They were being pulled forward at an impossible speed, rushing through a series of blurry colors, and it seemed to last at least five minutes. Shoulders were hitting roughly against his own, causing him to tightly shut his eyes. But they finally landed, and Draco felt his legs buckle beneath him as he hit the ground. He could hear the others stumbling around beside him. He let out a long breath of air, trying to calm himself again; he felt himself beginning to shake.

"Get up," Blaise hissed. Draco felt himself being tugged up by one arm, and not at all gently. So he got slowly to his feet. His eyes opened.

"You too," Crabbe grunted to Harry. The boy's head had dropped onto his chest. He looked like he'd been too tired to endure the porktkey's ride, but he got slowly to his feet as well, his eyes flickering briefly onto Draco before returning to the floor.

Saying nothing, Draco allowed himself to be led along what looked like a dungeon corridor. The only sources of light were from a few candles up ahead, and the smell was dusky and damp, as if they were underground. "Where are we?" Draco mumbled.

"How am I supposed to know?" snapped Blaise, "Your father couldn't tell me where he'd be in the letter. Do you know what could've happened?"

"Yeah, you could've gotten expelled and my father would've been put away!" Draco snapped angrily. He felt like pulling forward to attack the boy, but he didn't think he'd be able to, and wasting his strength here would've been stupid.

"A bit angry, are you?" Blaise taunted from ahead of him. He turned around to flash Draco a smirk, and it only made Draco's scowl deepen.

After a minute or so, they began to reach the end of the corridor. The room ahead was lighter now, as if torches were lighting it. From the looks of it, it was a large, circular room. Nothing was seen inside. Draco swallowed heavily, glancing at Harry. The boy's head was still drooping tiredly against his chest.

Finally, though not a relief to Draco, they entered the circular room with Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise. Their eyes scanned the room before landing on one figure sitting near the opposite wall, apart from where they were standing. The person was wearing a dark robe of black, which appeared to be brand new. They also held their wand calmly in one hand, twisting it throughout their fingers as if not noticing them.

Blaise cleared his throat, and gradually, the figure lifted up their head. Draco's eyes only stayed on the man's face for a moment, and then he looked to the wall beside them. He couldn't look at his father. Not now. Not after everything that had happened.

"How nice to see you all," Lucius drawled. He stood up from the small chair he had been sitting in and began walking slowly over to them. Blaise held an evil grin, and Crabbe and Goyle stood still at the spot, expressionless. Draco was still avoiding any eye contact, and Harry had lifted his head to glare icily at Lucius. He looked murderous.

"You may tie together their legs and then release them," Lucius ordered quietly. His gaze went from Draco to Harry, then to Blaise, who already seemed to have conjured up some more rope. He handed some to both Crabbe and Goyle, where they proceeded to tie Draco and Harry's ankles together. Both boys stayed still, knowing they wouldn't be able to do anything to stop them.

"Good, you may stand aside, you three," the man said, a smirk appearing.

Obediently, Blaise and his two helpers went to stand by the wall. Blaise looked eager for some sort of punishment to be done upon Draco, or maybe a reward for himself, but even still, he watched with that grin still plastered on his face.

"I never thought the day would come where I would have you like this, Potter," Lucius began speaking as he paced in front of them both. "All these years and I've only been this close to you once, and you were smart enough to get away."

"And you," he snapped, his voice much more hostile. He turned to face Draco. "Making Potter your guard dog because you're afraid of me. I thought you'd be smart enough to at least go my way, so I could save myself this trouble. But no, you seek help from the good side." Lucius shook his head. "I don't know what I did wrong in raising you."

Draco stayed silent, his eyes now boring into his father.

"So, I don't think we should stay here and make this last all night. We might as well get right down to the point." Lucius went back to his chair, not wary of the idea that Harry and Draco might try escaping. When he reached the chair, he pulled it over and set it in front of them. His hands rested on the back. "To get some wonderful questions answered, you'll be sitting down right here. If you don't tell the truth, truth serum will be in order. Mr. Zabini has been kind enough to take some from your Professor's office."

