Disclaimer: They aren't mine. Not now…not ever. Anything recognizable belongs to JKR and Company. Anything else is simply me having a bit of fun!
A Tense Situation
~Chapter Fourteen~
It was with great trepidation that Hermione opened her eyes and looked around the tiny room. A narrow shaft of light pushed its way into the dimly lit area through a small crack in the wall and she could tell by its low-lying position that it must be fairly late in the afternoon. Aside from that solitary source of light, she had nothing else on which to base her conclusions as she could detect no windows, nor any form of artificial lighting.
A soft groan caused her to quickly turn her head in alarm as she prepared herself for the possibility of facing more Death Eaters. She had no idea where she was and her captors had already hinted at the monstrosities she would face later that evening. She heard the noise once again and was dismayed to note that it was slightly louder this time and seemed to have more strength behind it. Suddenly, her eyes detected the outline of a prone figure not more than three feet away and the tension in her body eased ever so slightly as she recognized the silhouette of Ron Weasley.
"Oy!" the young man exclaimed, opening his eyes and peering up into her anxious face. Although he couldn't see with any great clarity, he would recognize the bushy hair of his childhood friend anywhere. The fact that she was currently chewing on her lower lip was also a dead give away, and he realized suddenly that their situation must really be grim. It was unlike Hermione to remain quiet in such a situation and she hadn't chastised him for being unconscious when they needed to turn their attentions to escaping from wherever it was the Death Eaters had taken them.
'Death Eaters!' his mind screamed and his senses immediately went on full alert. The scene in the Potions classroom flooded his mind and he forced himself to recall the details of the encounter. Well, as many details as he could remember considering that he had been stunned almost immediately. He only hoped that they hadn't harmed Hermione in any way or he would seriously make them pay. Of course, he wasn't certain how he would accomplish such a task given his current incarceration, but somehow he vowed to see his silent promise through.
"Are you okay, Ron?" Hermione questioned anxiously, leaning over to help her friend to an upright position.
"Yes, but remind me never to give anyone my wand again," he muttered.
"Do you still have the new wand with you?" she questioned, feeling for her own spare wand that she had surreptitiously tucked into the side seam that ran down the inside of her skirt.
"No, they must have taken it away from me when they brought us here," the young man grumbled with more than a hint of disgust lacing his voice. "What about you?"
"It's still here," she breathed softly and the Gryffindor could hear the relief in her voice. "They must have thought that I left it back in the classroom."
"Lucky for us," he commented and looked at her expectantly. When she seemed to be doing nothing more than examining her surroundings, he nudged her impatiently. "Well, go on!"
"Go on with what?" she asked, exasperation and fear lacing her voice.
"You know… use the wand to get us out of here!" It was a good thing that the room was so dimly lit or she would have been more than a little aggravated to note that her friend was looking at her with an expression on his face that suggested she might have grown a second head.
"It's not very reliable," she muttered, fingering the wooden instrument.
"Well it's better than nothing and aside from that wand, I would have to say that that is exactly what we've got… nothing."
"Don't you think that we should try to figure out where we are and why we were kidnapped first?" she asked thoughtfully. "I mean it doesn't make sense really. If Voldemort wanted us brought before him then why send a couple of Death Eaters to carry out the task when he had already assigned it to Snape? That would defeat the whole purpose of discovering if he was loyal to Voldemort, wouldn't it? And how did the Death Eaters get into Hogwarts in the first place?"
"Who cares?" Ron argued, wanting nothing more than to be out of the unfamiliar dark place. "They aren't here now and that's all that matters. Let's get out of here before they decide to come back and do Merlin knows what to us. I've heard about what the Death Eaters do to their prisoners and I really don't want to experience any of those things first hand. We can theorize all we want as to why and how we came to be here once we've returned to Hogwarts."
"But look around you, Ron," she pleaded, indicating the darkened room.
"I have looked, Hermione, and I can honestly say that I don't care for what little I can see," he answered and she could hear the slight wavering in his voice. "It's too bad that Snape hadn't given us those Portkeys yet. We could have used them to just vanish out of here and the Death Eaters would have been none the wiser as to how we got them in the first place."
