hours, and then he was plunged into darkness.
()
Ginny Weasley sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in sweat and shivering. She had just had an awful nightmare about Draco being beaten by his father and it had genuinely scared her.
Ginny willed her breathing to calm down as she reached for her wand and renewed the bed sheets to clean fresh ones that WERENT covered in sweat. She then lay back down in bed and tried to get back to sleep. She didn't know why, as it was only a dream, but something about her dream seemed almost real, and it scared her.
She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else; anything else. She thought back to the time by the lake, when Draco had made her try, what was it again, Cherryade.
Ginny laughed out loud, though not too loud to wake the other girls in her dorm. She felt a little better. She knew Draco was safe, where ever he was and it wasn't long before she was fast asleep again, dreaming about Draco once more.
()
Draco opened his eyes. He had no idea where he was or how he got here, but where ever he was, it was dark, and it was cold, and he seemed to be chained to something, something that felt awfully like a clod stone wall.
The room was empty, or so he assumed. The only sound that could be heard were those coming from the rat that were scurrying around his knees as he knelt on the cold floor.
Draco suddenly heard the sound of a door opening to his left, and the room was suddenly filled with light that filed in from the corridor outside.
Footsteps could be heard, more than just one pair, and they seemed to be forming a kind of circle in the middle of the room, although Draco couldn't see this very clearly.
With out warning, Draco had to squint as the room was filled with light, coming from the canisters on each of the walls. Opening his eyes fully once again, Draco could now see that he was in a dungeon, probably at Malfoy Manor, and in the center of the room, was about a dozen hooded creatures, all standing in a circle. One of the creatures broke the circle, as he walked over towards Draco and reached out to undo the manacles that bound him to the wall. Another one came up behind him and grabbed a hold of Draco, as if expecting him to try and make an escape as soon as he was free of his ties. The two hooded creatures then pulled him to his feet and led him to the circle, where they brutally threw him down in the center of it.
Draco groaned, having enough of being thrown around for one day. He sat up, looking around the circle. Each of the hooded creatures just stood still, not one seemed to be moving. Draco would have bet money that they weren't even breathing.
The room stayed this way, with Draco almost laughing at the irony of the situation, before the door was burst open again and in walked Lucious Malfoy, followed by two other hooded creatures. One took his hood off immediately, and Draco recognized him as Peter Petigrew, but the other, didn't take his off. Instead, he walked to the other side to of the circle motioned and for Lucious to begin.
"Draco, I think you now why you are here"
Draco refused to answer. Yes he knew, but he was proud, and he was not going to let his father get one over on him.
Lucious, not waiting for a proper answer form his son, carried on.
"Son, you are here today to receive your dark mark. This should be one of the proudest moments of your life, I know it certainly is for me-"
Draco laughed bitterly. "Sure dad. I can wipe my arse and spell my name too. Now doesn't that make you proud."
What happened next came so fast, neither Draco nor any of the other people in the room saw it coming. Lucious had his wand out and he pointed it at Draco. Draco barely had time to process what was happening, as he heard his fathers fateful Cry of: "CRUCIO!"
The spell hit Draco with such force that he was thrown backwards a few feet. He began to writhe in pain on the floor, convulsing and vomiting at the same time.
When Lucious finally lowered his wand, Draco's body calmed to a minimal shiver. Lucious smiled viciously at his son. "See son. I am a powerful man. Do not cross me."
Draco's only response was to cough up a small amount of blood, which began to seep into the cracks in the cold stone floor. (A/N. eww)
Lucious didn't bother with small talk. He crossed the circle to the other hooded man who had entered at the same time as him. The one who still had yet to show his face.
Lucious and the hooded man began to talk in hushed voices for a while. Draco was straining his ears to listen to their conversation, but the aftermath of the spell hitting him caused an awful high pitched ringing in his ears.
Lucious then cut his conversation short to walk into the middle of the circle and grab Draco by the front of his robes. He hoisted him up, ignoring the small whimpers that escaped Draco's mouth and half carried, half dragged him to kneel infront of the hooded man he had previously been talking to.