Harry's eyes widened then, and Draco glanced sideways to see that the Gryffindor was trying desperately to loosen the ties on his wrists. He looked panicked, and Draco knew that in no way was that was going to help. It was too late for help. They could only hope that his father wasn't going to do anything serious to either of them.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, you want to go first?" Lucius questioned, noticing his struggling. "Alright, come on then."

The man strode over to him and tugged at the back of his arms, pulling him roughly toward the chair in the middle of the room. He shoved Harry into it, muttering a short binding spell that wrapped around the Gryffindor's waist. Draco's eyes widened as well, and he attempted a step forward, but his feet wouldn't go anywhere. He nearly toppled over.

"This won't do..." Lucius muttered. He untied the cloth from around Harry's head so that it fell away from his mouth. There were red marks at the corner of his lips. Though that didn't seem to matter to Harry; he began to yell frantically, threatening Lucius.

"Untie me, you bastard! What do you think you're going to do! Get the truth out of us and then what! The Ministry'll capture you! Dumbledore will know we're gone!"

Draco bit his lip, his gaze moving toward the floor. He knew that that wasn't possible. Dumbledore didn't know everything, and no one at the castle knew they were missing. Chances were that Blaise did something to Harry's other dorm mates, and Pansy certainly wasn't on their side to go running to the Headmaster.

He heard his father laughing mercilessly. "Of course they will. And what I do to you both afterward is none of your worry right now. I'll just be making sure that Draco never disobeys me again; he'll be joining me no matter what he has told you."

"No, you will not be touching Draco!" Harry interjected. He began moving about wildly on the chair, trying to tip himself over. Draco could feel tears beginning to build up. He needed to do something...

"I don't recall when it was your decision to decide how I discipline my own son!" Lucius said loudly. His hands grabbed onto the back of the chair then, and the hold managed to steady it. Harry stopped struggling, breathing heavily and looking furious.

"Good boy. Now, I have a few questions to ask you about what you've been telling my son. And if you could, what he's been telling you. If you do it now, it'll make it easier in the end."

"We haven't been talking about anything," Harry spat back.

"Very well," Lucius said, sounding unconvinced. "Mr. Zabini. The truth serum, if you please?"

Blaise made his way over to the man, pulling a small vile of clear liquid from his robe pocket. He handed it over, smiling. "Here you are, Mr. Malfoy."

"Thank you. You may go back to where you were," the man said in return. He made his way around the chair so that he was facing Harry. "Would you like to rethink your answer?" Lucius lifted the vile in front of the Gryffindor's face.

"No," Harry replied defiantly.

Lucius' eyes narrowed slightly, and in the next second, the cork that had been blocking the opening of the Veritaserum was off and being pressed against Harry's lips. "Drink it," he said coldly.

Harry shook his head, trying to face away from Lucius' hand. But it didn't work. After a few more seconds, Draco's father became frustrated enough that he used a hand to grab Harry's chin. He forced the boy to face him, and then tilted his head back. A few drops of the liquid dripped between Harry's lips, which the boy instantly coughed up.

Though that didn't seem to matter to Lucius, because he straightened himself up again, corking the bottle before slipping it into his own pocket. He watched Harry closely as Draco fearfully watched as well; Harry began getting a sleepy look. His father smirked.

"I believe that you managed to let one drop get through. That's enough."

Harry licked his lips, looking a bit dreamy as he sat there, not moving at all.

"Now, I will ask you again. Have you told my son anything that is worth telling me? Anything pertaining to what side he should join?"

There was a short pause before Harry answered. His tone stayed the same throughout all that he said; quiet and ongoing as if it were practiced. "I told him that everything is going to be alright and that you're going to be caught soon, and that I wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"But nothing on which side he should be on?"

"No."

Lucius seemed a bit disappointed. He had probably been looking forward to cursing Harry somehow, only for that reason. A minute went by before the next question was asked.

"Have you ever told him anything about me?"

"No."

"Really now?"

"Yes."

"And what is your relationship with Draco?"

