A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for the wait. Anyways thanks for the reviews and here is the chapter!
DISCLAIMER: Only the plot and the five slaves.
Chapter Eight"You mudblood will clean up this mess – alone! Draco I want you to make sure she does," snarled Lucius before he left the room, shutting the door behind him.
With a sigh he tried to wipe the blood from his hands, but some had already dried. With a smirk on his face he headed down the hall to go have a shower when the image of a whimpering Hermione entered his mind. The thought made him shiver in delight, he wanted more, he wanted to see more pathetic mudblood's cower away from his power. He turned back around, walking briskly past his now dead wife's reading room, through the entrance room and too the kitchen stairway. His breathing was quick and shallow as he descended the staircase. Inside he could hear them talking, laughing even. No, that was not right. They were his slaves, they were meant to dread everyday.
With one movement he slammed the door open with a loud bang, causing the two female slaves to scream. The three males looked at Lucius in shock as he walked in sneering at them all, whilst looking at Sophie and Bridget with lust.
"What would you like, Sir?" asked Sophie nervously as he stepped closer to her, circling her like a hungry wolf staking out it's prey, "Would you like a hot chocolate, Sir?"
Lucius laughed softly in a cold manner as he stood behind Sophie and whispered in her ear, "No… I want something else. Something only a young thing like you can offer me."
Sophie looked at Bridget and Scott, her eyes full of fear as she answered him, "W-what's that, Sir?"
"I think you know."
Lucius placed his hands on Sophie's shoulders and began pushing her towards the door.
"NO!" screamed Bridget pulling Sophie from Lucius, "You are not going to do anything to her!"
Lucius glared at Bridget as she pushed Sophie behind her, "You cannot stop me."
"Watch me," hissed Bridget, "Scott get Sophie out of here."
As Scott prepared to run out of the room with Sophie, Lucius pulled his wand out, pointing it at Scott, yet managing to keep his eyes on Bridget.
"He moves and he dies," snarled Lucius, side stepping over to Sophie and grabbing her with his free hand.
Sophie whimpered quietly, tears falling down her cheeks, "D-don't h-hurt me… please."
Lucius lowered his wand and pulled Sophie even closer so that her body was up against his, "I won't hurt you… yet."
Again Lucius headed for the door, dragging a crying Sophie behind him. Chuckling to himself he stepped through the door, but was suddenly pulled backwards. With a grunt he hit the ground, as Sophie cowered in fear behind Bailey and Zack. Lucius growled angrily, much like a wolf, and pushed himself up only to be kicked hard in the ribcage by Bridget. Again, Lucius hit the ground, only this time groaning. He cried out in pain as Bridget kicked him repeatedly, aiming for the same spot each time.
Finally Lucius got his wand out and pointed it wildly at Bridget, "Stupefy!"
With a scream, Bridget flew backwards crashing into the pantry cupboard. She fell to the ground with a thud, cut covering her arms and legs. But still she stood up, swaying dangerously before running at Lucius and shoving him away from a terrified Sophie. With a swift movement of the arm, Lucius backhanded Bridget.
"Don't you ever give up?" he snarled, towering over Bridget, "Perhaps I'll take you instead. I love breaking down feisty women… just like I broke down that wench of a mudblood, Granger."
Scott ran over to Bridget to protect her but Lucius yanked Scott up, punching him in the eye and mouth. Scott fell to the ground with a groan and watched in a stunned pain as Lucius dragged a weak and battered Bridget away.
HD
Swearing with shock, Draco watched as Sirius caught the falling passed out Hermione.
"What happened?" asked the dark head man, Draco recognized to be the once wanted Sirius Black.
Draco followed him in, shifting his mother's weight in his arms, "My father found out about my mother healing Granger's hands. He beat her until she couldn't take anymore."
"I'm surprised he didn't kill Narcissa for it," murmured Sirius, setting Hermione down on one of the couches.
"He thinks he did. I used a charm to make my mother appear dead so he would stop."
"Set her down on the bed," instructed Sirius opening the bedside draw and pulling out his wand.
Draco gently laid his unconscious mother down on the bed and stepped back, allowing Sirius to go about healing his mother.
"Do you want me to do anything?" asked Draco hating the fact he was standing around helplessly.
Sirius muttered a spell making Narcissa's skin glow blue for a few seconds, "Can you perform blood replenishing charms?"
"Yeah. My mother taught me those when I was fifteen."
"Right, well heal Hermione's wound and replenish her blood. For her to have fainted she has lost a lot of blood."
