Chapter 102:

Death Eater Headquarters

Draco blinked slowly, grimacing. He was in pain all over. Yet, he could tell he had been moved into his room. There was softness beneath his sore body and a damp cloth on his brow.

He blinked again against the harsh light, looking to see his mother and godfather in the room with him. His mother smiled sadly at him.

"Good to see you awake, son."

"Mother? What – ?"

" – the Dark Lord. He was displeased with you to say the least."

He lowered his eyes, ashamed he couldn't hold his own. Logically, Draco knew the Dark Lord was far more powerful than he, and that it couldn't have been helped. He also knew he owed his godfather an apology.

"It's over and done with. Focus on survival now," the man said, causing Draco to look up, startled. Swallowing hard, he nodded.

"Thank you," he croaked out.

"Breathe. We're safer here than anywhere else right now."

"Something's wrong, Theo! I can sense it through the bond. Not to mention he should have summoned me by now."

"We can't do anything right now," Nott tried to reason. "Listen to me. He can take care of himself. He's not going to put you in further danger. He said to wait it out. We should do as he…ordered."

"It's been over a day."

"I know. But you heard him. And quite frankly, I agree with Malfoy right now. Besides, do you really want to go back to the Manor?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't want to face them. But I have a job to do."

"Understood. If it helps, I'll see if I can visit from time to time over the summer."

"Really?"

Theo nodded. "Of course. Both you and Draco could use the distraction. Maybe even come over to mine."

She weakly smiled. "I'd like that."

Nott just nodded in response, eyes widening as Ariella sucked in a pained breath, hunching over.

"Grab my arm," she managed to say. He obeyed and she pressed her hand into the bond mark, sending the friends directly to Malfoy Manor.

They fell onto the ground, breathing hard. Nott looked around wildly, wand already drawn.

He found Draco looking down at him from the bed. He breathed a brief sigh of relief, before realizing the danger they were in simply being in the Malfoy household.

"Nott. Ariella. Glad you could make it."

Theodore snorted. "No problem." He then sat back against the desk, wand still in hand, and took a good look at his classmate. "Are you okay?"

"Bloody fantastic," he paused for a moment. "Ariella. Can you get the salve, drinks, and whatever else you need from your room?"

She swallowed hard, nodding. "Of – of course, Sir."

She left, shakily going to gather the requested items.

The minute the door closed behind her, Draco turned to Nott. "I need your help. Again."

"Wow. Draco Malfoy asking for help twice in one week."

He rolled his eyes. "It's not for me. It's for Ariella."

"Of course. I understand. I was merely trying to – "

" – I know."

"What do you need?"

"A place she can go. It's not going to be safe here. More so than usual."

"I figured as much. Of course, she can come stay with me, though I don't know how much better it will be."

"It won't be often. I can't afford to have her away. It will almost be more dangerous for her to be away than to be here," the Malfoy heir admitted.

"I know. I'll do what I can to help her…and you. I know this summer isn't going to be easy for either of you."

"I doubt it will be easy for you either."

"I don't have the Dark Mark. Or the Dark Lord and his followers partially living in my home."

"Point taken," Draco conceded ruefully. He watched, his senses still keen despite his pain, as his classmate…his friend…glanced towards the door.

"Should it be taking her this long?"

"It's a long trip upstairs. I'm not worried yet."

Nott's eyes narrowed, his gaze sharpening and darkening. "How long?"

"Arduous for me in the right state. Let alone for her. She lives in space suitable for a bloody closet or small lavatory."

"You're serious?"

Draco nodded solemnly, watching as the other boy let out a long, slow breath.

"That's why you allow her the extra room at Hogwarts, isn't it?"

"In part. She found it. She deserves to have a place to retreat to. It helps I also have access to it. We both use it as an escape and a way to privately deal with the bond."

"I can understand that."

In the silence, Draco adjusted his position in bed, wincing slightly, then silently berating himself for being so…weak. Especially when another was present.

"What happened?"

"The Dark Lord was…displeased to say the least."

Nott scowled, but nodded in understanding.

A thud against the door had both boys tensing. Nott rose and went to open it, relieved when he found Ariella on the other side, holding a large basket and tray. Immediately, he grabbed the sides of the tray and sidestepped, allowing her space to enter the room.

Once the door closed behind them, Draco cast both an anti–eavesdropping spell and locking spell upon the room, as Ariella served the drinks.

"Ariella. You need to be aware of how dangerous things are about to be. Death Eaters will be around more often than last summer, than this past year, as will the Dark Lord. They may request your…assistance with tasks and assignments; with getting adjusted. Do your best not to anger or provoke them further. There is only so much I can do. It's why I've enlisted Nott. You'll be spending time with him, away from here. Not often, but occasionally. I will also attempt to have you do more tasks for me, to keep you out of sight. I don't know how well it will work, but hopefully they won't seek you out if they can't see you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir. I appreciate all that you and Theo are doing to help me and try to protect me. I do."

"But…?"

