You thought I turned into J.K.Rowling over night? Unfortunately not! So I guess nothing changed and I´m still not the owner of the rights to Harry Potter. My bank account would be grateful if it was the case though.

warnings: character death, violence

Read and enjoy!

Chapter 3

AFTERMATH

A cool sensation, almost not detectable to his senses, flowed over his face, accross his forehead, gliding down his right cheek. "...really pleased with him, Severus! He learns so ...pet. Nobody must touch him! I know...better than his father even. He is promising so..." Lord Voldemort´s voice sounded dull and far away.

Draco´s mind was floating in a sea of embracing lightness, the pain hovering in the background not reaching his senses, the words not making any sense to him. They were meaningless in the comfortable place where he was resting.

"...was a masterpiece to kill ...must not leave, Severus, I want the highest security for...of your charge whereas I take my leave now."

"Yes, my Lord!" A door opening and shutting. Nothing.

Moaning. "Draco...up...you..." Another moan. Gods, he was the one moaning and groaning all the time. Embarrassed Draco immediately suppressed the noise coming out of his treacherous throat and opened his eyes. Draco rolled over to look around the unfamiliar room and gave a small cry when a cramp flitted through his nether regions striking hard and fast like lightning. Snape stood beside the bed handling a basin with water and a phial containing a yellow liquid.

"Finally." Snape sad quietly with a sideglance at Draco. "How do you feel?"

Draco just stared at him. There was a blank in his head. What had happened? His bottom hurt, a dull burning and pulsing, outside and even inside, and his whole stomach pained as if somebody had used him as a punching bag. There was a wet and sticky sensation between his legs and on his backside. Draco´s eyes suddenly opened wide and he rolled to the side of the bed, retching.

"And there I thought you enjoyed it!" Snape remarked sarcastically with a sneer almost worthy a Malfoy on his face.

Draco could not even glare at Snape properly before his convulsing stomach forced him into another round of dryheaving. When it was over Draco lay back down moaning. He couldn´t believe it, it was not true, it had to be just a bad dream, but the feeling in his backside told him another story. Draco covered his face with his hands, rolled into a small ball and started sobbing. He was too ashamed, he didn´t want Snape to see him and he didn´t want to see Snape or anybody else ever again.

Gods, was it not enough that Snape and McNair had caned him so hard that he had almost fainted from the pain? On top of it that monster had raped him brutally and he had enjoyed it! His very soul was recoiling from this thought. A hand reached out to awkwardly lie on his shaking shoulder. Draco felt sudden fury overcoming him and he slapped away the hand.

"How could you let this happen? How could you let him...Aargh!" In his emotional state words were lost to him and Draco screamed out like a small child throwing a temper tantrum, trying to hit his godfather in the face who easily caught his shaking hand.

"I would appreciate it, Mr. Malfoy, if you remembered your place!" Draco wanted nothing more at present than to hit Snape over and over again, beat his face bloody, just to distract himself from the self loathing building up inside him with every passing second. Draco started to laugh like a maniac.

"My place... how could I forget... my place...as I know now where my place is!" The laughter changed to sobbing. Snape started to pat him awkwardly again on his shaking shoulder.

"It will be well with time, we will find a way out for you!" Draco stared at Snape, the sobs slowly dying down.

"You are his right hand man. Do you honestly think I would believe one word of what you are saying now?" Draco snarled. "You brought me here in the first place. You must have known his plan, you knew he wanted to kill my parents, you knew he took all our money, you delivered me to this madman and helped him to ra.. to ra..." Draco could not say it, sobs shaking his frame again.

"You are hysterical, Draco, a calming draught might help." Snape said coldly, an unreadable emotion glittering in his eyes. He went over to the dresser and brought back a small phial with lilac contents, unstoppering it and offering it to Draco.

"Drink!" Draco slowly took the small phial with shaking fingers and downed the contents in one big gulp, knowing the bitter taste of calming draughts. He handed the empty phial back to his godfather, wondering which kind of potions Snape was hiding in his special drawer. Maybe there was something strong enough to kill a man.

"Can´t you just leave me alone?" Draco´s whispered voice sounded dead, just as dead as he felt inside. Dead as his parents were. Draco felt new tears forming in his eyes, but the calming draught stopped him from blubbering like a baby again.

"I cannot leave you alone, Draco. I have my orders and I have to take care of your injuries." Snape soaked a washcloth in the basin beside the bed. "Turn onto your stomach!"