Draco knelt on the cold floor in front of the hooded creature. The creature seemed to have an extremely raspy breathing. He didn't move as he opened his mouth and began to speak to the entire circle in a voice that sounded like he had swallowed a few extremely sharp knives.
"This is a very proud moment for both Draco and Lucious." Draco squeezed his eyes shut. Ofcourse. He knew that voice. And now he knew who was hiding their face shamefully under their hood.
The hooded creature then turned to address Draco. "Today you become one of us. I don't think I need ask how proud you must be feeling at this moment Draco."
Draco barked a laugh. "You have no Idea you venomous snake" He then spat on the hooded creatures robes.
Draco could hear his fathers growls from behind him, and the scurry of feet as he ran to his son and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and turned him to face him.
"No Lucious." The hooded creature held out a hand to stop Lucious as he reached for his wand. No doubt to cast another painful Crucio.
Lucious let go of his son and backed away.
The hooded creature then turned back to Draco. He reached out a cold finger to casually stroke Draco's porcelain check. "Feisty aren't we?" He drawled. Draco tried to escape the touch. It sent shivers down his spine as if the creature's fingers were made of ice.
As Draco sat back down on the cold floor, the hooded creature summoned his right hand man, Peter Petigrew over to him. Peter was carrying the hooded creatures wand. The hooded creature took it from him and began to finger it lovingly between his fingers.
"You know, I always knew you would make a good Death Eater." He voiced to Draco, although he said it loud enough the whole room was able to hear it. "Your father has been such a great servant of mine, it was only fitting that you should be the same."
Draco growled deep with in his throught. "I will never be any slave of yours."
A few of the other hooded creatures with in the circle laughed at this statement.
The hooded creature silenced them with a wave of his hand. He then turned back to Draco. "Oh I think you will" And with that, he reached up and hand to remove his hood.
Draco gasped. Sure enough. There he was. In the flesh. Grey hair and scars all over his face, but sure enough, it was him. Voldemort.
Draco tried to back away as Voldemort neared him, but it was in vain. The circle of hooded creatures- who had now removed their hoods to reveal themselves- had closed in around him. He was stuck.
When he looked back at Voldemort, he was surprised to see him not more that 3 inches from his face.
"Now Draco. Let us be clear on one thing. You WILL be a slave to me, just like your good old father. And you WILL help me in the defeat of that Potter boy. Is that clear."
Draco said nothing. Voldemort was beyond anger. "Answer me boy" He yelled as he held his wand threateningly infront of Draco's face.
There was nothing for it. Draco nodded.
"Good." Was all Voldemort said before he addressed the circle. "He is ready. We shall begin."
Suddenly, out of the blue, dozens of pairs of hands grabbed a hold of Draco, as if expecting him to make a get away. Draco struggled to get free, but it was not to be. The hands held him in a firm grip, as Voldemort turned to Draco, Wand poised in the air.
"Tonight shall make History boy. You shall be the key to the defeat of the Potter boy, and my regaining of power."
Voldemort then lowered his wand to Draco's right arm. Draco could vaguely hear a voice, his own voice, yelling and telling him to stop. But to no avail.
Voldemort shouted a spell at the top of his lungs, the hooded creatures around him began to laugh psychotically, and Draco began to scream as a searing pain shot through his arm and to every limb on his body.
The pain soon became too much, and it wasn't long before his world, was once again, plunged into darkness.
()
Ginny woke up one New Years Day feeling more than slightly refreshed. She had slept like a log after her nightmare about Draco, and was ready to face the day.
She jumped out of bed and grabbed some clean fresh clothes, making her way down to the bathroom.
She was one of the first people to reach the great hall, passing it off, she just assumed that everyone else had stayed up late the night before to welcome in the new Year.
She began to fill her plate and was soon joined by Hermione, who was also an early riser, and then Luna, who had claimed that she had a hang over and needed some solid food inside her.
They sat for half an hour, helping themselves to the great spread, as well as generally talking about their Christmases.
Gradually the hall began to fill up. Ginny kept her eyes open, looking around for any signs of a blond head.