"But isn't it my job to help you, to serve you? How can I do that if I'm hiding?"

Draco tensed. "It is. But you're obeying my orders, thereby, you are serving me. I quite frankly don't care if you want to help more. I don't want you to."

"But – "

" – enough! I don't want to hear any more about this from you. Not now."

Shakily, she nodded and bowed her head. "Yes, Sir. I understand."

Theo winced. He knew what Malfoy was trying to say; what he wanted for her. And she either couldn't see it or didn't want to. It was hurting them both.

"Nott, I'll talk to you soon. The floo should be open."

He nodded once to Malfoy. "Take care. Can Ariella walk me out?"

"Yes. When done, return directly here."

"Yes, Sir."

Once they left, Draco sighed in frustration and relief. He couldn't understand why she kept fighting back with him. Especially with how things were in the Manor and with the bond becoming stricter since his birthday, why risk it?

"He's just trying to protect you."

"I know. But I – I have to do what I can to help."

"You can help by staying out of sight. Let him do his job."

Shakily, she nodded and gave a small smile. "Thank you.

"I'll be in touch. Stay safe."

"Thank you," she repeated, watching her friend disappear through the flames, before quickly returning to her master's bedroom. He didn't seem to have moved from the bed. Not that she blamed him, even if he probably hated it.

As she entered, she could feel the tension in the air. "Dr – Sir?"

Draco glanced up, jerking his chin upwards slightly to allow her to continue.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble. For arguing with you. It isn't that I don't appreciate what you're doing; I do. It's just hard to not want to help."

Her master sighed, just barely preventing himself from running a hand down his shadowed face.

"I know. I know you want to help. I appreciate it. But it's not the same thing and we both know it. Right now, survival is our first priority, which means safety has to be a high priority. Even if that means you feel a bit useless or shut away."

"I know, Sir. I do. I'm sorry for the trouble I'm causing you."

"You aren't causing anymore trouble than we already knew about. So stop it."

"Yes, Sir." She paused for a moment. "Why did you have me bring some of my belongings down here?"

"Because I'd like you to stay here, in my room, for the time being. It will make it easier to keep an eye on each other, to keep track of where things are, and to not have you making the tedious trip back and forth. It will be temporary, but I don't know for how long," he explained.

"Sir – I appreciate it. I truly do. But…what about your privacy?"

"What about it? If I need it, I'll take it. If you need it, ask."

Slowly, she just nodded, taking it all in.

Draco watched her closely, before grabbing his wand and once again transfiguring the extra chair into a sturdy cot. He'd have to remember each morning to change it back…just in case anyone came looking. Still, it was a small price to pay.

"You have permission to use the bed, the pillows, and blankets, and whatever else you need to sleep comfortably. You also have permission to use my lavatory when you need to. You may use the soaps and towels in there if you need to. If you are unsure of anything, you are to ask."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you," she replied, nodding as she felt the permissions settling in the bond. It gave her a small sting as it did so, though why, she couldn't say. Still, she pressed on. "Dr – Sir? How do I treat the others moving forward? More importantly, how do I treat you moving forward?"

"You treat them with the respect you need to in order to survive. Whatever that means. Do your best to stay out of their way and out of sight. As for me…" he stopped, thinking hard. With a grimace, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned forward, placing his arms on his legs. "Treat me as I used to want. Treat me like my father wants you to. If I think it's too much, we'll adjust. But we have to try."

She lowered her eyes, giving a shaky nod of her head. "Yes, Sir. I understand and agree."

"One more thing. If they do something, anything to you, I want to know about it."

"Yes, Sir," she broke off for a moment. "Thank you, Sir."

"You're welcome."

Draco braced himself as he walked into the empty sitting room. Empty, that was, except for his aunt. He had yet another…wonderful lesson.

"Took you long enough," she said, twirling her wand.

"I'm here now."

Her lips curled up in disgust. "You're still weak. Pathetic. Crucio!"

Draco tried not to scream, not to let himself simply crumble under the weight of the curse. But it wasn't known as the torture curse for nothing, and it didn't matter that he had felt it before; it was still just as unbearable.

The curse was released and he fought to catch his breath, scrambling back to his feet, wand raised.

"What exactly is that supposed to accomplish?"

"Surviving through the pain will make you stronger."

Draco simply curled his lips up in disgust as he straightened himself, preparing for another round.

"You dislike my methods, nephew? Think you can beat me in a duel?"

"No," he admitted honestly. "But that doesn't make me useless or weak."

"He has a point for once, Bella," a new voice said, causing Draco to whip around as Rodolphus walked into the room.

"Uncle," he greeted with a nod, wand not lowering a bit.

"Think you can duel me instead?"

"No. But I stand a better shot than against her," he reasoned. "And I'll stand an even better chance if you would actually teach me," sneered Draco at his aunt.

"Face each other. I'll facilitate then. Would that make you happy, my dear nephew?"

Draco stayed quiet as he faced his uncle. He knew before this afternoon was over, he would be in much more pain from his sadistic relatives.