"But there is the Perattrahere spell," she reminded him; hope entering her voice for the first time since she had awakened to find herself imprisoned in the tiny room.
Ron felt for the talisman disguised as a belt buckle and was pleased to note that the Death Eaters hadn't taken it as they had taken his spare wand. "Good thinking, 'Mione. If we can't get out of here on our own then we can just wait until Dumbledore summons us back. Snape must have figured things out by now and I'll bet that he's already told the Headmaster what happened."
Hermione nodded her head in agreement and automatically reached for the bracelet that constituted her own talisman. Her eyes widened in a combination of shock and fear and she quickly reached for her other wrist before letting out a dismayed gasp.
"What's the matter?" Ron asked
"It's gone!"
"What's gone?" he asked confused and then paused as his addled brain put two and two together. "The bracelet?"
"Yes."
"But it can't be," he exclaimed, fear forming a knot in his stomach. "If they didn't take mine then it means that they haven't figured out what it is and that means that they couldn't have figured out what your bracelet really is either."
"Well it's gone and I don't see it lying anywhere around here," she snapped, tears coming to her eyes.
"Okay, let's think about this," he reasoned, sensing the witch was about at the end of her patience. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"We were in the classroom and they had just hit you with a Stunning spell. One of the Death Eaters ran over to you and pulled out something that looked like a paperclip. He touched your arm and the two of you vanished from sight. Obviously it was a Portkey enchanted to bring us here."
"And then what happened?" he asked, more than a little disgusted that he had allowed himself to be such an easy target.
"The other Death Eater grabbed my hair and pulled out another paperclip. I saw Professor Snape run into the classroom, wand in hand, but it was too late. The Death Eater had already said the incantation and the next thing I knew we were in a room with two other Death Eaters. They started passing me back and forth while they laughed and taunted me and then they began telling me what they were going to do and well…"
"What did they do, Hermione?" he asked softly, his anger rising as he had a very good idea of what the Death Eaters might have done to his best friend. After all, the Dark Lord's followers hadn't earned their reputations by being nice to people.
"They…" her voice faltered but she lifted her chin and took a deep breath, determined to act like the adult that she was quickly becoming. "They began touching me and laughing and grabbing at my clothes and then another Death Eater came in and told them to stop. He said there would be plenty of opportunity for that sort of thing later this evening and that he didn't want them to damage the 'toys' before their Master had a chance to play."
"But they didn't…" his voice trailed off, unable to put his thoughts into words and sickened by the promise of what they would do to the young woman kneeling beside him. Though he had harbored feelings of a more romantic nature for her at one time, they had decided during the summer of their sixth year that they were better suited as friends and an almost sibling type of bond had formed between them. The thought that anyone would even so much as attempt to defile her in such a manner made his blood boil and it was with great effort that he kept his voice low and even so as to not upset her further.
"No, Ron, they didn't do anything like that to me," she replied softly, thankful for the concern that he was showing and the support of his friendship. She shuddered at the thought of what would happen to the both of them later that evening if the Death Eaters had their way and was thankful that Dumbledore would at least be able to use the Perattrahere spell to summon Ron back to safety. Perhaps she could use her wand to make some sort of getaway herself. After all, the Death Eaters were under the impression that she was unarmed and their surprise at discovering otherwise could be used to her advantage. It was a long shot but at the moment it was all she had.
"Good," he replied, reaching out to take her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. "We'll get out of this, Hermione. We always do."
A heartfelt smile momentarily lit her face and for the briefest of moments she allowed herself to believe his words. However, being the realist that she was, the moment passed all too quickly and she resumed her rendition of the events that had led them to the small room they now found themselves sequestered.
"The other Death Eaters protested saying that they would make certain they left enough of me for everyone but the new Death Eater insisted that I wasn't to be harmed. They did as he ordered and simply stood on either side of me as if they were afraid that I was going to try and make a run for it. As if I would even think of attempting to escape and leave you lying there unconscious! I remember wishing that they would stand on the other side of the room because the breath on the one man was perfectly rancid. Unfortunately, they never left my side."
