A/n: Yay, a wicked quick update. I finished this one quickly. Please, tell me what you think! Read and Review!
Hate's Just A Word
Chapter TWELVE: The Dark Mark
Malfoy returned to school on Monday as Zabini had said. No one knew why he was taken in the first place. Yet, he seemed to be quieter and more pale than usual. In classes, Zabini kept giving her the most annoying looks. She was thinking about fighting him, but she had done so much of that this year, she didn't want to leave her much more peaceful life to punch his face in. She kept in mind that he couldn't tell anyone. Hermione kept giving her looks once in a while. She was still in disbelief and definitely did not like that they were together. Harry wanted to have that talk, but she wasn't in the mood for it just quite yet.
In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Zabini sent her over notes. He was into tormenting her. Draco didn't even notice anything. He had this dazed look on his face, and his mind was obviously elsewhere. She opened up his note.
So, you'll be seeing him tonight, of course. I think you should pop in and say hello. We'd love to see you.
She hated him for knowing. He would annoy her for fun. He was a typical Slytherin. When she annoyed Draco, it was usually fun, but she was allowed to do that. She remembered that before this year, they didn't even know she existed. She never said anything. Life was so peaceful. Then she started to fight with Draco Malfoy every other day, and the next thing she knew, she was dating him. The Slytherin inside her awoke, and she became just as bad as them for fun. After that last fight, she couldn't do it anymore. Everything was so chaotic, and by now, everyone expected her to be that way. She missed the peace, and so she stopped. She would stop taunting Draco, and he would stop taunting her. She would just have to tell Blaise to leave her alone.
Please, save it. I don't care what you have to say. I'd rather not waste my life fighting with you. I've had enough of that with you-know-who. Just leave me alone.
She looked away from Blaise and looked at the Professor who was randomly talking about something. A few moments later, another note arrived. She almost threw it away, but she decided to read it.
I hear Pansy will be making a move on Draco soon since things have been going so well. What are you going to do about it?
He was doing it just to annoy her. This would be her last response.
I have no problem with fighting her. Draco would be next. And, I have absolutely no problem punching your face in.
She ended it there, and spent the rest of the class feeling annoyed. She was annoyed at Blaise, and annoyed at Draco. She tried to catch him after class, but he hurried off and she didn't even have a chance to catch him. He only attended classes, and then it was impossible to find him. It didn't matter. She would just talk to him later.
Later came, and she was getting out of bed to go to him. She went to the place she hated so much to see him. Once she entered the Slytherin common room, she almost expected Blaise Zabini to pop out and surprise her. He didn't. She quietly crept up the stairs and went to Draco's room. She opened the door. He was standing by the window and looking out of it. She quietly closed the door, and then he turned around.
"Hey," He said to her. She smiled and walked over to him.
"Hey," She said as she wrapped her arms around him. She rested her chin on his shoulder. "How are you doing?"
"Okay," He said, although they both knew that he's been way better.
"So, why didn't you tell me you were leaving for the weekend?" Lindsay asked. He sighed. Lindsay lifted her head, and he turned around to look at her.
"I didn't know until that morning. I left right after you left. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you," He said.
"It's okay," She said. "So, when did you tell Blaise Zabini?"
He turned red and looked away for a moment. "After you left, before I left…" He looked back her. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to say. An owl from my mother went to the wrong room, and he was only bringing the owl to me. He was in my room, as I was reading the note and he noticed the tie. Your initials were on the back, so I told him, mostly everything, but not all of it. Don't worry. I cursed him. He won't tell anyone."
"I wish he didn't know," Lindsay said, with a sigh.
"Me too," He said. "I'd rather have it without him knowing."
"Oh, he's not the only new addition. Hermione knows as well," Lindsay said, unhappily.
"Granger knows?" Draco asked, surprised.
"It was only a matter of time," Lindsay said. The two sighed.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I don't care if they know," Draco said. He leaned forward and started to kiss Lindsay. She put her hand on his head, and kissed him back. They pulled back, and smiled at each other. Draco took her hand and took her to the bed. She kicked off her shoes. He sat down and laid back, and she positioned over him. The two started with their snogging. Lindsay hadn't even bothered to change. She remained in her uniform. Draco was in his pajamas. He was wearing long sleeves, which was quite abnormal.
Lindsay put her hand on the side of his head, and started to run her hand through his hair. For a long, long while, they went on with their snogfest. And then Draco suddenly cried out in pain. They pulled apart. Lindsay stared. Had she accidentally hurt him? Yet, even though they were apart, he still had a pained expression on his face. She realized she put her hand on his left arm for support. She removed it and placed it down on the bed.
"Sorry," She said. He smiled, weakly.