Draco did as told. It did not matter any longer. The washcloth was cool and soothing on his skin while Snape washed blood and filth away from his backside and tighs. He only tensed when Snape wiped the cloth along his crack, but mercifully he did not enter any further. Snape brought a salve over and rubbed it on his weals. Warmth started to spread and his skin tingled.

"I have to put the salve inside also. You were bleeding." Snape´s voice was harsh.

Draco tensed again as hands started to part his buttocks. He desperately tried to relax as a salve-coated finger as harsh as his owner´s voice entered him. Draco could not suppress a small whimper when the pain intensified, but Snape finished fast and covered Draco with a warm blanket.

"Try to sleep. When you wake up I will bring lunch for you." Draco closed his eyes and relaxed.

When he heard the door shutting Draco looked up. He was alone. Finally! Draco carefully got up, not even aware of his nakedness, wincing from the pain still residing in his nether regions. Slowly he went over to the drawer hiding Snape´s potion treasures. Rummaging through the phials his mind was remarkably empty. His brain processed only the names on the labels and brought forth the memorized usage of each potion. When he checked the label of the last phial he froze.

There were only healing, mild sleeping, blood replenishing and calming draughts. Not even in combination they could cause significant harm to anybody. Draco quietly placed the phial back into the drawer and looked around the room. His mind was filled with so much desperation that Draco´s breath started to get heavier. He could not shake the feeling that he had to do something, anything, to stop his heart from exploding. He could not stand it again. He had to put a stop to it! He could not allow him to do this again to him. Never again.

When his eyes met his own in the mirror above the fireplace Draco could see a naked boy with haunted eyes, shaking like a leaf in the storm, his porcellain skin almost sickly translucent, accented by bright red and blue weals visible at the edge of his tighs. It took Draco almost a minute before his brain processed that this reflection was actually him! Draco´s eyes widened and a shaky sigh escaped his lips.

He looked revolting! If his father saw him like that he would receive a stern and very long lasting lecture on the responsibilities towards the Malfoy name. Or maybe not, as his father was probably carrion. What was wrong with him? He had not even realised his nakedness! He had even been ready to give up! Ready to commit suicide.

Draco took another shaky breath and closed his eyes. He needed to do something, and he needed to do it now! This was his chance! When his eyes opened again, gone was the deep desperation, replaced with determination. If he died, he would go down fighting! That much at least he owed the memory of his parents.

Mindful of his injuries Draco tried to be as fast as possible in putting on his clothes, all the time looking around the room like a cornered animal, listening for sounds from outside. He looked around the room searching for anything he could use as a weapon, but there was nothing. He tried the doors beside the fireplace, one was locked, the other one leading into a comfortable bathroom with tub and shower. Draco took a quick drink of the tap to sooth his parched throat. Nothing was in the bathroom to form a useful weapon also.

Finally he decided to remove the candles from a silver candelabra and holding the heavy candelabra in his right hand he stealthily crept to the door to the passage and opened it slowly to peek outside. Somebody was there, standing sentry! Draco froze for a second before his face contorted and he stormed outside. The young Death Eater, as Draco realised it was Marcus Flint, a former Slytherin with whom he had been together on the Slytherin Quidditch team for some time, turned around in surprise, his eyes opening wide in shock as the heavy candelabra hit him in the temple. Flint hit the ground heavily. Blood from his head wound mixed with a small rivulet escaping out of his ear rapidly pooling around his head. His eyes were unseeing, staring at the ceiling.

Dead! He had killed somebody! Draco did not feel anything, letting the bloodstained candelabra fall carelessly on top of Flint´s body, the heavy silver making a nerve-racking thumping sound on the dead flesh. He stared for some seconds at the body in front of him before he bent down to search frantically for Flint´s wand, grabbing it securely once it sprang into his hand.

His breath came in short gasps, his heart was racing. Draco turned around, trying to decide which direction he had to take, looking both ways while sweat was running down the side of his face. He decided to go the direction he had come from together with Snape and McNair. Maybe he could find his way back to the small holding room they first had locked him in and from there he would find his way out, hopefully.

He started to run, still trying to keep his steps as light and soundless as possible. Voices! Draco pressed himself against the wall, waiting for whoever would come around the bend! He was trying to suppress his small gasps to the point of holding his breath. There, two Death Eaters came around the corner, one was McNair, the other one a rather young man with mousy brown hair. Draco felt all his self loathing turning into hatred as he saw McNair. He had been there, McNair, this bastard, laughing about his screams!