She stopped momentarily when she saw the way Ron's body had tensed and she patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"I'm okay, Ron," she assured him and then reached over to give him a hug. "Honestly. They wouldn't be Death Eaters if they had offered me tea and biscuits rather than make lewd threats, would they?"
"They're not even human!" Ron exclaimed angrily, the muscle under his eye twitching as a result of the anger that was welling up inside of him.
"No, Ron, they're all too human," she protested softly before resuming her narrative.
"Anyway, the new Death Eater traced the outline of my jaw with the tip of his cane and told me not to worry that I would get to 'play' soon enough. He then asked me a few questions about Professor Snape and wanted to know if he was working for Dumbledore. I flippantly answered that of course he was working for Dumbledore seeing that he was the Potions instructor for Hogwarts and that any First Year would have found such a question to be exceedingly obvious. He got this really cold look in his eyes, backhanded me across the cheek that he had touched just moments before with his cane and then told me that I would be wise to watch my manners, especially considering that I was dependent upon his good graces. He then reminded me that I'm nothing more than a lowly Mudblood and told me that I should be grateful that he had been so accommodating thus far."
She stopped momentarily and even though the room was poorly lit, Ron had no trouble seeing the spark of anger that shone in her eyes at the archaic insult levied against her ancestry. For a brief moment, he almost pitied the Death Eater, as he knew that if Hermione ever got the chance, she would make him pay for such treatment. Deep down, he hoped she got the chance to do just that and he swore that he would be right there at her side to help her in any way he possibly could.
Taking a deep breath in an attempt to remain calm, Hermione continued recounting the events that had led them to their current situation.
"He then went on to boast about how Snape was supposed to deliver us to the Dark Lord this evening and that the penalty for failing to do so would be his death. He seemed very pleased by the thought of the Professor's demise and made several uncomplimentary remarks toward him. I got the impression that the Professor had managed to gain Voldemort's favor and that this man was jealous as a result. Judging by the way he ordered the other Death Eaters around, I would say that he gets a kick out of controlling others and knowing Professor Snape, I doubt that he would allow this man to control him in any way."
"I can't imagine anyone being thick-headed enough to try," Ron muttered half under his breath.
"Neither can I," Hermione agreed, having heard the comment clearly enough. "I acted shocked and unbelieving when he told me that Snape was a highly ranked Death Eater and that the only reason he was at Hogwarts was to spy on Dumbledore and the Order. I then told him in no uncertain terms that he was crazy if he thought for a moment that I would believe such an obvious lie and that while Professor Snape might be mean and downright unfair sometimes, he would never join Voldemort, and if he had then the Headmaster would have found out and sacked him."
"What did he say after that?" Ron asked, eyes wide with amazement.
"He muttered something about misplaced Gryffindor loyalty and said that I was far too naïve; a situation that would be remedied soon enough," she answered and a shiver ran through her body as she realized that he had been referring to whatever awaited her later that evening. "He also took perverse pleasure in telling me that Professor Snape seemed to have every intention of delivering us after all, a fact which apparently surprised him, and that by taking us first, the Professor would be unable to follow through with his orders and therefore would end up dead. After that he hit me with a Stunning spell and the next thing I remember was waking up here."
"Well, at least we know why we were taken, but that still leaves us with the question of who took us and how they gained access to Hogwarts," Ron mused thoughtfully, his mind busily trying to fit the pieces of the elusive puzzle together.
"Ron, I'm certain that the Death Eater that asked me all of those questions about Professor Snape was Lucius Malfoy."
"What makes you say that?"
"I recognize that cane and I'm almost positive that I recognized his voice," she replied quietly. "There's something else too. I think that the Death Eaters we encountered at the school were students."
"Well, it would certainly be like Malfoy to do something like this but students kidnapping other students? Don't you think that Dumbledore would have known if any of the students were Death Eaters and made sure that they were expelled?"
"Maybe he doesn't know," Hermione stated, thinking out loud. "Or maybe he does know and thought that it would be safer to keep them close by so that he could keep an eye on them."