"It's okay," He said. They looked at each other, and then Lindsay's eyes widened. 'Left arm…left forearm. No, it can't be…' She didn't want to let him know that she suspected him. She leaned back forward, and started to kiss him again, although she had other things on her mind. The Dark Mark… that's why he left the school. Voldemort gave him the Dark Mark… he's only sixteen. He's probably proud and happy that he got the mark. He'll be showing it off to his friends… He doesn't want me to know, and that's why he's wearing long sleeves. Well, we'll have to get this shirt off.'
Lindsay deepened the kiss and put her hands on his chest. She started to undo the first button. She knew by doing this, she would be making some sacrifices. She stopped, and started to loosen her tie. She threw it onto the floor. She lifted her Gryffindor vest, and forced it over her head. She unbuttoned the first button of her shirt and allowed Draco to do the rest. The shirt came off, and they continued kissing. 'Now, for his shirt…'
She started to unbutton his shirt as they snogged. He didn't stop her. She was almost there. She undid the last button. 'Yes!' She started to pull his shirt off, and then suddenly, she felt his hand gripping her arm.
"Wait," He said, looking at her. She stared in disbelief. She was so close. He couldn't say that now. "We should wait."
She almost glared, but she had to keep her calm. She kept her eyes on his face, and tried hard not to look anywhere near his left arm. She couldn't believe what he was saying and what she was saying. "Why?"
He looked in disbelief. "It's not that I don't want to." She knew that already. He was a guy… "But, we should wait."
She was angry, but she took a deep breath. He was hiding something, and she knew it was that. "I understand," She said. She removed herself from on top of him, and moved beside him. She rested her head on his chest. He was careful to move his left arm as she did so. She would just wait until he fell asleep. He started to stroke her hair. When he stopped, she would know whether he was asleep or not. He did it for a while, but he eventually stopped. She carefully moved her head, back onto a pillow. She turned on her side and watched him. His breathing was much more slow, and his hand that once was stroking her hair was now still. She watched him for a while and he made no more movements. Now, the trick was pulling up his sleeve without him noticing. She carefully placed her fingers around the edge of his sleeve. She then carefully pulled it, slowly. His arm was probably very sensitive so she tried not to touch it. Suddenly, the mark became clear. There it was… She pulled her hand back in fear. She didn't want to touch it or even be anywhere near it. She was horrified. Why did he have the Dark Mark? The answer was obvious. He was pulled out of school this past weekend to get the mark. It meant that Voldemort finally had some use for him.
She had always been joking when she said that he was a death eater in training, but now it was a reality. He looked so peaceful, and so beautiful while he was sleeping. His chest moved up and down as he breathed and he looked different than his normal, devious self. The mark ruined the beauty of the boy. She didn't want to see it but couldn't stop staring at it. She hated Voldemort for desecrating the boy. She couldn't stand to look at that mark anymore. She pulled his sleeve down, just as carefully as she pulled it up.
God, it made her sick. She turned away from him, and faced the other direction. She was overwhelmed with horror, anger, and fear. She had to keep in mind it was still the same Draco Malfoy. He was same guy as the one she fell in love with. It wasn't a different person. He was different, though, and he would become more different. He would become more preoccupied with his mission from his stupid Dark Lord. Their time together was running out. She had a hard time getting to sleep. She could only think about him and that stupid Dark Mark.
In the morning, Draco shook her awake.
"'ey, wake up," He said, shaking her slightly. She stirred and yawned.
"What?" She muttered, too lazy to move or even open her eyes.
"It's time for you to go," He said. She opened her eyes, rubbed them, yawned once more, and turned over to her other side. He was sitting over her.
"You kicking me out, then?" She asked with another yawn.
"Oh, no. If you want to stay, I don't mind a pretty girl wearing only an undergarments and her skirt in my bed," Draco said, with a smirk. Lindsay reached for the pillow, and hit him with it.
"I'm not pretty, am I?" She asked, tiredly.
"I think you are."
"Okay, yeah, I don't trust that."
"You're better looking than—"
"—that cow Parkinson?" She finished for him with a grin. He grinned back and nodded.
"Just think about it. I'm Draco Malfoy. Would I be dating you if I didn't think you were attractive?"
"Good point," She said with a laugh. She then glanced at his left arm. She felt that sick feeling in her stomach. She abruptly stopped laughing, but he didn't notice.
"'ey, pass me my shirt," She said to him. He leaned over and grabbed her stuff from the floor. She sat up and put on her white button down shirt. She did the buttons, and then put the Gryffindor vest over it. She put the tie back on, and she was fully clothed. Now would be a good a time as ever to confront him.
"So, anything you want to tell me," She said, standing up. She had a serious tone, but Malfoy believed that she was just kidding around.
"Um… I love you?" He said, laughing afterwards.