As it got later and later, she began to worry. She knew that Draco was in hiding, and Draco had promised her that he would be safe, but why wasn't he here? What was taking him so long?
()
Draco slowly drifted back to consciousness. He was lying in the middle of an extremely comfy bed with white cotton sheets. The room, he recognized as his own at Malfoy Manor, was filled with light that was streaming in through the open patio doors to his left.
He sat up in his bed, and immediately began to feel his head pounding in his skull.
He flopped back down against the many pillows, willing the pain away, when he heard the bedroom door open.
He sat up to see who it was, and a wave of heat and happiness flooded his body as he recognized the pretty women standing in the door frame, as his mother.
They stared at each other for a moment. No words being said. Narcissa had tears in her beautiful blue eyes, and Draco was preying that he would not cry himself.
Narcissa couldn't hold on any longer. The tears came as she ran across the room and scooped her boy broken boy up into her arms.
"Oh Draky..." she sobbed.
Draco still tried to hold back his own tears as he rubbed his mothers' back soothingly. "Shhhh. Its ok. I'm fine."
Narcissa pulled herself from the embrace to stare at her son. "No you are not fine. And its not ok! Look at you" She cupped his face with her hands as more tears came. "You're hurt. How could that mean, disgusting, vile man have the decency to call himself your father when he does this to you"
Draco covered her hands with his own, as a single tear escaped his eye and trickled down his blemished cheek.
He shook his head and wiped the tear away. "Malfoy's do not cry." He said with all the pride in the world.
Narcissa wrapped her arms around her son and whispered in his ear. "Yes they do" was all she said.
That did it. More unwanted tears fell from Draco's sky blue eyes. He tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming and coming, until Draco was a blithering wreck in his mothers' arms.
"No they don't. No they don't." He kept saying over and over again. But he still cried, and cried, until he had cried himself out.
Narcissa carefully lay him back down against the pillows and tucked him in, pulling the comforter right up to his chin.
Draco closed his eyes, while his mother ran her fingers through his soft blond hair, whispering comforting words into his ear.
When she was sure Draco was asleep, she kissed his forehead and made she he was warm enough, before silently leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
A few hours later, Draco woke up from his slumber to a searing pain in his right arm. Not knowing what the pain was, he lifted his arm....and there it was. The ugly mark that symbolized who he was, and what he represented. The dark mark was planted just below the joining of his elbow. And there it would stay, for the rest of his life.
It had been four hours. Four....Whole.....Hours since Dumbledore and Snape had left Draco to himself. When he had first arrived here, he had wondered around, looking at all the bookshelves. Looking at the binds of the books, generally seeing if there was anything of interest to read.
Once he had taken in the bookshelves, he headed over to the bathroom. He was shocked at what he saw. Considering he was the only person currently occupying this room, the bathroom was extremely large. So much so, it was big enough to fit the entire Slytherin Quidditch team into the bathtub with room to spare.
Once Draco had accustomed himself to the room, he sat down on the floor, infront of the blazing fire and began to polish his broom. He polished it once. Then again. Then again. Once he had done it a fourth time, he decided to get up and have another look at the books on the shelves.
He found one that did interest him, "How to disembody your enemy". He read it threw once, imagining all the gruesome things that happened in the book happening to Potter. It made him laugh out loud.
However, it only took him a maximum of 1 hour to read this particular book, when he suddenly found himself bored again.
He was now lying on the comfy sofa in the middle off the room, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. He guessed it was pretty late by now. He didn't have a watch and there were no windows so he could only imagine what time it was.
As he was lying there, his thoughts strayed to Ginny. His girlfriend. Was she his girlfriend now? He guessed as much. Ofcourse, they had never really made it official. They had never once called each other that. They were still hiding their relationship from the rest of the world. But whenever Draco thought about her, he felt a funny feeling inside. Something he had never felt before. He had never told her he loved her, but he was pretty sure that he did. He'd never loved anyone before, but this odd feeling was almost an answer to his queries. Did he love her? Well he sure wanted to find out.