"That's why they risked wearing their robes then," Ron said as some of the pieces of the puzzle finally began to fall into place. "They didn't want anyone to recognize them because they still need to attend classes. They probably delivered us here and then returned to Hogwarts. With everyone being in Hogsmeade, no one would question if they weren't around the castle for a little while because everyone would just assume they went into town."
"Exactly," Hermione answered. "Either way, it sounds like Malfoy had us brought here without Voldemort's knowledge and I think that when Professor Snape fails to show up with us that he will use that to his advantage to ingratiate himself further into Voldemort's good graces."
"But he's already a Death Eater," Ron protested, "how could he ingratiate himself further? He's already sworn allegiance to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
"Because he will accomplish what the Professor failed to do and therefore come off as a loyal Death Eater who was willing to risk his own neck to carry out Voldemort's orders."
"In other words, he's sucking up," Ron declared with more than a touch of loathing in his voice.
"Exactly."
"I never thought that I'd hear myself say this but we need to get out of here so that we can help Snape," Ron told her, getting to his feet and putting his hand out to help her off of the floor.
"Yes, but how?" she questioned, nervously looking around as if fearing that someone might sense their intentions and come barging in at any moment.
"We need to return to Hogwarts fast so that Snape can bring us to the Dark Lord," Ron said, his mind running through various strategies. "If he shows up with us then he'll be safe because he'll have proven himself to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by carrying out his orders. He also needs to know that Malfoy's out to get him so that he can watch his back. We can still make the original plan work and we'll have thwarted Malfoy's plans, which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned."
"Yes, but how are we going to get out of here?" she asked. "Even if Dumbledore uses the Perattrahere spell, it will only get you out of here. Although, at least one of us would be able to let the Professor and the Headmaster know what's going on and if Professor Snape shows up with you and Malfoy shows up with me then maybe the Professor can use that to his advantage and discredit Malfoy by proving that he was working against Snape by not allowing him to carry out Voldemort's orders."
"It's a nice thought, Hermione, but there is no way that I'm leaving without you. That's why we're going to use that wand of yours to open that door over there and walk out," he declared, his voice determined.
"That sounds a little too easy," she murmured, knowing that even though Lucius Malfoy was an egotistical bigoted excuse of a Wizard, he was anything but stupid. "Malfoy will have wards on this place at the very least and most likely Death Eaters positioned right outside. Not to mention the small fact that even if this were my regular wand, I'm not certain that I could take on fully-fledged Death Eaters. Remember our fifth year and what happened at the Ministry?"
"Yes, I remember and I know that you were hit with that really awful hex," he answered softly, knowing that the event was still a sore spot for the young witch. "But you've learned even more since then and we have to try. If Snape is killed then the Order will suffer. Besides, there's no way I'll just sit here and wait until Dumbledore uses that spell. I'm not going to leave you here on your own and I'm not going to let them hurt you."
She looked at her friend and once again chewed nervously on her lower lip, willing the tears of heartfelt gratitude not to fall. Ron might be a little slow on the uptake sometimes but she could not have asked for a better friend and she thanked the higher powers for bringing him into her life. With a quick smile, she nodded her agreement and began reaching for the wand that was still hidden in the seam of her skirt. Her fingers had just found the tiny slit in the fabric when the door opened and the candlelight from the room beyond filtered in to reveal the forms of two masked Death Eaters.
/^\^/^\^/^\
The shrill laughter of Pansy's laugh made Draco stop abruptly and quietly pull back into the recess of the stone stairway that stretched between the Slytherin boy's dormitory and the Common Room. He had seen the couple leave for Hogsmeade that morning and had decided to return early to do a little snooping amongst their personal effects as he was convinced that the recently initiated Death Eaters were up to something.
He hadn't expected them to have already returned since the students weren't required to return to the school for another two hours. Deciding that eavesdropping might be useful, he remained hidden just inside the stairwell but still close enough to where he could overhear their conversation. Not that they were even attempting to keep their voices down, as they seemed to assume that everyone else was in Hogsmeade. He shook his head in distaste wondering yet again why they didn't use what little brains they had been born with and cast a Silencing spell so that anyone walking by, like himself, couldn't overhear their conversation. He focused his attention entirely on their conversation when he heard them make mention of Weasley and Granger's names.