"That's nice to know," She said. She turned and looked at him, crossing her arms.
"Um…?" Draco said, realizing that she was serious.
"I know," She said, quietly. He stared.
"What?"
"I know…" She said. She took out her wand and pointed it at her left arm. With a slight wave, she lifted up the sleeve. Draco's eyes widened and he quickly pulled the sleeve down. He obviously didn't want her to know. "…about that."
"How? How do you know?" He asked.
"First, you wear long sleeves… You left on the weekend, mysteriously. When I was putting pressure on your left arm, you were in pain," She said as she pocketed her wand. "And lastly, you turned down a lot in order to keep your shirt on."
He looked panicked and he didn't know what to do or say.
"Please," He finally said. "Don't hate me because of this… It wasn't—"
"Draco, I don't want your excuses. I know you, and I understand," She said, quietly. "It's your beliefs. It's your side. You belong there and you're glad to have that mark. Voldemort has some use for you. You'll be doing some kind of plan for him…I know I don't agree with it. We both know that, but it isn't time for it to end, right now. I'll be with you for as long as I possibly can… "
"So, you're not leaving me?" He asked, quietly.
Not yet. She didn't want to say that. "No."
He let out a sigh of relief. She said goodbye and left him, still thinking about the dark mark. She went into the Gryffindor Common Room, and today, not only was Harry there, but Hermione and Ron were there. As she walked in, it became silent and completely awkward. Harry knew, and Hermione knew, but Harry didn't know Hermione knew. Ron didn't know about it and they didn't tell him. Harry and Hermione knew where she was, or suspected, but Ron has a confused look on his face.
"You three are up early," Lindsay said, tiredly. They all stared.
"Where were you?" Ron asked. She shrugged.
"I was sleep-walking. I guess I fell asleep in some random classroom, because when I woke up I was like' where the hell am I?'" Lindsay made up at the last second. Ron bought it.
"You sleep-walk?" He asked.
"Yeah, all the time," Lindsay said.
"I figured it was that," Hermione said, to add emphasis.
"You okay?" Ron asked. "You look like you've just seen the dark mark or something."
She stared. Unbelievable. He got it on his first try.
"Fine, fine. I'm just going to…sleep or something," She said, and headed to the dorms. That one was pretty close and overly suspicious. Luckily, Ron didn't ask why she was still in her school uniform from the day before. He was right. She did just see that stupid dark mark. It haunted her all through the day. She couldn't look at Draco the same way. Every time she would see him, she immediately looked at his left arm. It was mid-March already, and she was beginning to think that this was the beginning of the end. It wouldn't be able to go on any longer. She would try to hold on as long as she could. She would be with him for as long as she could. She did the avoiding of Harry Potter a lot. She didn't want to have that talk with him.
Throughout the week, Lindsay noticed some different behaviors within Draco. Whenever he was around fellow Slytherins. They would always be laughing, and Draco acted like his usual conceited, I-think-I'm-the-best self. During class, he would just stare off into the distance. He looked as if he wanted to be elsewhere. He almost looked sort of troubled. He did become a bit paler than usual. And, at night, when they were together, he acted perfectly normal. He had his usual comments, and his smirks, and his sense of humor.
She sat on his bed, and listened to him go on about Crabbe or Goyle trying to do something. He still seemed to love the sound of his own voice. She tried to pay attention, but she had his behavior changes and his dark mark on her mind.
"—so, then he tried to—Are you listening?" He asked, suddenly. She was taken aback.
"Of course. Please continue," She said. He looked at her for a second, but he bought it.
"Anyway, so then he tried to…"
She, once again, stopped listening and thought to herself. 'Should I ask him about him? Should I ask what's troubling him? Or should I just let him think that I don't notice his changes? He got the amusing part of his story, and she forced a laugh to convince him that she was actually listening. They talked the whole night, rather he talked a lot. Eventually, he fell asleep, in the middle of a story. She was slightly relieved. He had a nice sounding voice, no doubt, but she couldn't take another one of his stories. He wasn't interested in what Crabbe or Goyle did, or what Zabini or Nott said. She was more interested in him and his well-being.
He started to make sounds, and caused Lindsay to jump. She looked at him. He was still asleep. He moved a bit and started muttering in his sleep.
"No, don't kill them. Don't kill my family. I didn't mean to fail. Don't do it…"
He was having a nightmare of some kind. Lindsay figured it was about Voldemort or something like that. Of course, it made sense. He was marked because he had a purpose for him. He's given Draco a mission and threatened him to do it right because if he doesn't, than Voldemort would kill his family. He was sweating, and having a bad nightmare. He made occasionally sounds of fear, but he could no longer make words.
She put her hand on his head, and started to slowly stoke his blond hair.