While these thoughts were passing through his mind, he was unaware that he was fingering his ring. The blue diamond was sparkling in the light of the flickering fire. It was almost his connection to Ginny. The thing that bound them to each other. He felt content when he was wearing his ring, knowing that Ginny was wearing hers too.
A few more hours passed. Although Draco had done very little that day, he felt tired. His eyelids were heavy, and even if he wanted to stop them, they just seemed to close of their own accord.
He began to doze. He knew he was still awake however. He could still sense the presence of the fire next to him, and he was still absentmindedly fingering his ring.
After a few more minutes of dozing, he suddenly heard a 'popping' sound. The sound that could be heard as someone apparated or dissaparated. He kept his eyes closed, feeling to tired to open them fully, although he did crack one eye slightly open, his curiosity getting the better of him.
He gasped when he saw a hooded figure standing before him, at the far end of the sofa to which his legs rested.
He hurriedly sat up, trying to see under the hood of the creature.
"What....who..." He stuttered. He was visibly shaking. How could someone get in here? Dumbledore promised him it was impossible. He gave him his word.
The hooded creature almost glided over to Draco, towering over him. Draco buried himself in the pillows, trying to escape the hooded creature that was now practically breathing down his neck.
The hooded creature then reached out and too a hold of Draco's upper arm. Draco let out a yelp. He was certain this creature was a Death Eater, come to suck out his soul. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to whimper, and keep a hold of the small amount of dignity he had left.
The hooded creature leaned in further, until he was mere inches away from Draco's face. Then, with out warning, the creature reached out a hand and removed the hood from his face.
He then reached out a cold hand and placed it under Draco's chin, making Draco face him.
Draco still had his eyes tight shut, and kept them so until he heard the creature talk.
"Open your eyes boy and face me like a man!"
Draco's insides contracted and he felt the sudden urge to vomit. He knew that voice. He didn't have to open his eyes to find out just who it was. However, that decision was not his to make as the voice spoke again: "Open your eyes you quivering fool!"
Draco slowly opened his eyes, and looked into the raging face of.....his father.
Lucious Malfoy towered over Draco like a lion would its prey. He had blood shot eyes and was wearing a sneer. He was shaking with anger all over and Draco just KNEW what ever he was about to say, was NOT going to be good.
Lucious Malfoy was in such a state of anger, he had the urge to throw something....so he did. He held Draco in a tighter grip and threw him across the room so he feel into a book shelf. Some of the books tumbled out off the shelves and hit Draco on the head.
Draco tried to get up, but his back hurt from hitting the bookshelf and he groaned aloud.
He felt, rather than saw his father walk across the room and stand in front of him. "You're weak boy!" Was all he said before he grabbed the scruff of Draco's robes, like a mother cat would her kittens, and dragged him to his feet.
Draco stood at full height, and looked his father in the eye as if daring him to hit him to punch him or something.
Lucious only stared back with a look full of malice and hatred. He hated Draco right now. Not for betraying him, but for being weak.
"You're a disappointment to me Draco. I thought you were better than this"
Draco said nothing.
"Speak to me boy!"
Again Draco said nothing.
Lucious' anger was boiling and he threw a punch at his son with all his might, knocking the wind out of him.
"You are a disgrace to the name of Malfoy!" He seethed, as he watched Draco try to stand up straight, recovering from the blow.
"I'm sorry father. I wanted to make you proud. I really did." Draco sat down on the arm of the sofa; he was physically shattered. His body could take no more blows.
Lucious calmed enough to talk at a reasonable level to his son. "And you will. Once we take a visit to the Dark Lord."
Draco paled and mustered up all his strength to look his father in the eye.
"No father!" was all he said.
Draco instantly regretted it as he saw the anger boil up in his fathers face again. He prepared himself for the worst.
"WHAT! NO? I don't think so son. You will do as I SAY. Is that clear? Or I will be forced to take drastic measures."
Draco almost laughed as he stood to face his father. "What will you do father? What will you do that you haven't already done? You've beaten me, you threatened me. The only thing left would be to kill me!" He yelled.