"Did you see their expressions?" Pansy laughed and the lower baritone of Blaise's laughter could now be heard as well. "Granger's especially. I would be surprised if it wasn't the first time that the prissy little Mudblood was completely at a loss for words. I'd just love to know what she was thinking when she saw us standing there, wands drawn and fully robed in our Death Eater outfits."
"Well, she may not have said a lot but she sure called for Snape quickly enough," Blaise replied, grimacing at the narrow escape from detection by their Head of House. "You said he saw you when you used the Portkey to get Granger out of there?"
'Portkey? Get Granger out of there? Death Eater Robes? Bloody Hell!' Draco thought as a sense of panic began to overcome him. 'What have those Slytherin twits done this time?'
"Yes, he had just reached the doorway when I activated the Portkey. Don't worry though, he has no idea it was me because my hood was up and my mask was firmly in place," she assured him when she saw the frown that crossed his face.
"Good because I don't want to have to deal with an irate Snape," Blaise said with a little more vehemence than Draco would have expected. "Especially if he were to find out that we were acting on Lucius' orders and not the Dark Lord's. No one has ever said anything specific but I get the feeling that there's no love lost between Snape and Lucius."
'You've got that right,' Draco thought with a smirk as he continued to listen to the unsuspecting students.
"I still don't think that you should have taken her bracelet though," Blaise commented, pointing to the pewter bracelet with the deep red stone.
"Why not?" she questioned defiantly. "It's pretty and I liked it. Besides, after tonight, Granger won't exactly be in any position to ask for it back, will she?"
"Considering that she and Weasley will be dead by the end of the evening I'd have to agree," her partner in crime replied with a small laugh. "Still, if anyone sees you wearing her jewelry, Pansy, it could cause people to ask questions and that is something that we don't need."
"I'm keeping my souvenir, Blaise,' Pansy told him in a voice that would accept nothing short of consent. 'If anyone says anything then I'll just say that I found it in the Potions classroom and that I had no idea it had belonged to her. Seeing that she 'disappeared' from there, people will just assume that it came off in the struggle before she was abducted."
"Just be careful about it. I have no intention of winding up in Azkaban because you wanted a memento of today's activities. I wonder why Lucius was so insistent that we bring Granger and Weasley to him today?" Blaise asked, perplexed. "You would have thought that he would rather have us nab Potter rather than those two."
"Well, they are Potter's best friends."
"True, but something just isn't adding up," he answered thoughtfully, causing her to smile when she saw the frown lines that marred his forehead. It was a sure indication that he was diligently searching for an answer to his question. "He could have asked for Potter's girlfriend as well or instead of those two we grabbed, but he didn't."
"You know what?" she asked, not waiting for a response. "I think that we did exactly what we were asked to do and we did it brilliantly. Granger and Weasley will be out of our hair after tonight and Granger will exit this world with more of an education than she ever imagined, which is fitting since she's always got her nose in a book in an effort to learn something or other."
"I don't think that she was looking for the type of education that she'll receive at the hands of the other Death Eaters attending tonight's Revel," Blaise answered in a very dry tone of voice.
"Which makes it even better. Our part is finished and we can move on to other pleasurable things," she purred suggestively. "Lucius said that he would take them from that rundown servants cabin and bring them to the 'festivities'. I just wish I could be there to see Snape's face when he realizes that they were taken from his classroom right under that over-sized nose of his so that they could be tagged as the opening number for tonight's Revel. Considering that Granger has been a royal pain in his arse all these years with her infernal questions, he might even thank us."
"I would rather go without the recognition in this case," Blaise said firmly.
"Spoilsport," she laughed and drew her body next to his eliciting an immediate response from his own body. "I can think of another type of recognition you know."
He sighed as she began nibbling his ear and running her hands up and down the insides of his thighs. Grinning wickedly, he flipped her over to where she was lying on her back and positioned himself so that he was stretched above her, pinioning her to the bed and denying all possibility of escape.