"Avada kedavra!"

Draco didn´t even realize that his arm had risen before he saw the venomous green looking jet of light coming out of Flint´s wand hitting McNair straight in the chest. McNair fell down, an unbelieving expression forever etched onto his face. The mousy deatheater fumbled for his wand, but before he could speak his curse he was hit with a "Bombada!" from Draco, which made the unfortunate young man flie against the wall behind him, blood and pieces of flesh spreading everywhere.

Draco could hear shouting now, running footsteps. Draco pressed on. He could make it out for sure, bend right, straight, where was this bloody holding cell, another bend. Draco soon realised he was lost. All he could do now was run and hope that he would find an exit. Bend left, Death Eaters approaching from behind.

"Crucio!" The spell hit the wall beside Draco, loosening small stones. Draco turned around.

"Sectumsempra!" He made wide archs with Flint´s wand, trying to cause as much destruction as possible. He knew how this curse felt like, the pain was terrible and the blood loss bad. Potter had used the curse on him this year. Draco still wondered where Saint Potter could have gotten this curse from, as Draco was told that his godfather had invented this curse. The curse hit true. Two of the three deatheaters went down screaming, blood making the stonefloor slippery. The third one, Yaxley, had blood running down his left arm, but he still stood, his wand pointing straight at Draco, his curse already leaving his lips.

"Crucio!"

Draco froze as he saw the light coming straight at him. Draco went down immediately, the power behind the curse fuelled with pure hatred. The pain was impossible, Draco had never experienced the Cruciatus curse before, but this was it. His lungs seemed to refuse to draw in the much needed oxygen, his heart seemed to burst, his face contorted in agony. He was wreathing on the floor, the pain excrutiating, burning alive could not be worse. He knew he had lost the wand, his fingers desperately searching for the accursed piece of wood along the floor. Another Death Eater arrived, joining Yaxley with a second "Crucio!"

If Draco had thought to experience Cruciatus was the worst fate he could meet - now he knew better. The joined forces of two torturing curses eliminated his conscious thinking. The wand was forgotten, his escape forgotten, his will to fight extinguished, there was only pain on his mind. An agonized scream tore out of his throat. He was dying, he could not stop screaming, this was madness. His limbs twitched without control, his body felt like being torn apart, his bones breaking, his muscles tearing.

He could hear someone screaming from far away like a dying animal, not sounding human any longer. People were shouting, there were others screaming in pain also. Suddenly the pain reduced, it was still lingering, but he could think again. He tried to breath, he needed to breath but all he could do was gasp, his body not receiving enough oxygen through his protesting lungs. He opened his eyes. Everything was blurry.

Somebody was talking. Draco could not understand the meaning although he heard the words. Tremors were running through his aching body. He closed his eyes, moaning. A tingling feeling ran over his body. When he opened his eyes again his sight shifted back into focus, but he would have preferred to turn blind instead. Somebody was looking down on him, wand in hand pointing straight at his heart. Dread filled his mind when he saw the grin on the snake-like face looking down on him. He was going to die.

"Well done, Draco!"

The Dark Lord´s furious grimace had morphed into a cruel grin sending shivers down his back. Draco stared at his Lord bravely, trying to hide the fear he felt. The coldness of the stone floor under him was seeping into his skin and tremors were still running through his body after having to endure a doubled Cruciatus. Still Draco knew that his trembling was not caused by any of the two but by the presence of the one who would surely bring him to death in the most cruel way he could work out for Draco.

"You killed four of my people and wounded two. For somebody too afraid to kill Dumbledore a remarkable feat." Draco knew that the next thing was for sure another Cruciatus hitting him, if he was lucky he would be hit with Avada Kedavraending his life without further torture, but he doubted his luck. He closed his eyes, not wanting to witness another jet of light coming straight at him.

"I am proud of you, child!" Draco´s eyes opened in shock. He was confused to say the least.

"Proud?" he whispered with a voice scratchy from screaming too long. Voldemort turned to Snape who stood at his side.

"I told you he is a fast learner and without the bad influence of his parents Draco could become one of my best. I myself would not have thought that the weak child arriving here yesterday night would accept the invitation of an empty room and an unlocked door to prove his worth only twelve hours later. Especially after last nights lessons." Voldemort chuckled. Draco was nonplussed. Voldemort had wanted him to try to escape?