"We're friends."

Lucius chuckled. "Friends." He looked back at Draco, who was keeping his eyes off of Harry and his father. He was trying so hard not to burst out and say something foolish; something that wouldn't get them both into worse trouble.

"You've gotten to be friends now?" Lucius asked, turning back to Harry.

"Yes."

"How did that come about?"

"He needed help and I gave it to him, and then we eventually got along and became friends."

"Was it that easy?"

"Someone needed to take care of him. Everyone else was abusing him."

Lucius fell silent then, looking angry to have heard that. Draco knew the term 'abusing' didn't sit well his father. He probably thought it was a simple act of discipline, and that it was what Draco needed in order to get himself together. With a cursory glance Blaise's way, he motioned with his hand to move Harry off of the chair. Blaise did just that, muttering the binding counterspell, and made sure he moved Harry as roughly as possible. Harry fell onto his side, twisting slightly.

Draco looked up and glared at Blaise, seeing that the boy was looking smug with himself again. He made his way back over to the wall, watching Draco maliciously. It wasn't until Draco saw his father crouching down over Harry when he stopped staring at the boy.

Lucius sent an amused grin Draco's way, before his hand planted itself on Harry's shoulder. "Mr. Zabini said that you're both becoming more than friends, is that true, Harry?" Lucius questioned, his tone holding feigned kindness.

"Yes." Harry began twisting about again, once that hand began inching its way up Harry's neck.

"Don't touch him!" Draco shouted angrily; his tone held repulsion. He tried taking a sudden step forward, but he forgot that his feet were tied and ended up tripping onto the floor. He managed to turn onto his side before falling onto his face, but he let out a small groan anyway. Hitting the hard floor had been painful.

"You're worried about him, Draco?" Lucius queried, sounding a bit hostile again, "You shouldn't be."

"Just keep your bloody hands off of him. I don't care what you do to me, just quit touching him!"

Lucius chuckled again. His hand remained where it was; his fingers had even started to caress along Harry's neck. He was definitely trying to get a rise out of Draco, to see how attached he had gotten to the boy.

"Get your fucking hands off of him, you bastard!" Draco cried. He could feel those tears coming again, but he wouldn't dare let them loose. He couldn't get himself to move; only to scream. He wouldn't let his father do this to Harry.

Eventually, his father did stop. He drew his hand away from Harry's neck and stared coldly at his son. Draco was breathing heavily, staring at him as if the only thing he wanted to do was kill someone. Kill him, to be specific. "You've gotten much too close to this boy, Draco. You know that it'll never work. He'll die at the hands of Voldemort soon, and you'll be following beside me the entire way."

"No, I won't," Draco said through gritted teeth.

"You want me to do it again, Draco?" Lucius asked, his tone deadly calm.

Draco closed his eyes tightly, swallowing back a sick lump in his throat. "No."

"And I suppose you wouldn't like to see me hurting Potter either?"

"No," Draco said darkly. His eyes opened again, just to make sure his father wasn't trying anything again. He could feel himself growing sick, as if he'd lose his last meal in the next second.

"Then you will join me. After school... you will be led by Mr. Zabini and his friends here, and will be taken to me. I trusted you to go alone before, but you've given me my doubts. You'll make sure of that, won't you Mr. Zabini?" Lucius looked back at the three boys by the wall to see that Blaise nodded his agreement.

He turned back to Draco then. "And if you say no to me one more time, I'll do things to Potter. I'll do things to you. And to make sure that you don't go running back for cover once you return to Hogwarts, you'll stay here with me."

Draco kept on staring at his father, determined not to give in and say he was going to follow him. But he doubted this determination all of a sudden. He couldn't bear to see Harry go through the pain he had, and the mere thought of it was nauseating . He couldn't bear to have it done to himself either, and the thought of staying with his father while the others went back to school made him more afraid than ever before. He had to give in. There was no other choice.

"So, have you reconsidered your answer?" Lucius questioned again. He stood up, looking down at Draco, who already felt hot tears trickling down his face.

"Yes, father. I'll join you."