He need not have worried though as escape was the last thing on Pansy's mind and as he began to run kisses along the length of her neck she sighed with complete abandon relishing the thought of the lovemaking session that was to come. Yes it had been a good day as far as the Slytherin witch was concerned and she was about to top it off with a delightful ending. Knowing that her Housemates wouldn't return for another couple of hours, she didn't bother closing the door or drawing the bed curtains. Instead she smiled and gave herself over to Blaise's ministrations with reckless abandon. It was the perfect reward for a job well done.
/^\^/^\^/^\
Draco remained in his hiding place and allowed his thoughts to run free for a moment. He knew that he would hear nothing more from the couple other than the breathy moans and gasps as they pleasured one another. Contrary to what people might think of him, listening to such shenanigans held little interest for him and he turned his thoughts to the conversation he had just overheard.
They had taken Granger and Weasley to his father who in turn would present them to the Dark Lord. But why? Why do that when Snape could have done that very same thing himself? He was, after all, in the perfect position to do so. And why would the Dark Lord authorize Blaise and Pansy to appear in Death Eater robes in the school knowing that their chances of getting caught were above average? It just didn't make any sense. To top it all off, the idiots had done all of this in Snape's own classroom right under his nose. He sighed, realizing that his suspicions had been correct and that something had been going on. It also explained why Draco had seen Snape practically running toward the Headmaster's office with an expression on his face that was a mixture of panic and abject fury when he returned from his visit to Hogsmeade.
His thoughts were diverted momentarily by a more physical concern and he rolled up his sleeve to stare long and hard at the mark on his arm. It was beginning to burn ever so slightly, which was Voldemort's oh so polite way of telling him to prepare for an upcoming meeting. His facial muscles twitched at the description knowing all too well that the word 'meeting' was merely a polite way of saying 'Dark Revel'.
'They might as well call it a torture session and get on with it,' he thought irritably, scratching at the nagging Mark and rolling down his sleeve to hide the offensive insignia of slavery. At this point he didn't know whether he should be angrier at his father for ultimately trapping him into servitude to a demented monster; with Snape, who sensed both his indignity and his intrinsic cowardice at what might be a short and bleak future with the Dark Lord and offered him a chance to 'do the right thing'; or the clueless Gryffindors for getting themselves into yet another potentially fatal disaster. At least it wasn't Potter this time, but the fact that he was going to have to put his neck on the line to help the Weasel and the Mudblood galled him to no end. He sighed yet again as the Mark continued to burn and irritate the pale flesh that lay scarred underneath.
It wasn't that he cared so much about the Weasel, the Mudblood or any of the other hapless victims that would be the honored guests for the evening's festivities. To his way of thinking, so long as he didn't personally know any of them then his conscience could remain relatively clear. Hence the whole problem with his Housemates plans for the hapless Gryffindors. He actually knew them and although there was no love lost between Draco and Potter's sidekicks, he didn't want to see them end up like that.
In addition to that small annoying fact was the knowledge that it all lacked any sense of style. Yes, that was it. The Dark Lord, for all his ramblings, was nothing more than an oversized bully that could use some serious time with a public relations person. In Draco's mind, if his own father had played his cards right, Voldemort would have found a way to pull not only the overly zealous, power hungry Wizards to his cause, but also the unsuspecting Witches and Wizards that bowed down to popular opinion and didn't mind being lead by the nose and told what to do. If it could work for all of those silly Wizarding magazines, which had pathetic Witches enthralled by the thousands and hanging on every ridiculous word they printed, then it certainly would have worked for the Dark Lord. And who knew? Perhaps instead of killing so many people, Voldemort could have possibly recruited them to his side and gained even more strength from the sheer number of followers that he would have been certain to amass.
Yes, had the Dark Lord and the patriarch of the Malfoy family played their cards right then Draco reasoned that he would have gone along with whatever schemes they might have devised as such a thing would have suited his own personal preferences infinitely better than all of the bloodshed, Unforgivables and torture that had become the preferred method of business. Things he could easily find himself falling prey to if he made so much as one wrong step with the reptilian slug that had stepped forward and dubbed himself the Emperor of the Dark.