"You were right, my Lord, like always." replied Snape smoothly, bowing his head in respect to his master. Draco was disgusted at Snape´s gesture towards the snakemonster. He would never bow down to anybody like that.

"Take your charge back to his room and see to his needs!" With these words and a last lingering look at Draco the Dark Lord turned around.

He gave a swift kick to one moaning Death Eater still lieing on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, barked some final orders at two of his minions who were trying to clean up the battleground and left. Stepping over a blackhaired Death Eater whose innards were slowly seeping out onto the cold ground through a cut entirely crossing his abdomen, Snape floated the still dazed Draco back to his room and placed him on his soft bed.

"I don´t understand. Why did he not kill me just now or at least told some of his minions to torture me to death?" Draco looked at Snape who was quietly rummaging through his drawer bringing out different phials. Seemingly unconcerned Snape answered.

"You were never meant to kill Dumbledore!" Thoughts were running rampant in Draco´s mind. Everything was a ruse? He had been manipulated by the Dark Lord from the beginning! Draco shook his head in denial.

"Everything was planned by our Lord?" Snape did not even look at him and continued sorting through his medicinal storage.

"Our Lord sees high potentials in you where others cannot see them. He sees the possibility for you to become his successor. I know you are highly intelligent as your marks at Hogwarts proved sufficiently, but it was only our Lord who could see the qualtities in you which only he seems to be able to form in you according to his will." Draco stared at the ceiling. This seemed like a dream. Voldemort´s successor. The Dark Prince. The manipulated puppet prince. Draco laughed quietly, but soon his face turned serious.

"Is father really dead?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"Yes." There was no doubt any more after his godfather´s acknowledgement. Remembering how horrible his mother had had to die Draco did not have the heart to ask how his father had gone.

"How is your body?" Snape looked at him, just to look back at his phials the very same second.

"Everything hurts and there are still tremors running through my body, but I seem well enough." Draco sighed. "I thought I was going to die after the second Crucio hit me." Draco said silently. Snape handed him a phial with a thick blue sirup in it.

"It was a possibilty as your lungs were corrupted. Our Lord put a particularly strong healing spell on you." Snape confirmed.

Draco was surprised at this statement. The Dark Lord himself had cast a healing spell? He doubted that any Death Eater had ever seen their Lord casting anything else than curses causing death and destruction. Draco sipped the blue sirup not even blinking so deep he was in thought. So it was true, their master had killed his parents to replace them, to make him his own. Rather flattering, if anybody wanted to be the son of a snakemonster and didn´t care about his own parents. Draco sighed. At least he had to worry less about being killed by his Lord from now on.

"But he was so furious when he pointed his wand at me. I thought he was going to kill me." Draco quietly questioned Snape´s explanations with his words.

"He was not furious at you but at the two who hit you with the Cruciatus at the same time as they went against his orders." Draco wondered why Snape took so much care never to look at Draco, if it was avoidable.

And why did he sound as if he did not want to talk to Draco at all? His impatience was easily shining through his carefully chosen words. Draco was rather sure it had to do with him trying to hit his godfather in the face. He would have to apologise, but the idea alone made him uncomfortable. He had been furious within reason as Snape had done all the things Draco had accused him of.

Snape went over to the table, tapped it once with his wand and a bowl with porridge appeared on it accompanied by a glass of applejuice. Snape carried both to Draco and placed them on the dresser beside his bed.

"You must eat now and rest. Tomorrow the lessons will continue." Draco started to eat the simple but delicious food slowly, savouring every bite.

"As his acknowledged successor I hope there will be no repeat of last night!" Draco remarked in a light tone. Snape did not answer, seemingly too transfixed in sorting his precious phials in changing patterns.

"Severus?" Draco asked breathlessly. Snape sighed and sat down in one of the upholstered chairs.

"Draco, you have to understand that our Lord has his own ideas of how you need to be trained. As your tutor most of the time I will be present, sometimes you will be alone with him. He knows what he´s doing, Draco. You have to trust him as you would trust your own father, Draco!" Draco stared at Snape incredulously.

"A father would not bed his son!" Draco replied harshly, his voice almost breaking. Snape looked very uncomfortable, almost embarrassed.