"Don't tempt me Draco." Lucious said, with all the calmness in the world.
Draco's shoulders slouched as he listened to his father's last sentiments. His father would stoop so low as to kill his own son. He shouldn't be shocked by this...but he was.
Draco was still at a loss as to how his father managed to get here in the first place. Hadn't Dumbledore put wards around the room so no one could get in? As if reading his mind, Lucious spoke up.
"It was the ring" Draco looked at the ring on his finger then to his father with a questioning look on his face. "I enchanted it before your mother sent it to you. Do you remember me saying in the letter that I had had a few difficulties with it, that's why it was late?" Draco nodded. "I was having trouble with the charm. I though that maybe you would try and hide from me when it came to your initiation so I put a charm on it so that when ever I needed to get to you, no matter where you are in the world, that ring will show me where you are, and take me to you."
Draco was shocked. It was the ring all the time. The small piece of jewelry that he had received for his birthday was what had led his father to him. The thing that he had worn on his finger since his birthday with out a second thought had now put him in this position where he would have to face his fate.
Lucious walked the gap between himself and Draco, and took a hold of Draco's arm. Draco struggled to get free, but his fathers grip was too tight. Lucious reached into his pocket and took out a small pouch. He emptied the contents onto the small coffee table. Out fell a simple muggle paper clip. Lucious looked at his son and gave him a psychotic smile, before reaching out to pick up the paper clip.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Draco yelled, still struggling to get out of his father's grip. But it was too late. Lucious picked up the paper clip and Draco felt the familiar tug of a port key. He took one more glimpse at the room that he had occupied for the last few hours, and then he was plunged into darkness.
()
Ginny Weasley sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in sweat and shivering. She had just had an awful nightmare about Draco being beaten by his father and it had genuinely scared her.
Ginny willed her breathing to calm down as she reached for her wand and renewed the bed sheets to clean fresh ones that WERENT covered in sweat. She then lay back down in bed and tried to get back to sleep. She didn't know why, as it was only a dream, but something about her dream seemed almost real, and it scared her.
She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else; anything else. She thought back to the time by the lake, when Draco had made her try, what was it again, Cherryade.
Ginny laughed out loud, though not too loud to wake the other girls in her dorm. She felt a little better. She knew Draco was safe, where ever he was and it wasn't long before she was fast asleep again, dreaming about Draco once more.
()
Draco opened his eyes. He had no idea where he was or how he got here, but where ever he was, it was dark, and it was cold, and he seemed to be chained to something, something that felt awfully like a clod stone wall.
The room was empty, or so he assumed. The only sound that could be heard were those coming from the rat that were scurrying around his knees as he knelt on the cold floor.
Draco suddenly heard the sound of a door opening to his left, and the room was suddenly filled with light that filed in from the corridor outside.
Footsteps could be heard, more than just one pair, and they seemed to be forming a kind of circle in the middle of the room, although Draco couldn't see this very clearly.
With out warning, Draco had to squint as the room was filled with light, coming from the canisters on each of the walls. Opening his eyes fully once again, Draco could now see that he was in a dungeon, probably at Malfoy Manor, and in the center of the room, was about a dozen hooded creatures, all standing in a circle. One of the creatures broke the circle, as he walked over towards Draco and reached out to undo the manacles that bound him to the wall. Another one came up behind him and grabbed a hold of Draco, as if expecting him to try and make an escape as soon as he was free of his ties. The two hooded creatures then pulled him to his feet and led him to the circle, where they brutally threw him down in the center of it.
Draco groaned, having enough of being thrown around for one day. He sat up, looking around the circle. Each of the hooded creatures just stood still, not one seemed to be moving. Draco would have bet money that they weren't even breathing.
The room stayed this way, with Draco almost laughing at the irony of the situation, before the door was burst open again and in walked Lucious Malfoy, followed by two other hooded creatures. One took his hood off immediately, and Draco recognized him as Peter Petigrew, but the other, didn't take his off. Instead, he walked to the other side to of the circle motioned and for Lucious to begin.