Draco nodded and walked over to the strangely quiet Hermione. He looked at her and was surprised too see how clam she looked in her sleep. Any other time he looked at her, her facial expression showed someone who was constantly thinking. He shook his head a little and looked down at her injured leg. The wound was round and deep, but from the looks of it, it had missed the main artery. He pulled his wand out and murmured a spell to heal the wound, inside and out. It was a slow process, but the wound's entry slowly shrunk until it existed no more. He grabbed one of her small hands and turned it over to expose her wrist. He placed his wand tip above a visible vein and muttered the blood replenishing charm. He watched her face and sighed in relief as colour returned to her face, her cheeks showing a slight tinge of pink in them. He broke the spell and stood up to cover Hermione with a blanket. As he turned around he saw Sirius finishing healing his sleeping mother.
"Will she be okay?" asked Draco walked over to his mother.
"She should be but her back is in question," sighed Sirius.
"What do you mean?"
"She may have suffered a spinal injury from the beating. I don't know how serious it is yet. All we can do really is just wait."
Draco sighed, "Granger should be fine. Her injury is healed and the blood is replenished."
Sirius nodded and they both fell silent before the murmuring of Narcissa caught their attention. Both men walked quickly over to the bed. Draco knelt down beside his mother, taking hold of her hand.
"Mother?" he said softly, "Are you okay?"
"Mmm… where am I?" mumbled Narcissa, turning her head to look at her son as her eyes fluttered open. The blue in them wasn't as bright as it used to be, in fact Draco hadn't seen the shine in his mothers eyes since he was at least thirteen.
"In my room," said Sirius sitting down on the edge of the bed, "How are you feeing?"
"My back is sore… but everything else feels fine."
"Well you can feel your back. That is what matters most," sighed Sirius, "I'll still have to keep an eye on it though. Some injuries can take a while to set in, especially ones that concern the back."
Narcissa sighed and leant forward a little catching sight of a resting Hermione before hissing in pain, "It hurts to move."
"Just rest Mum," said Draco quietly, "You are lucky to even be alive."
"What about Hermione? Is she okay?"
"She is fine. I healed her leg perfectly."
"Oh good… argh… my back," groaned Narcissa her eyes closed in pain.
"Mum you need to rest, I'll go clean the room and get some food from the kitchens," said Draco kissing his mother on the cheek before he left to go and do his said job. As he reached the door he heard Hermione speak but kept on going. Things were going to be awkward between them as it was. Him lingering would bring that situation closer then he liked.
Once in the reading room he looked around at the destruction with a sigh. He locked the door to make sure his father would have no chance in wandering should he decide to come back and bathe in his so called glory.
As he went around the room fixing it Draco thought back to when the destruction was occurring, how Hermione was prepared to give her life to save his mothers. Draco knew he now held respect for Hermione for that reason, not that he would let that on to the know it all once Gryffindor. He couldn't, he knew where his loyalties had to lie. He had no choice in the matter really. He was with the Death Eater's and there was no doubt about it.
Or was there?
Draco sighed and cleaned away the blood smears all over the ground. Most of it was Hermione's from where his father had blasted her along the ground. The blood cleared away with ease and Draco moved on in repairing furniture and placing it back where it was to go.
Half and hour later the room was done. Draco was adding the final touch when the painting slid open. He knew who it was as he turned around. He didn't want her to see the respect for her in his face, not yet anyway. Actually not at all.
"I… I ah, have to write some letters. Does your father watch the use of your mother's fireplace?"
Draco knew he had to take this time as an opportunity to prove that just because he helped in saving his mother's life, didn't mean he was now on the good side.
"Depends on who you are sending the letters too," he replied a obnoxiously as possible.
He watched as she gave him an irritable glare and sighed, "Malfoy neither of us is in the right emotional state to argue at the moment-"
He looked at her surprised, "At the moment? Are you saying tomorrow we will feel like arguing?"
He couldn't believe it. Did she pick and choose when she felt like arguing with him? He argued with her constantly because it felt like the right thing to do and he had been raised to hate muggleborns. That and the fact that she was Potter's bestfriend and Potter got his wrong side by turning down his friendship.
"Does it matter?" she said interrupting his thoughts.
"Well… no."
"Right then. Does your father watch the happenings with your mother's fireplace?"
"No."