"He is your Lord. If he wants you to be at his service and to learn how to enjoy it you must learn." Draco stared into his porridge. "You will learn to like it Draco, you are not the first who would have to be at his service."

Draco looked up in surprise. Did that mean Snape or even worse his father had to stand this before him? Draco would have liked to ask Snape for details, but Snape´s hardened face told him that there would be no answers from him.

"Eat!" Snape spoke rather harshly, watching him with guarded eyes, his ellbows on the armrests, his fingers knotted together. Draco took up the spoon and continued eating staring into his bowl.

It would happen again. Why? Why did this monster do this to him? Draco could hardly avoid bringing up the little food he had eaten until now. He could not stand this. He had almost killed himself because of the first rape. He did not know if he could ever learn to like it. He didn´t think so. Who would like to be hurt? But he would have to learn to like it if he wanted to survive. Admittedly in the end it had felt better, but if he had the choice he would gladly refuse any sexual contact with whomever in the future. Living in celibacy seemed to be a nice alternative.

After finishing his porridge and applejuice Draco went with Snape´s help to the bathroom which was entered through the right door beside the fireplace in his room. The left door, as it turned out, was leading to their Lord´s private rooms. Unfortunately he seemed to use this door rather frequently because soon after Draco had retired to bed the Dark Lord entered and went straight to his side.

"Is everything well with the boy?" he asked Snape.

"He is as well as somebody can be after what he endured. He needs a little rest, but by tomorrow he should be well enough to continue his lessons." Snape informed his Lord.

Voldemort almost lovingly brushed a few strands of hair out of Draco´s face which made Draco shudder in disgust. "I´m looking forward to our lessons, Draco!" Draco could only just hold it in to tell his Lord 'Wouldn´t I know!' Instead he opted for a hopefully docile look.

"I cannot be fooled, child, I know you hate these lessons, but they are necessary in creating you." Voldemort silkily moved his finger along Draco´s lips, pressing slightly inside until his finger entered Draco´s mouth.

Draco could not suppress his nauseated facial expression. His Lord´s finger tasted bitter and there was a coppery taste mingling with the bitterness, the taste of blood. Draco tried hard to keep the bile down which threatened to force its way up his throat. The snake-faced Lord chuckled lightly as he rubbed his finger along Draco´s tongue. Draco made a small protesting sound, tempted to just remove his Lord´s hand from his mouth by force before he embarassed himself by vomiting onto his Lord. Instead he clawed his blanket and went rigid.

"You will learn, Draco. I am your Lord and you will do anything for me." It sounded like a promise, which Draco would and could not believe to ever happen. Voldemort removed his finger and turned to Snape.

"I appreciated Draco´s show of skills today, but I cannot affort him to kill all my men by trying to flee. It will be necessary that he will be administered a sleeping potion every time he is to be left alone to sleep. And check if he is a good boy and swallowed his medicine." Voldemort smiled menacingly as he looked at Draco one last time before leaving the room.

"Severus, I am sorry that I tried to hit y..." Before Draco could finish his apology Snape raised his hand to stop his speech.

"Don´t! Don´t dare to excuse your behaviour towards me. You are nothing but an ungrateful brat, walking through life taking everything you want, getting everything you want, even if you destroy other people left and right your path! I am your godfather, your mother tied me to you by an unbreakable vow and now even our Lord assigned you to me as my charge. You are but my responsibilty, don´t expect pity or comfort from my person ever again. I care not about your feelings, but you will always treat me with the utmost respect or the small slap you received from me on our flight from Hogwarts will look like nothing but mockery of a punishment from my hand. And never call me Severus again." Draco could only stare at his godfather, hurt written all over his face. Merlin, his godfather hated him! Snape frowned as he went back to his beloved phials and brought out another one.

"Well, Draco, I have other duties waiting for me. This potion will aid you in falling asleep but it will not make you addicted like the Dreamless Sleep." Draco downed the liquid after staring at it as if it just had insulted him. "Good boy, open up now!" Snape mocked him. Draco opened his mouth to allow Snape to check if he had swallowed.

"From now on there will be two guards in front of the door, should you wake up before I´m back." Draco nodded, his eyes already slipping shut. A lone tear was running down his face and seeping into the soft pillow. He was asleep before Snape had placed the empty phial back.

Coming ahead in the next chapter of Ad Finem - Until The End:

Draco is marked once more and decides to change his attitude.

I want to thank my reviewers:

Madd Girl

disturbedxandxconfused