Thanks again for the reviews, greatly appreciated yet again.
I would just like to comment on the review that shirlyn4eva left me, if you don't like that kind of story why choose to read it a D/Hr fic could never be in character as obviously it just wouldn't happen so for all intents and purposes it must go out of character. You don't like it don't read it. Sorry! But thanks again everyone who left valid reviews keep up the good work!
Chapter 23 – Thank god
Draco spluttered and sat up quickly, he opened his eyes and looked in shock
"What the hell?" he screeched
"Draco calm down" professor Snape said "it's alright"
"What happened?" he asked his voice more steady and his paleness becoming back to its normal self rather than the grey he had been looking a moment before
"I think we need to have a bit of a talk" Dumbledore said and conjured up some chairs around his bed
"It's ok Draco" Hermione said and held his hand
"Right well you know you are a Malfoy" Dumbledore said and Draco nodded but rolled his eyes
"I was aware" he said sarcastically
"Anyhow when you were baptised it was using Voldemort's blood" Dumbledore said "and you were meant to receive your dark mark three months ago, you didn't and so you were in a coma of sorts, only a specific potion could revive you. But this had to have Voldemort's blood in it also"
"How did you get that?" Draco asked "hey voldie give us a sample?"
"No we happened to have some of tom riddles blood stored as we have every students" Snape said "Hermione gave me the idea"
Hermione blushed and looked at the floor.
"And so now we need to prevent this happening again" Dumbledore continued "if you don't receive the dark mark in the next two weeks it will happen again"
"I don't want it" Draco said firmly "is there a way around it?"
"No" the potions master said quietly "the only way around it is to receive the dark mark"
"but
I cant, I don't want to be a death eater" Draco said he was
furious
"Draco it's the only way" Dumbledore stated "you
can be useful to us in a similar way to professor Snape"
"You want me to be a spy?" Draco asked incredulously
"Yes" Dumbledore said
"he
will kill me in moments, I can not do occlumency" the young man
said
"Severus can teach you" Dumbledore said
"no he
can't!" Draco shouted "I can not physically do it, something to
do with my father, he made it impossible for me to be able to do it"
"What?" they all asked in shock
"when I was young he put all manner of curses on me" Draco said "he never told me what they were until a couple of years ago when he was blind drunk and told me all the things he had done to me, he made it so I couldn't do that, so that I couldn't lie to him, amongst other things"
"Evil man" Hermione said she was very mad by now "so now what?"
"I don't know" Snape said
"So now we get Draco his dark mark and hope that voldemort doesn't use legilamency on him" Dumbledore said "you will die if you don't so it won't make a hell of a difference"
"You what?" Draco shouted at the headmaster "do you not care at all?"
"Of course I care, but it's important and we must" Dumbledore said sternly "accept it Draco it is your fate after all is it not?"
"It was" Draco said "I thought I had changed it"
"Some fates can not be changed" Dumbledore said and stood up
a few hours later Draco was discharged and him and Hermione were curled up on a sofa in their common room
"I just don't understand" Hermione said "why is he so hell bent on you being a spy for them when Snape already does that?"
"I don't know" Draco said "but I am going to find out"
he stood up and left
"Come in" Snape said as Draco knocked on his office door, his professor and head of house was sat at his desk with a glass of fire whiskey looking somewhat forlorn
"How can I help you Draco?" he asked
"Why does Dumbledore want me to spy on them so much?" Draco asked
"I think Voldemort's getting twitchy about me" Snape said "I assume Dumbledore thinks if you take over he might not figure it out"
"Well I am pretty sure he will kill me pretty soon" Draco said and sat down opposite him
"Maybe" Snape said "maybe not, you are Lucius' son, you are from the great Malfoy family. You do not know good, you are born from evil"
"Thanks" Draco said
"no I don't mean you are, I mean that is how he will see it" the professor said
"Oh I see" the younger one nodded
"I don't want to see you dead Draco" Snape told him "but I don't want to see you like them either"
"I know" Draco said quietly "I just hope I am strong enough"
"Me too" Snape said "I will have to arrange your initiation as soon as possible"
"Hasn't he wondered why I haven't been yet" Draco asked
"I told him that you were grieving your father's fate" Snape said "he seemed to buy it and gave you extra time"
"I see" Draco said "well set it up and let me know, I need to prepare myself mentally for this"
"I understand" Snape said "goodnight"
Draco went back upstairs and Hermione was asleep on the couch.
He picked her up and carried her to her room, he lay down next to her and held her for all he was worth, what was to become of him? What did the future hold? He wished he had all the answers but deep down he knew nothing. He only knew that he loved the girl in his arms more than anything in the world and if he didn't have that he might as well be dead.
The next morning there was a message on that tablet, beeping away for all it was worth
"Bloody hell it's like six o'clock" Draco swore as he went over to look
'Draco,
Come to my office as soon as you get this
Snape'
Was all it said, so Draco hurried to get dressed and went running off to the dungeons, 'what is this all about?' he wondered
But he wasn't left wondering for long, when he arrived he noticed Snape was sat in his chair again and looked awful, he looked as though he hadn't even been to bed and he had been drunk and cast a sobering charm upon himself
"Draco"
the professor greeted him
"hi" Draco said and sat down again
"I have received word back from voldemort, he wants to do it tonight" Snape said
"Tonight?" Draco made an odd choking sound
"Yes" Snape said "I think he needs someone now Lucius is no longer there and you being his son and all"
"I see" Draco said "well I will remain off classes today and prepare"
"I understand" Snape said and bid him away
When Draco went back upstairs he heard Hermione in the shower, he was going to make her take the day off too and help him.
"Hermione" he said as she came out of the bathroom in her school robes "you have to stay here today" he hugged her tightly and she looked at him concernedly
"What's wrong?" she asked
"I have to go tonight" he told her
"Tonight?" she was shocked "wow he moves fast"
"Yes" Draco said "I don't have a good feeling about this at all"
"There must be a way you can block your mind from him" Hermione said "we will think of something"
"Good luck" he said and ordered them some breakfast "I doubt we have time"
Hermione left for the library after breakfast to look for some sort of charm or potion that could be used, she looked for hours until she found something
'The occlumation potion
This potion lasts for exactly four hours, it is similar to occlumency and withholds your inner mind from a certain individual, and you must use something of theirs to bind this potion to them'
It went on with a list of ingredients, it would only take two hours to make and Hermione was hopeful that their professor would have the ingredients. She rushed to him and showed him the book
"Of course" he said "nobody has used this potion for years, it was easier to learn occlumency as it can block anyone, but if we use the remainder of his blood we should be able to buy Draco a few months until voldemort trusts him at least"
"Thank god" Hermione said and went back to be with Draco
She told him all about the potion
"You are the cleverest person ever" he said happily and kissed her
"You will make my head swell" she giggled and kissed him back
They just sat around and chatted for a while, Draco was nervous and Hermione was scared but they tried to push it to the back of their minds and try to enjoy being together,
"Well I had better go now" Draco said standing up
"Draco" Hermione said standing up as he went to open the door
"yes?" he asked
"I love you, be careful" she told him
"I will" he said "I love you too" and with that he was gone
