Disclaimer: I own nothing, just the plot.
Chapter Seventeen
Silence is deafening. It enhanced the senses and amplified even the tiniest sounds made. The clinking of china and silverware was booming in Draco's ear. He didn't look up from his meal, not even once, to see that his parents would give subtle glares at him. His tongue didn't even absorb the food he was consuming. His brain had gone on autopilot, unaware of how dangerous that was and that he should be attentive to his surrounding instead of ignorant.
"I'll be needing to speak with you after dinner, Draco," slurred Lucius nonchalantly. Draco almost winced at his voice. He knew what he meant. They wouldn't be talking at all, that was a sure thing. Draco nodded his head.
Putting his fork down, he excused himself from the table. As he was about to pass through the doorway, the man's voice rung through the room yet again.
"Report to my study in an hour." Draco sighed in frustration, leaving the dining room with no reply Lucius' command. Retreating to his room, he closed the door harder than he meant to, scaring a house elf in return as it traveled by. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to cut…
Plopping down at his desk, he secreted his face into his hands. Letting out a deep breath, he looked back up. Reaching in a draw, he pulled out a few sheets of parchment and a quill. Putting ink to paper, he drained all of the pent up thoughts into a letter to Hermione.
After declaring everything he could possible come up with, he folded the letter and sealed it. Evacuating his room, he trudged down to the barn, selected an owl, and sent it on its way to deliver the letter. Watching the owl take off, he leaned against the wall and sighed.
He hoped she would have understood…
Taking his sweet time, he headed back to the manor and involuntarily proceeded to Lucius' study. He didn't settle himself in any of the stiff, uncomfortable chairs. The cold room reflected everything to a tee about Lucius. It was where he spent most of his time in that house, so naturally it represented him perfectly. The room was in no way inviting. Draco only hoped that he wouldn't have to remain in here for long.
His wishes were slightly granted when a loud squeak was heard from the opening of the large oak doors. Lucius marched into the room, paying no notice to his son. He simply marched to his desk and removed some object from it. Draco didn't really know what the object was, and he really didn't care. It made no difference, it was a port key. His muscles began to flex and a quivering began to stir in his stomach as he neared Lucius and the object.
Here it was, the first step to an unbearably long night. He was being transported to wherever Voldemort was hiding, and be forced into joining the Death eaters.
At least that was the plan…
Not even needing instructions, Draco grabbed onto the object and instantly felt a tug around his waist. The world around him spun as he found himself no longer in the study, but a room full of books. They had traveled to a library?
The first thing Draco noticed were the hooded figures surrounding him. Lucius beckoned him to follow as the crowd left to room and entered the old, eerie hallway. Draco gulped and felt his heart race faster with each step he took. Coming at the end of the hallway one of the Death Eaters pulled out his wand and mutter a spell to the rusty looking lock. The door creaked open and Draco's legs turned to jelly as he tried to move forward.
The room was large, vacant, and smelled of death and mildew. A dim fire cracked in the far corner and a single overstuffed throne faced it. A hissing sound filled the room causing Draco to wince.
"Welcome, my young Malfoy!" slithered the creature inhabiting the chair. Draco said nothing in return, earning his a smack to the back of his head from Lucius, and a large shove that brought him to his knees. Staring at the ground, Draco's lips refused to acknowledge the gloomy presence moving ever so closely to him. With each inch it embarked, Draco could feel his energy being sucked out of his. This vacuum was slowly depleting him of everything he held in what little soul he had left. The feeling was unlike anything else he had ever experienced.
A dark shadow engulfed his body. He trembled as he felt his eyes wandering up. He tried to hold back, to not look, but something was forcing him otherwise. Soon Draco's eyes were resting upon the gruesome figure that was destroying life among all wizards.
"Voldemort…" he whispered to himself silently, wishing he was anywhere but here.
Hermione's eyes snapped open as her body flew out of bed. She tried to gasp for air, finding it rather difficult. Looking around her room, she relaxed slightly. Putting her hand to her forehead, she tried to rid it of the drenching sweat seeping from her pores.
The dream… it was so real. Thinking hard about it, she realized that it was. She was dreaming of what Draco was living at this moment. It must have been part of that potion. She was there. She had looked into the very eyes of the Dark Lord.
Hermione shuddered uncontrollably as she got out of bed. She needed something to drink. Her throat ached with soreness as she reached for a glass of water. It screamed in delight as she quenched the thirst, inhaling the water with one try. Putting the glass back down, she sighed and tried to get her heart beating on regular pace.
It was awful. Her body shook madly as she felt the tears pushing through her eyes. Letting her emotions get the better of her, Hermione let out a very repressed sob. Draco was there, in the same room with that monster. She couldn't handle it.
Grabbing her robes, Hermione raced out of the door. She had to tell someone, and only one person stuck in her mind at this time. Running down the hallways, she found the statue she was looking for and bit out the password. Leaping aside, she traveled up the stairs and banged on his door. She was out of breath when he found her, eyes still burning with tears.
"Dumbledore…" she wheezed out, trying to collect herself. The wizard smiled at her softly, and invited her in. Reaching the nearest chair she could find, Hermione collapsed.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk and patiently waited for Hermione to gain her breath. "Would you like a lemon drop?" he asked, pushing the candy dish towards her. Hermione shook her head and pushed it away.
"I suspect that this may have something to do with young Malfoy?" he asked. Hermione didn't gap like one would think. Dumbledore always had this weird way of knowing everything, and she was used to it. She simply nodded and felt a second surge of tears coming on.
"He… he… Death Eaters…" Hermione forced out. Dumbledore signaled for her to calm down. "They're… kill…" she choked on her words, feeling a breakdown emerging from within her. She could see those eyes… hear the whispers… feeling the coldness in the room. She was suffocating like he was.
"They're going to kill him…" she cried out. Crumbling in her seat, Hermione wrapped her arms around her knees and brought them up to her chest. She started mumbling things to herself as her body rocked back and forth.
Dumbledore looked at her with sadness in his eyes. Yes he had known all along about their affair. He knew everything about the two. He had been keeping a close eye on them since the year began.
"Please start from the beginning, Miss Granger. The Order is doing everything in their power to locate the whereabouts of Voldemort and young Malfoy. So please just calm down and try to tell me everything from the start." Dumbledore needn't know of the information. However, the point was to get Hermione to get her mind off of the present for just a short while, so she could regain her sanity and tranquilize herself.
Hermione sniffed, rubbed her sore eyes and uncurled her figure from the tight ball she had squeezed herself into.
"I was on the train…" she began softly. Part of her didn't want to speak. She wanted to just roll back up into the ball and die. Given the opportunity, she would have jumped off the astronomy tower right now.
She tried to recall every detail of the past. But no matter how much she thought of that fateful day on the train, her mind couldn't escape the terrorization she felt with Draco being where he was right now.