With a sigh Draco went and sat down. He could leave but he didn't want too. He felt safe in here for some reason, besides unlike the rest of the manor this room had warmth to it. He stared at the wall, listening to the scrape of the quill on paper. He could tell Hermione was writing as fast as possible to whomever she needed to send the letter too. He looked around the room checking again for any fallen ornaments but found he had fixed everything the way it was before the destruction occurred. Just as his thoughts were wandering to childhood memories with his mother, Hermione's outburst broke his thoughts.
"Oh, Merlin!" she cursed causing him to look over at her with raised eyebrows, "Malfoy… could you possibly clean this for me?"
"I suppose so."
He stood and walked over using his wand once again to clean away her mess. He glanced at her and saw her half smiling at him before looking down at the mess cleaning away into his wand.
"There is more ink in the top draw. Under all those papers," he said turning and walking back over to the lounge. How much more could she have to possibly write? "Hurry it up will you?"
He flopped onto the lounge and closed his eyes. He was exhausted and with Hermione writing a novel he would probably be able to get a good nap in. Just as he was drifting into sleep he heard Hermione hissing something into the fireplace. He opened his eyes and turned to face her. She was bending over slightly to whisper the location. Being a male, he allowed his eyes the chance to wander her body and he saw it held slight curves. Her legs weren't long and leggy like many women he'd been with had, they were… nice looking.
"Done now?" he finally asked once he saw the second letter disappear.
"Yes. Can I ask you something?" she said turning to face him.
He stood up a slight smirk on his face, "Well you never gave me a choice did you?"
Her irritation at him was noticeable, causing him to smirk at her. She just couldn't handle the fact he was joking with her.
"Ha, ha. You are so funny. Look, which side are you on? Do you stand with you father or your mother?"
'Trust her to put the question bluntly,' he thought in annoyance before purposely blocking emotion from his face. He crossed his arms and looked firmly at the ground hoping it would give him an appropriate answer. Obviously it didn't, but he couldn't come up with one. Instead he just asked one back. Why did she want to know?
"Why?"
"Oh I don't know… how about the fact you have two personas? One is a nice caring young man and the other is a horrible, cruel monster… basically number two is a younger version of the Senior Malfoy."
Draco held back snapping at her with all his will. Instead through gritted teeth he answered her, "I'm on a side Granger, my side."
'What's your response to that, Granger?' he thought holding back a satisfied smirk.
"So you are standing alone? Taking no sides? Or are you waiting to see which side wins and then you will claim you were on that side the whole time?"
With a deep breath Draco looked at the ground and back up at Hermione. It was like she had her argument planned out.
"What's it to you?"
He watched as she closed her eyes briefly and looked at him with brown eyes of full of disbelief.
"Forget it, Malfoy," she snapped at him taking him aback, "I don't even know why I bother… just do this one thing for me… answer this, are you standing with your father because your want to or because its what he expects of you?"
He watched as she walked out of the room without waiting for an answer. Her words played over in his mind making doubt begin to creep into his mind. Angrily he kicked the lounge making it bounce back a bit. Why did she have to do that? Everything was perfect and then she went and pointed out the obvious flaws in his loyalty. He didn't know where he stood. It was impossible to work that out. He turned and sat down on the lounge and looked up at the ceiling. But like the ground it was offering no answers either.
It was as simple as that. He didn't know why. That was the answer he could offer her.
Standing up he walked out of the room and through the corridor to the kitchen stairway. Down in the kitchen he could hear voices. They sounded urgent and worried. Just as Draco was preparing to walk away he heard the door open. Footsteps came up them and Draco soon saw a mane of brown curly hair.
"Malfoy," said Hermione looking surprised to see him, "Can I help you?"
Draco took a deep breath before saying anything, "What if I told you I don't know why I stand by my father?"
He knew she was bound to have an answer, what else could he expect from her? She was a smart girl and knew how to win an argument. Reluctantly, Draco saw he had other reasons to respect her.
"Then I suggest you work that out… if you stand by your father, why did you save your mother's life? Especially when your mother is working against the Death Eaters cause, whatever that may be. If you will excuse me I need to shower. You should do the same."
He watched her walk away before sighing. He did need a shower. He wasn't smelling exactly pleasant.
HD
Draco finished showering and climbed out, whistling to himself. He wrapped the towel around his waist and wiped the moisture from the mirror. Grabbing the brush he ran it through his hair, giving it a spiking effect before walking out. As he entered his room, so did his father from the hallway.
"Merlin, Father," said Draco with a slight glare at Lucius, "Haven't you heard of knocking?"
"I did knock, but no one answered," replied Lucius with a shrug.
Draco noticed his father was still covered in blood and his hair was rather messy, "Haven't you showered yet?"