"Draco, I think you now why you are here"
Draco refused to answer. Yes he knew, but he was proud, and he was not going to let his father get one over on him.
Lucious, not waiting for a proper answer form his son, carried on.
"Son, you are here today to receive your dark mark. This should be one of the proudest moments of your life, I know it certainly is for me-"
Draco laughed bitterly. "Sure dad. I can wipe my arse and spell my name too. Now doesn't that make you proud."
What happened next came so fast, neither Draco nor any of the other people in the room saw it coming. Lucious had his wand out and he pointed it at Draco. Draco barely had time to process what was happening, as he heard his fathers fateful Cry of: "CRUCIO!"
The spell hit Draco with such force that he was thrown backwards a few feet. He began to writhe in pain on the floor, convulsing and vomiting at the same time.
When Lucious finally lowered his wand, Draco's body calmed to a minimal shiver. Lucious smiled viciously at his son. "See son. I am a powerful man. Do not cross me."
Draco's only response was to cough up a small amount of blood, which began to seep into the cracks in the cold stone floor. (A/N. eww)
Lucious didn't bother with small talk. He crossed the circle to the other hooded man who had entered at the same time as him. The one who still had yet to show his face.
Lucious and the hooded man began to talk in hushed voices for a while. Draco was straining his ears to listen to their conversation, but the aftermath of the spell hitting him caused an awful high pitched ringing in his ears.
Lucious then cut his conversation short to walk into the middle of the circle and grab Draco by the front of his robes. He hoisted him up, ignoring the small whimpers that escaped Draco's mouth and half carried, half dragged him to kneel infront of the hooded man he had previously been talking to.
Draco knelt on the cold floor in front of the hooded creature. The creature seemed to have an extremely raspy breathing. He didn't move as he opened his mouth and began to speak to the entire circle in a voice that sounded like he had swallowed a few extremely sharp knives.
"This is a very proud moment for both Draco and Lucious." Draco squeezed his eyes shut. Ofcourse. He knew that voice. And now he knew who was hiding their face shamefully under their hood.
The hooded creature then turned to address Draco. "Today you become one of us. I don't think I need ask how proud you must be feeling at this moment Draco."
Draco barked a laugh. "You have no Idea you venomous snake" He then spat on the hooded creatures robes.
Draco could hear his fathers growls from behind him, and the scurry of feet as he ran to his son and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and turned him to face him.
"No Lucious." The hooded creature held out a hand to stop Lucious as he reached for his wand. No doubt to cast another painful Crucio.
Lucious let go of his son and backed away.
The hooded creature then turned back to Draco. He reached out a cold finger to casually stroke Draco's porcelain check. "Feisty aren't we?" He drawled. Draco tried to escape the touch. It sent shivers down his spine as if the creature's fingers were made of ice.
As Draco sat back down on the cold floor, the hooded creature summoned his right hand man, Peter Petigrew over to him. Peter was carrying the hooded creatures wand. The hooded creature took it from him and began to finger it lovingly between his fingers.
"You know, I always knew you would make a good Death Eater." He voiced to Draco, although he said it loud enough the whole room was able to hear it. "Your father has been such a great servant of mine, it was only fitting that you should be the same."
Draco growled deep with in his throught. "I will never be any slave of yours."
A few of the other hooded creatures with in the circle laughed at this statement.
The hooded creature silenced them with a wave of his hand. He then turned back to Draco. "Oh I think you will" And with that, he reached up and hand to remove his hood.
Draco gasped. Sure enough. There he was. In the flesh. Grey hair and scars all over his face, but sure enough, it was him. Voldemort.
Draco tried to back away as Voldemort neared him, but it was in vain. The circle of hooded creatures- who had now removed their hoods to reveal themselves- had closed in around him. He was stuck.
When he looked back at Voldemort, he was surprised to see him not more that 3 inches from his face.
"Now Draco. Let us be clear on one thing. You WILL be a slave to me, just like your good old father. And you WILL help me in the defeat of that Potter boy. Is that clear."
