Chapter 78:

Helping Through the Pain

These days, Ariella found herself spending as much time as possible locked away in her room. She had no desire to spend any more time than necessary with Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters who now freely visited the Manor. Luckily for her, Narcissa only made her appear to serve meals and sometimes an afternoon or late-night tea.

Lucius couldn't call on her now that he was locked away in Azkaban – something Ariella was very grateful for, for the girl had no desire to go to that awful place; to be subjected to the dementors' wrath and whatever anger he might be feeling towards her right now.

And as for Draco, well, the last real 'conversation' they had held was back at school; everything else had just been curt exchanges when necessary, but she had noticed that, even those had become almost non–existent since he received the Dark Mark earlier that week. Though she understood why he had reacted so harshly during that encounter, it had still shaken her – badly.

And, despite everything that had happened to her, everything that he had done to her, especially recently, she found herself feeling sorry for him. His father, his role model, had been taken away from him and locked up. Both his and his family's reputation was going downhill now because of all the bad publicity. And, to top it all off, he had been forced to take the Dark Mark. Perhaps now he had an inkling of an idea as to what Ariella's life was like; obey or be tortured.

Sighing, she shook her head, walking down the hallway to stretch her legs, still limping slightly from the fight at the Ministry and subsequent questioning. But as she reached the end by the stairwell, she heard a faint noise off to her right. Startled, she turned, and quietly crept over; there was a small alcove there, just under the first curve of the stairs. She knew because she often hid there herself.

Cautiously, she approached the small space, and was taken aback by the sight. Draco Malfoy sat, his knees brought up to his chest, head down, silently brooding, and Ariella could a few tears glinting in the dim light that had gotten past his defences.

"Draco?" she said quietly, not wanting to startle him, wincing as she called him by name and not by title. His head shot up at her voice, before he glanced back down again.

"Draco, please…let me help you," she found herself pleaded softly, surprising both of them, ignoring the growing sting in her bond.

"I don't need your help," he shot back, but his response was weak – even she could see that.

"I can help. I – I can reduce the pain you're in," she offered. He looked up at her, uncertainty in his eyes.

"You can?"

When she nodded, he started to get to his feet; but Ariella knew that he wouldn't be able to fully support himself and so she held out her hand to him. Ashamed and grateful at the same time, he took her hand and, together, they slowly made their way back up the hallway and into her tiny room.

They crossed it and Ariella helped him to sit down upon the uncomfortable "bed". He winced, though from pain or discomfort, she wasn't sure. And, not for the first time that night, she cast her eyes downward and muttered, "Sorry."

He nodded curtly as she left the room to grab what she needed. Draco shifted his weight; he had forgotten how uncomfortable the cot she slept on was. The boy took the solitarily moment to look around the small room as he attempted to compose himself. She really doesn't have all that much, he realized.

At that moment, Ariella returned, her hands full. He gaped warily at her as she set her arm-load of supplies down on the petite nightstand. Then, much to his shock and surprise, she knelt on the floor in front of him.

"Can I have your arm please?" she asked quietly. When he didn't respond, she looked up nervously, unsure of what she would find.

"Draco, I can't help you unless you let me," she said gently. When he still didn't respond, she continued. "You helped heal me once, Draco. Now let me do the same for you."

He winced at the reminder of that day. That was the last time that he had been in this room. To this day, he still couldn't get the image of her scared back and her terrified face out of his mind. Sighing slightly, he gave in.

Taking his arm in her hands, she rolled up the sleeve, careful not to wince at the sight of the newly marked skin. Grabbing the bucket and a rag, she pressed the cold cloth to his skin. He hissed but she refused to let go.

"I'm just cleaning it now, that's all," she said as she dabbed at the puffy area. Slowly, amazingly, Draco began to relax, shocked at her soft, calm tone and at himself, for allowing her to assist him in such a way.

After a minute more, she put the rag aside and picked up a needle-shaped adjunct filled with a yellow-orange substance. Her master gazed at it warily.