"No… I have been… busy."
"Doing what, exactly?" frowned Draco walking over to his bed where his clothes lay.
"Teaching one of the mudblood's that you do not deny Lucius Malfoy of what he wants."
Draco looked at his father in surprise and saw the pleasure on his face. Draco instantly knew just what Lucius had done and his stomach churned with disgust.
"They really are good play toys, son," said Lucius walking around the room, "You really should pick one… the defiant ones are most fun."
"I'll ah… think about it," replied Draco grabbing his wand and using it to magic his clothes onto his body, "Granger cleaned the room. Everything is how it was."
"Good, good… you should use her. Break her defiant nature down."
Draco glanced at his father in disbelief, then something he said during the earlier incident occurred to him, "Father, you said something whilst… killing mother."
"Hmm," said Lucius to show he was listening.
"You said have you no idea who I am. What did you mean by that?"
Lucius sighed and looked at his son, "I think you are old enough to know now. After all you will one day take over from me, as will your son and your son's son. Draco, every great power needs a leader. Look at the Ancient Romans. Most of their leader's were great men and if they weren't- they were most likely murdered by an enemy. It is the same for the pathetic light side, they had a leader and he was killed by who he thought was a loyal member of his staff… pathetic man."
"What are you getting at, Father?" frowned Draco walking around to see his father better.
"Draco I am the head of the Death Eaters. I am their great leader."
Draco looked at his father stunned, "You control the Death Eater's? All over the world?"
"I organized our rise to power. I am very persuasive Draco, you know that."
"I know… but why? What is so great about what you have created?" demanded Draco angrily, "I can't get a job… or find a decent woman to marry!"
"What are you saying?"
Draco sighed, "Nothing… I'm just shocked, that's all."
"Now that you know, you must swear no one finds out about this. Only few Death Eater's know and now you."
"I swear."
Lucius nodded, "Very well. Then I expect to see you at the meeting on Friday night."
"I'll be there."
Lucius smiled. He patted his son on the shoulder and left the room shutting the door firmly. Draco stared at it for a few moments before grabbing the nearest ornament and throwing it angrily at his closet door, causing an exiting Hermione to duck.
"Granger? What the hell are you doing in there?" he snapped as she stood up right tugging at her still wet toga.
Hermione walked over to him stunned as Scott left the closet as well, "Your father… is the head of the Death Eater's?"
"Great, you heard," sighed Draco turning away.
"Malfoy what are you going to do? Are you going to go to that meeting?"
"Well have no choice but to go. I know, if I don't go I'll be killed. Which would you choose?" he said turning to face Hermione.
"We an help you," said Hermione stepping closer to him, but not touching him, "I know you'll probably disagree, but this information can greatly help the Order. They can help you and your mother."
"I don't need any help Granger!"
"Then why are you so angry at hearing your father is the head of the Death Eaters?" snapped Hermione walking around Draco until she was looking him in the face, "If you were honestly by his side you would be happy to hear this. Where do you stand, Malfoy?"
"Will you drop the questioning?"
"No I won't. Where do you stand?"
"Where I stand is none of your business!"
"Fine," snapped Hermione throwing her hands up into the air, "Be arrogant for your whole life. Born a whimp, die a whimp."
Draco watched Hermione walk for the door before grabbing her roughly by the arm. Scott ran forward angrily, forcing Draco to release Hermione. Hermione looked at him, her eyes narrowed but waiting for what he had to say.
"I'm not a whimp."
"Really? Then why don't you be a man and do what you think is right instead of doing everything your father says? You hate the way this world is. You made it obvious when you were questioning your father about it."
"It's not that simple, Granger!"
"How isn't it?" cried Hermione, "All it is, is a matter of choice."
"He is my father… how can you pick a parent? You can't. My father may be the cruelest man alive but he is still my father. It's not a decision you can easily make."
"He thinks he killed your mother and he most likely raped Bridget…"
"I know Granger! Merlin damn it… you just don't get it."
Draco turned away in frustration.
"Scott, go back to the kitchens. Bridget is going to need you or me," said Hermione to Scott who nodded and left, "You need to work out where you stand."
"And I keep on saying it's not simple."
Hermione sighed, "I know you do. But there are reasons behind why you saved your mother and hate what the world has become… you just need to see those reasons."
With that Hermione left to let Draco have some thinking time.
A/N: There you go. Now I will continue to have the chapters based around the Order but for now Hermione and Draco will share chapters. I hope you all are okay with that. Please review!
Bye for now!
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