Draco said nothing. Voldemort was beyond anger. "Answer me boy" He yelled as he held his wand threateningly infront of Draco's face.
There was nothing for it. Draco nodded.
"Good." Was all Voldemort said before he addressed the circle. "He is ready. We shall begin."
Suddenly, out of the blue, dozens of pairs of hands grabbed a hold of Draco, as if expecting him to make a get away. Draco struggled to get free, but it was not to be. The hands held him in a firm grip, as Voldemort turned to Draco, Wand poised in the air.
"Tonight shall make History boy. You shall be the key to the defeat of the Potter boy, and my regaining of power."
Voldemort then lowered his wand to Draco's right arm. Draco could vaguely hear a voice, his own voice, yelling and telling him to stop. But to no avail.
Voldemort shouted a spell at the top of his lungs, the hooded creatures around him began to laugh psychotically, and Draco began to scream as a searing pain shot through his arm and to every limb on his body.
The pain soon became too much, and it wasn't long before his world, was once again, plunged into darkness.
()
Ginny woke up one New Years Day feeling more than slightly refreshed. She had slept like a log after her nightmare about Draco, and was ready to face the day.
She jumped out of bed and grabbed some clean fresh clothes, making her way down to the bathroom.
She was one of the first people to reach the great hall, passing it off, she just assumed that everyone else had stayed up late the night before to welcome in the new Year.
She began to fill her plate and was soon joined by Hermione, who was also an early riser, and then Luna, who had claimed that she had a hang over and needed some solid food inside her.
They sat for half an hour, helping themselves to the great spread, as well as generally talking about their Christmases.
Gradually the hall began to fill up. Ginny kept her eyes open, looking around for any signs of a blond head.
As it got later and later, she began to worry. She knew that Draco was in hiding, and Draco had promised her that he would be safe, but why wasn't he here? What was taking him so long?
()
Draco slowly drifted back to consciousness. He was lying in the middle of an extremely comfy bed with white cotton sheets. The room, he recognized as his own at Malfoy Manor, was filled with light that was streaming in through the open patio doors to his left.
He sat up in his bed, and immediately began to feel his head pounding in his skull.
He flopped back down against the many pillows, willing the pain away, when he heard the bedroom door open.
He sat up to see who it was, and a wave of heat and happiness flooded his body as he recognized the pretty women standing in the door frame, as his mother.
They stared at each other for a moment. No words being said. Narcissa had tears in her beautiful blue eyes, and Draco was preying that he would not cry himself.
Narcissa couldn't hold on any longer. The tears came as she ran across the room and scooped her boy broken boy up into her arms.
"Oh Draky..." she sobbed.
Draco still tried to hold back his own tears as he rubbed his mothers' back soothingly. "Shhhh. Its ok. I'm fine."
Narcissa pulled herself from the embrace to stare at her son. "No you are not fine. And its not ok! Look at you" She cupped his face with her hands as more tears came. "You're hurt. How could that mean, disgusting, vile man have the decency to call himself your father when he does this to you"
Draco covered her hands with his own, as a single tear escaped his eye and trickled down his blemished cheek.
He shook his head and wiped the tear away. "Malfoy's do not cry." He said with all the pride in the world.
Narcissa wrapped her arms around her son and whispered in his ear. "Yes they do" was all she said.
That did it. More unwanted tears fell from Draco's sky blue eyes. He tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming and coming, until Draco was a blithering wreck in his mothers' arms.
"No they don't. No they don't." He kept saying over and over again. But he still cried, and cried, until he had cried himself out.
Narcissa carefully lay him back down against the pillows and tucked him in, pulling the comforter right up to his chin.
Draco closed his eyes, while his mother ran her fingers through his soft blond hair, whispering comforting words into his ear.
When she was sure Draco was asleep, she kissed his forehead and made she he was warm enough, before silently leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
A few hours later, Draco woke up from his slumber to a searing pain in his right arm. Not knowing what the pain was, he lifted his arm....and there it was. The ugly mark that symbolized who he was, and what he represented. The dark mark was planted just below the joining of his elbow. And there it would stay, for the rest of his life.
