Draco stared out his window. The moon was a thin sliver, almost impossible to see. He rolled over and glanced at the clock on the table beside his bed. The clock read 2:26. He sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His father would be out on another one of his raids so it would be safe until about 5:00.
Draco pulled on a black T-shirt, and padded over to the balcony. The stone floor was frigid on his bare feet. He shivered and grabbed his black dragon-hide jacket and shoes.
Quietly he opened the door a crack and peered out into the hallway. This is insane. What the hell am I doing? His mind gave him no answers that made sense so he slipped out of his room and padded down the hall. Stupid stone floors. My poor feet shall freeze and fall off. He shivered and sighed with relief as he entered the main part of the manor. At least that part had carpet. The thick black rugs were soft under his feet as he slipped down the stairs, staying to the left and jumping over the middle three that squeaked and ran lightly across the entrance hall. Turning down the stairs to the kitchen. Going out the front door would be too risky. Who knew what sort of trap Lucious had concocted for people trying to get in or out. And Draco definitely did not want to trigger a trap set up by his father.
Draco skirted around the huge kitchen, walking down the hall and entered the house elves' quarters. He tiptoed through the room and pulled back a rather grotesque tapestry telling the story of some hero who was eaten by a dragon. Behind it stood a large statue of an extremely gorgeous woman whom Draco guessed to some relative of his. Behind that statue was freedom. Actually no it's not. Stated an annoying voice in his head. First you have to get through the tunnel full of creepy bugs that are living proof that dinosaurs once roamed the Earth. And then there are the dogs. Merlin, I hate those bloody dogs with a passion! And then- Aaaah! I GET IT! He yelled back at the voice and pushed through the wall.
Darkness enveloped him as he light his wand with a flick of his wrist and hurried down into the labyrinth of tunnels under the Malfoy manor.
He nearly peed himself when an unsuspecting rat twined around his ankles and he was momentarily caught in the clawed hands of some perverse root. His quick stride slowed to a mosey as the tunnel branched off into three equally dark and stagnant paths.
"Okay. Which one? I know this. Stupid tunnels. Ok. Breathe." He stood unmoving and waited. Finally a tiny wisp of a breeze tickled his skin and with a grin of triumph he took off down the far left tunnel. His head started to ache from the effort of running so far and his breath came in as huge gasps. The small pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel started to look like death and the faster and harder he ran the more he felt like he was about to die. Finally he collapsed beside the exit, gasping and coughing. The cold night air burned his lungs and he leaned against a nearby tree.
Draco sighed and rolled over; a strange twinging made him glance down at his left arm. In the full moonlight the Mark glowed eerily. A bloody scab had started to form over it. Draco grimaced at the sight. After years of torturing him to accept it his father had finally given up and gave Draco the Mark without his consent.
I'd better get out of here. Draco thought, struggling to his feet. He hadn't eaten since lunch and his stomach rolled with hunger. He limped down the path from the moss pile and peered around a huge wayward pine. The manor stood above him on the hill, staring at him disapprovingly. The windows seemed to be eyes watching him and the picture window on the main floor was like a mouth.
"Why did you leave? Well you're never coming back anyway! Where are you going to go?" It asked. Draco blinked, his vision fuzzed over and the talking house came in and out of focus. You have really lost it now Draco. Was his last thought before he fell backwards, sinking into the dark hole of unconsciousness.
Draco woke slowly; his whole body ached. He groaned and squinted in the darkness. That's odd. He thought, I'm not outside…. He trailed off as he realized where he was.
He swore fluently and tried to move his wrists. But of course he was tied tight. His father would not like him to escape that easily again. The rough plank beneath him chafed his back as he squirmed.
"Hello Draco." The shadows dissolved to reveal Lucious. Draco groaned inwardly. His father's face hardened as he glowered down at his son. "Now tell me, why were you outside, out cold in the compost heap? Instead of here?"
Draco was silent. He refused to speak to his father.
"Answer me you worthless brat." Lucious snarled. When Draco made no move to acknowledge his present he slowly turned the wheel on the rack. Draco grimaced. Why of why did his father have to remake muggle torture systems. Because he's a twisted freak and enjoys killing people. Replied his brain with perfect logic.