"It's alright, Draco," She whispered, although she knew he could not hear her. It wasn't alright, and it never would be. She eventually fell asleep, and it was a nice break from reality.
The next morning was quiet. The two of them woke up, but they didn't talk to each other. Draco looked really pale, and he looked as if he had a long, long nightmare, which he had. Lindsay looked normal, but was quite stressed. She had a lot on her mind from Draco to wishing her life was normal. Finally, Lindsay decided to start a conversation.
"Are you going to take the Apparition test?" She asked, randomly. It was a nice change from the serious atmosphere.
"No, my birthday is in June. I can't," He replied, quietly.
"Oh, me neither. Mine's in June as well…" She said. They were silent for a second. Draco was still thinking about his nightmare, no doubt. He was thinking about his mission. Apparition, classes, even his girlfriend were the farthest things from his mind.
"You were tossing and turning last night," She said and looked at him. "Were you having a nightmare?"
He looked startled, and surprised. "Yeah," He said, quietly.
"About what?" She asked. She waited for the lies. He always lied. She never knew why, but he lied and he would do so now.
"Death," He said, calmly. She looked surprised. "The Dark Lord was torturing my parents, and then killed them. He tortured me for hours. Oh, and then he killed you. You didn't get tortured."
She wanted to speak her mind. She wanted to tell him that he shouldn't have accepted this mission. She wanted to tell him that he was only sixteen and he had his whole life ahead of him. He shouldn't have joined the Dark Lord. Yet, today, she said nothing. She wouldn't trouble him even more than he already was. She put her hand on his shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze. They were silent once more.
"Hey, today's a Hogmeade trip," said Lindsay, trying hard to change the mood.
"Yeah," He said, showing no interest at all.
"Do you want to go…and hang out together?" She asked, trying to get something from him. He looked at her, surprised.
"You mean, in public?" He asked.
"Yes."
"What will we say to people?"
"The truth. They won't believe it," She said. They looked at each other for a moment. It was a weird moment. Lindsay could tell that Draco was interested, but he was looking for a reason not to go. That made absolutely no sense.
"Sure," He said. "I'd love to."
She left a while later. Why did he want to go, but not want to do? It was insane. She crept quietly through the hallways of the boys' dormitory. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. What did he want now? She turned around, but it wasn't Draco. It was Blaise Zabini.
"Oh, you," She sneered at him. He just smirked. She continued walking, and he followed her. She stopped in the common room, and turned around once more.
"What?" She hissed, in a whisper.
"How's Draco?" He asked, with that annoying smirk.
"Preoccupied, troubled, and distant," She replied, honestly. Zabini frowned.
"Yeah, he has been lately, hasn't he?"
"Very much so," Lindsay said, looking for an opportunity to leave, but Zabini went on talking.
"He's been busy with that mission for the Dark Lord, I suppose," said Zabini, giving a look to Lindsay.
"No, I don't know what it is. He hasn't told me and I don't think he ever will," Lindsay said, with a sigh. "So, he hasn't told you guys?"
Zabini shook his head. "He's keeping it to himself. He makes Crabbe and Goyle help him, but he won't tell them what he's doing. All I know is that he has a dark mark."
"Ah, the dark mark."
"Cool, isn't it?" Zabini said with a smirk. Lindsay rolled her eyes.
"He tried to keep it from me…"
"We're all wondering what his mission is. Don't you think you could seduce him and get him to tell you?"
She let out a laugh. She thought about when she was exposing the truth about the dark mark. He protected his dark mark well. "Trust me, it won't work."
"Great boyfriend you have, eh?"
She couldn't have said it better herself.
Lindsay left the Slytherin Common Room, and headed to her own. She walked in, and the usual crowd was there, minus Ron. Harry and Hermione were sitting around, discussing things. As usual, they turned silent when she entered. This encounters were always interesting. Harry and Hermione both knew where she was, but Harry didn't know Hermione knew.
"Hey," She said to the two of them.
"Sleepwalking, again?" Harry asked. His voice sounded colder than usual.
"Yeah, that," Lindsay replied, frowning.
"Er…we were talking about Malfoy," Hermione said, suddenly. "And we could use your opinion. I mean, you've fought with him a lot, and seem to know things about him."
"Okay, what about?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"Harry seems to think that Malfoy has the dark mark and is doing some secret mission for Voldemort. I disagree."
"I'm going to have to agree with Harry. I think he has the dark mark and is doing some secret mission for Voldemort," She said. "Although I don't know what it is, and why would I? I overheard him bragging, but it seems he's keeping what the mission actually is, a secret. He's not telling anyone, which a surprise considering how he loves to brag."
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.
"Quite," She replied. Without another word, she went upstairs and laid down, unable to go back to sleep. Perhaps, Hogsmeade would lighten the mood. She could only hope.