It was things such as this that had turned him, with extreme reluctance and a serious bout of kicking and screaming (if Malfoy's did such a thing and if said temper tantrum wouldn't have attracted unwanted attention), to the side of the Light and placed him directly at Albus Dumbledore's beck and call. In a way he had traded one Master for another but at least while serving the Headmaster he was assured of not having to be taught 'lessons' at the hands of maniacs for any mistakes he might make. And it wouldn't make a difference whether or not those mistakes were real or imaginary, as the Dark Lord would still make certain that he paid a steep price. Oh how he wished those idiots back home had played their cards right! But no, they continued to take the crass approach to anything and everything, forcing him to accept Snape's offer and change loyalties so that he now spent his days skulking around the castle spying on his Housemates. It was a sad plight indeed and certainly not a fitting occupation for a Malfoy.
'You can attract more bees with honey…' Draco thought with a wry grin, having heard some similar sentiment from one of the Muggle-born students a few years ago. He hadn't understood such sentiment at the time but he was beginning to get a clearer picture as to its true meaning with every passing day. Yes, it was one time when the Dark Lord would have done well to take a lesson from the Muggle saying. Ruling by fear was effective but only for so long.
Pulling himself away from his musings, he buttoned the cuff on his sleeve and looked around. The Mark still stung and he knew that by the time he was called for the meeting that it would become a full, outright burn until he answered the summons from his 'Master.' Another grimace crossed his face as he thought of the title that the Dark Lord insisted his followers address him by and his memories traveled back to a time several months ago when he himself had been ordered to do the same as the symbol was burned onto his flesh, marking him as the Dark Lord's personal property for all time.
Yes, while most of the other Hogwart's students had gone home for the Christmas holidays and opened up their newly purchased shining broomsticks and boxes of exploding firecrackers, Draco had been gifted with his own personalized invitation to Hell in the form of the Dark Mark, courtesy of both his father and the Dark Lord. The worst part of it all was that his father had been truly pleased and had actually stood before him after the initiation ceremony with a typically self-satisfied Malfoy smirk and had had the unmitigated gall to ask him if he was pleased with his gift? Of course, the query had been phrased as a question, but it had been delivered in such a manner that Draco knew the only correct answer was to nod politely and bite back the swear words and hexes that were begging to be chanted back at the smug face in front of him.
Yes, it had definitely been a Christmas to be remembered and in case he ever thought of forgetting, his own personal copy of the Dark Mark would see to it that he did not. It was a dangerous game, walking the line between good and evil, and once again he wondered how Snape had managed it for so many years without going mad. Of course, considering his attitude in the classroom… well, maybe he had in a small way. Still, as long as the targets of Snape's ire and frustration were Gryffindors then who was he to complain?
"Nutters," he mumbled under his breath, "why couldn't father have just given me a key to my very own, thoroughly stocked vault at Gringotts instead?"
And with that thought, he quietly retreated back down the stairs and exited the Slytherin Common Room. It was imperative that he speak with the Headmaster as quickly as possible if there was to be any hope of changing the events that Blaise and Pansy had set into motion by their actions that afternoon. Time was of the essence and some sixth sense told him that it was quickly running out for all of them.
/^\^/^\^/^\
TBC
Author's Note: As always, thanks to OzRatbag2 for taking the time to beta! It has been brought to my attention that FF.Net was having problems with the review functions at the time I posted the last chapter and some of the reviews may not have been lost (and here I was thinking for 2 days after I posted that no one liked the chapter!). For those that did manage to get a review through, I enjoyed reading your comments and hopefully this chapter managed to meet your expectations. As I've stated previously, this will be a long story so don't be surprised if this particular part of the story takes several chapters to tell. I've already started writing the next chapter (It's at 3000 words and still going) but it will take me a little while to finish it and have it betaed.
Deb: I think that I misunderstood your question previously re: the wands. Ron and Hermione couldn't give Snape the new wands and keep their old wands as he would have noticed the deception after having observed their wands in class during the last seven years. (Hope that helps and that I answered the question correctly this time! (grin) )
Comments are always welcome.
Until next time,
~Jules