Draco gasped as he felt his body being torn in two different directions. His muscles protested and stretched. Help! His mind screamed as his arms burned and screamed in pain. He tried to send a physic message of distress then almost laughed at his pathetic-ness.
Lucious watched his son struggle with a smile of contempt on his lips.
"So?" He asked, his cruel eyes laughed mirthlessly at Draco's obvious pain.
"I went out for a nice moonlight stroll in the gardens. Mother's been bugging me to relax more these days." Draco smiled at his father.
"Right. Or was it that you were running away. You must be very weak to run from this." Lucious waved a hand around indicating the dungeon room that they were in.
"I think this is the reason I left." Draco replied wittily. Lucious growled. It was surprising how much he sounded like some odd wild animal.
"I meant the house you stupid prat. You leave a place where you have everything at your command and you are in line to become part of the Dark Lord's inner circle. You ungrateful brat." Lucious glared down at him.
"You see, that could be another reason I left. I do not find that something to be grateful about." Draco replied sarcastically.
"Soon you will come to realize the immense power that comes with serving the Dark Lord. And the immense pain that comes with disobedience to His will." Lucious traced Draco's Mark with a cold finger. Seemingly oblivious to Draco's glare. "You have no idea what He can do. What power he has." Draco saw something flicker in his father's eyes. Like he was experiencing a painful memory.
"Is that why you're one of them? You didn't have the stomach to stand against him?" Draco taunted. Lucious grinned evilly.
"I have survived more than you know. Let's hope you survive just as much. Or better yet. Don't survive at all." He flicked his wand, sending the rack wheel turning yet another notch.
"Maybe you need a little more…encouragement" another turn of the wheel. "And then you won't be as quick to defy the Dark Lord" Draco's eyes hardened and he glared at his father's back as he exited the room.
Draco stared up at the ceiling. It was actually quite interesting. The moonlight from the tiny window cast gruesome shadows over the stained ceiling. The lines and cracks in the ceiling formed an odd assortment of things. He had already found a rabbit that had a huge tail that looked like it was on fire, a dinosaur with no head and some sort of bird.
Be was brought back to reality when the door opened. He cast the door a furtive look and seeing no one he frowned.
His eyes widened as a hand clamped over his mouth.
"Sir must be quiet." Squeaked a small voice. "You will be silent?" Asked the voice again. Draco turned his head to look at where the voice was coming from. And was greeted by two huge eyes staring at him from beside the rack table. He nodded as best he could and the hand was removed.
He felt the ropes around his wrists being cut and he gratefully sat up, rubbing his chafed wrists. The house elf, or what he presumed was a house elf (the squeaky voice and the huge eyes and ears were a dead give-away), was now slicing through the ropes around his ankles. Draco swung his legs over and slipped to the floor. His muscles felt slippery as if he had just taken a water shooter. He tried to remove his weight from the table but instantly fell back.
"Sir is very weak. Sit. Sit." Ordered the house elf, pushing Draco into a chair and handing him his wand. Draco nodded his thanks and frowned at the house elf.
"Do I know you?" he asked the house elf put a finger to his lips and shook his head.
"Sir mustn't talk. He must be quiet as quiet and follow me." Draco wasn't used to taking orders from a house elf. It was like he had woken up in a crazy alternate universe. But before he had time to argue the house elf was pulling him to his feet and practically dragging him to the door. Draco was amazed by the house elf's strength and was too weak himself to resist. He followed the elf through the slightly scorched door and down the hall. His mind still hadn't processed what was happening so he just followed as the elf opened a hidden door on a huge standing vase and entered. Draco stooped over and followed into the vase and through it into another tunnel behind it. He was starting to dislike tunnels. All they caused was trouble. He was amazed that this elf knew all about the tunnels under the manor and led him through them like an old pro.
"Why do you know your way around here?" He asked. Trying to make out the house elf in the gloom.
"I had to Sir, we use these tunnels to bring the master his things quickly." The house elf quipped, hurrying on up the tunnel. Draco stopped suddenly, causing the elf to pull on his arm painfully.