"May I borrow your wand please, sir?" She asked suddenly, startling him.

"What?"

"Your wand," she repeated.

"Why don't you just use yours?" he questioned.

"I'm not allowed my wand while in this house, remember?" she retorted back, exasperated as she remembered why.

Lucius had cast a spell a few summers ago that upon entering Malfoy Manor, her wand would disappear from her person. She was only given it back upon her return to Hogwarts each year and only with special permission. Though Lucius had been sentenced to Azkaban, where magic was strong, the power of the bond was stronger. Any order he had previously given still held. Yet, because he hadn't died, he was still her head master.

"Oh…right. I – do you promise not to curse me with it?" he stuttered uncomfortably, suddenly stiffening.

"I can't unless it's in protection; the bond would never allow it. But I – I don't want to anyway; though I do need your permission to use your wand and to cast the spell on you."

"You have my permission for both," he said slowly, hesitantly handing her his wand. She took it, feeling its power for a moment before proceeding with the healing process.

"I'm not going to lie to you; this will hurt. But I promise it will help in the end," she said. He gave her a curt nod in response, giving her the permission she needed to continue.

Leaning over his arm, she pointed the wand at the skin just below the mark and started muttering in ancient Latin. In a pause, she broke the skin with the flexible needle–like object. Then, guiding it with the wand's magic, she wove it in and out of the surface of his skin to the point just above the Dark Mark.

"Ready?" she asked, the needle pointing down into the skin. When he nodded, eyes watering, she pressed the button, jabbing the needle into his arm, allowing the medicine to be released into the skin, pulling it out at the same time, (so that the medicine would be woven into the skin needing the area.)

Draco couldn't help it; a quickly muffled cry escaped from his lips. Ariella cringed, but otherwise kept herself focused on the task at hand, unwilling to look up and see his reaction, for fear she would lose her concentration.

Quickly putting another damp cloth over the wound, she prepared to wrap his arm. Spreading some salve onto one side of the bandage, she put the poorly made wrap to his arm, tying it tightly from just above his wrist to an inch below his elbow. Tying the ends, she leaned back on her heals, wiping her brow with her sleeve.

"If you want, I'll treat it again in a week, though I don't think it'll need to be such a procedure. In the beginning it should be re–wrapped every week or so, then every other week and so on…or as you feel is necessary. Just let me know if you'd like me to do it for you."

She finished speaking and began packing up her supplies, taking care to put the soiled rags in the hot water pail next to her.

"Why?"

Draco's voice broke the silence so suddenly that she jumped, (splashing a bit of the hot water on herself) before she looked up at him.

"Why what?" she asked, confused.

"Why'd you help me?" he clarified.

"Besides it being my duty you mean?" she retorted, but her voice wasn't cruel. When he nodded, she continued.

"I wanted to help you. And you're forgetting that I do understand the pain you're in right now," she said evenly, rolling up her sleeve to reveal her own crudely bandaged arm. He just stared at her arm before his eyes travelled to her face, pale and stunned.

"Yo – you have the Dark Mark?" he finally stammered out.

"Yes, didn't you know?"

Ariella was disconcerted – had no one ever told him? When he shook his head, she sighed.

"The night the Dark Lord returned, your father summoned me. He – he forced me to take the Mark," she explained, her eyes now cast downward.

"That's why you didn't return to school at the end of our fourth year then."

"Yes," she said, bowing her head, slumping forward a bit, muttering a bit. "Suppose I don't need it wrapped any more."

"Who told you not to tell me?"

"Your mother. I don't know why, but I – I respected her order, not to mention being discovered at school wouldn't have been a good thing."

He nodded absently in agreement.

"I'm sorry," he whispered; she looked up, startled. It was so unlike him, especially considering their last interaction, that she just gaped for a moment.

But the truth was, he really was sorry. Having been through the ordeal of getting the Mark himself, he could understand her pain. But it had to be worse for her – she had, quite literally, been forced to take the Mark. To have to follow him now as well as the Malfoy family…it just wasn't right.