"So you work for my father." He glared at the house elf. Of course it all made sense. The elf was bringing him to his father so he could continue the torture in another part of the manor.
"No I don't work for the master. That was a long time ago before Harry Potter freed me." He yanked on Draco's arm ferociously and they started off again.
"Doby!" Draco exclaimed. "What the hell? Why are you here?"
"I am saving you." Doby answered as they exited the tunnel. Draco found himself in the forest the stood beside Eel lake. He breathed in the fresh air and sighed. It was good to be free. It was then that he noticed that Doby had disappeared.
"Doby!" He hissed, "this is not funny. Where are you?" Draco shuddered and peered into the dark forest. He saw nothing but a large white owl sitting in a tree. It hooted at him in a dignified way. Draco shivered again, the owl looked oddly familiar, rather like a long lost relative that had turned up unexpectedly. He turned away from the creepy owl and stared back up at the house.
"Hello Draco! Good to see you. How are you this fine night?" Draco jumped about a mile and whirled around to see Dumbledore, sitting in the tree where the owl had been sitting just moments before.
"BLOODY HELL! It's true. I really have gone insane. I'm still back in the dungeon. This is all a crazy hallucination. There was no house elf. My headmaster is not sitting there in a tree and just transformed from an owl. I'm just going insane. That's it." He was somewhat comforted by that thought and smiled dreamily at Dumbledore. "You're not real. But it's good to see you." Dumbledore jumped gracefully down from the tree and strode over to Draco. He peered at him, shrugged and then squatted down, peering intently at the forest floor.
"Ah ha!" He said triumphantly holding up a gray rock. To Draco it looked like any other rock that lay on the clearing's floor but to Dumbledore it was something else.
"Tonks!" he called. A rather small woman stepped out of the shadows, holding her wand up. Draco shrieked and fell backwards, scrambling away from the girl. It wasn't exactly the girl that had scared it. It was more the thing that was behind her.
"We-we-werewo-" His scream was cut short as a hand was clamped over his mouth for the second time that night.
"Albus, are you going to explain things to the poor kid or just scare him to death?" Asked the man that had covered Draco's mouth.
"I really don't know, Alastor. I am quite enjoying this." Dumbledore gave a rather goulish grin and motioned for Mad-eye to let him go. "Alastor I would appreciate it if you took over here. Wait until they come back and get Doby and Tonks back in there. Tonks make sure to get the disguise right and give the signal. Oh! And don't skimp on the drinks." He winked at the girl and she nodded then disappeared back into the trees, beckoning the huge werewolf to follow her.
"Oh Remus!" The werewolf turned back and grinned at Dumbledore. "Do try to be creepy."
"I'm a werewolf, Albus, that's what I do, Creepy." He grinned, a huge toothy grin, at Dumbledore and then bounded off after Tonks.
"Professor. What are you doing?" Draco managed to ask. Dumbledore smiled at him.
"That is not for you to know right now." He shooed the people away and then glanced at Draco.
"Coming?" He asked holding out the stone to Draco. Draco didn't have time to reply as they were hurled through the black hole between space and time.
They landed with a thud in a parking lot behind a muggle Super Mart. Draco quickly followed Dumbledore through a hole in the chain-link fence and into a tiny stand of trees. He found himself in a playground; the swings swung in the breeze and the chains creaked as they passed.
A small path from the park led them onto a deserted street. Draco was getting tired, as much as he hated to admit it. He had not gotten a wink of sleep due to the fact that his father had beaten the crap out of him non-stop. He almost ran into Dumbledore as he stopped in front of an empty lot.
He watched with curiosity as Dumbledore murmured a little chant.
A loud rumble made him jump five feet into the air. A house was materializing right in front of them. It was more of a mansion really. The houses beside it seemed to lean away from the massive place.
Draco followed Dumbledore silently up the steps and into the house. People rushed around. The whole thing was rather overwhelming. This must be the rival base. He thought stunned. From what he had "overheard" from his father was that there was only a small opposition against them.
Well when he got back he would have another reason to laugh at his pathetic father. He grinned maliciously at that thought and followed Dumbledore up the steps.