Then he took in something else she had reminded of him earlier; she wasn't permitted a wand in the Manor. While she couldn't defend herself again those she was bonded to, he had given her permission to defend herself against others; but given those who were here, without a wand, she was even more vulnerable. He knew some of the men that were flitting in and out of the Manor wouldn't give her more than a second thought; they were decent men, who cared about their families and would never seriously harm Ariella; in all honesty, they would probably just ignore her. But others…like his Aunt Bella and Mr. Avery, well; he would never admit it and it scared him to even do so to himself, but they would try to harm her. No doubt Mr. Avery would know by now, that his son would have told him, and knowing the older man, would want proof for himself.

Draco shuddered at what he knew his classmate had wanted, what he knew Mr. Avery or his Aunt Bella would want from her; she wouldn't stand a chance, especially without a wand. And he – he might be furious with her still, but that didn't mean he wanted to see her tortured in such a way; punished perhaps, certainly, she deserved as much, but not with the means they would use.

"Let me know when you want that re-wrapped," she said, jolting from his thoughts as she nodded her head towards his newly bandaged arm, which he promptly covered up.

"How did you know what would help?"

"I did some research during the year, with my time off during the class periods. I looked up different ways of healing cursed skin. This one seemed to be the easiest for me to try and so I learned how."

He nodded; pleased at least something good had come out of her inability to attend classes this past year. Then he realized what her words could mean, causing his gaze to narrow, zoning in on where he knew her bonded mark lay.

She followed his gaze, hurriedly speaking up, "I simply meant for the Dark Mark, as the area around mine got infected. I – I would never try tampering with the bond mark like that; I know enough now not to try."

Draco nodded, though his stance was a bit stiffer than before; due to pain or her responses or both, she couldn't tell. She knew he was still furious with her.

"Ariella," he said after another pause, unable to believe the words coming from his mouth next; though, hopefully, with them he could get her to admit to her guilt. She looked up, waiting. "I – I'm sorry for how I treated you last at school. It wasn't your fault my father was arrested and it wasn't fair for me to have – "

" – I understand. You were upset and angry. And it is partially my fault, I'll admit that; I didn't purposely try to aid your father, something as his property I should have done. It didn't change that I wanted to help you now," she replied earnestly, though Draco could see that her brown eyes were guarded; she was once more being overly cautious around him, scared even, due to the very event he now felt almost compelled to apologize for.

Draco met her gaze, nodding solemnly, before crossing back to where she stood, holding out his hand, partially disgusted with himself for what he was about to do. Confused, Ariella gave him her arm; he held it steady and pressed his other hand to her mark. "I pardon you for attempting to escape at the Ministry and those made today," he said, his voice quiet but firm, far stronger than he felt.

"Thank you," she replied after catching her breath, feeling part a weight lift off of her. The bond had hated what she had done, how she had acted, to both masters, and that it wasn't forgiven, the fact that he had pointedly refused to forgive her, well…the bond had not taken kindly to that, especially as the many days had passed. Then she realized he had only pardoned her for some of her actions at the Ministry, not all; as suspected, he was still very angry with her for that and though she knew the bond would give her hell still, she couldn't blame him, not truly.

"Your wand is in the hot water; I wanted to clean it of any blood or darkness. Just – just be careful," she said, and Draco knew she wasn't just referring to the hot water…not with the way things were…not now. Not now that there were Death Eaters freely roaming about their house…not now that he knew what it was like to have to obey.

He nodded gratefully and slowly started to make his way out of her room after carefully removing his wand from the bucket. It had been a long and tiring day already and Draco knew that, unfortunately, it was not going to get any better.

Hi all! So few quick things – first, I just want to let you know that I have a time-line for this story – it's a bit rocky, but I have it, as well as multiple future chapters partially written, so thank you for sticking with me.

Second – I obviously have my own plans, but I want to hear your thoughts: why do you think Ariella was enslaved?

Thank you so much for your time and opinions.

Until next time,

~Leanora