Severus had long ago lost count of the times he had been beaten and subjected to the Cruciatus curse. He had felt something burst inside him at the last kick he had taken to his stomach and he could no longer see anything. The pain was starting to get too much for him and he knew that he wasn't far from blacking out, and shortly after that he would bleed to death.
He was barely aware of conscious thought as he tried to ride the pain out the best he could. God, he wanted Hermione. Just to hold her, or see her one last time. He felt like he was floating above himself. Not long now.
When he had lost contact with Hermione he had panicked, frantically searching for a way to escape so he could get back to her and find out what was hurting her. For a moment or two his head spun as he was hit with the notion that she might well be dead. The stab of pain that went through his chest at that idea had almost taken his breath away.
He was eyeing the guard, trying to work out when the best time to attack him would be when he had finally felt something probing his mind. He could feel it in his thoughts; barely a tickle as someone searched for something. He concentrated harder until he finally managed to see what Hermione was searching for. It took him precious seconds to work out what she was looking for and to give her more. He fed her the memories without flinching, barely seeing what he was showing her.
Severus came back to his senses less than a second before the foot made contact with his ribs. He had fallen to his knees while he had been feeding Hermione the information. The sensations, the memories and the effort had become too much for him to concentrate on keeping himself upright.
At first Severus had thought that the idiot they'd had guarding him had finally noticed he was up to something, and had come in to kick him about for a while before informing Lucius. Except as Severus had looked up from the pool of blood on the floor, he had been surprised to see Lucius' determined face.
"The Dark Lord has been hearing bad things about you, Severus," Lucius had said in an almost bored tone. "He seems to think you have been useful to the cause long enough and I have been chosen to make you pay for your sins."
"You choose whichever side you think will win and benefit you the most," Severus had spat, trying to breathe through the pain. "You were never loyal to him."
"I'm a Slytherin," Lucius said with a smile, as if that was all the explanation anyone needed. "I do what is in my best interest."
"A Gryffindor brought the Dark Lord back," Severus had reminded Lucius. "What house you were in does not determine every move you make in life. I make my own decisions, Lucius. Let's hope your boy does the same."
"Draco will be initiated and he will wear the Dark Mark with pride," Lucius had snapped, pointing his wand at Severus and getting ready to curse him. "You always were soft, Severus."
"Yes, you keep saying." Severus had moved himself into a position where he could sit up. "Accio wand." He had called, his hand out expectantly.
Lucius shook his head in disappointment. "There are wards all over this house to prevent wandless magic. Now get up and die with honour."
It was less than three our four minutes of torture that Severus had to endure before he lay on the ground, finally close enough to death to be sure it would come quickly. He felt the waves of pain wash over him and could feel consciousness ebbing away. When he heard Draco's voice, he was half sure he was hallucinating.
Or I'm in hell, he thought dryly. I knew I should have helped that little old lady across the road…
"Hello father." Draco's voice echoed around the dungeons, making Severus wince. His head felt like it was about to burst and that really wasn't helping.
"As much as I appreciate this unexpected visit, now is not a good time," he heard Lucius say, his voice betraying irritation. "Wait until we have finished this little task for Our Lord and I will talk to you then."
Severus tried to move while Lucius' attention was diverted but found he couldn't even lift his head. He felt something crack as his muscles strained to move him and cried out in pain before giving up completely.
"This can't wait," Severus heard Draco say. "I have something to show you all."
All? How many of his former friends were watching him bleed to death?
"A painting Draco? Surely that can wait. Go upstairs and wait in my chambers, or visit with your mother."
"You see father, this is a very special painting," Draco was saying. "A magical painting."
"Have you been drinking again, boy?" Lucius asked, sounding irritated. A few of the other Death Eaters laughed. Lucius glanced at Severus who was lying on the floor, barely breathing anymore.
"You just say a magic word, and magical things come out of it," Draco said, his voice eerily calm and vaguely creepy.
Lucius sighed and pointed his wand at Severus.
"Crucio," he said in a commanding tone, deciding to ignore Draco's presence.
Severus heard himself scream and then blackness finally and thankfully took over.
"Finite Sanctorum." Lucius' head whipped around as he heard the words spoken by what seemed like hundreds of people all at the same time.
He took a step backwards as thirty or forty people suddenly appeared in his dungeon, forcing him against the wall as they fought for room to stand. He recognized a good percentage of them and groaned in disbelief. The Death Eaters who had been watching him torture Severus were suddenly outnumbered by far too many to even try to fight. They were surrounded and disarmed within seconds.
Lucius stepped back into the shadows and watched in disbelief as the Granger girl that his son had whined about so much ran over to Severus' battered and bleeding body and cradled his injured head in her lap. She checked his pulse and screamed frantically for the school's Mediwitch.
"A little crowded in here, don't you think father?" Draco said, craning his neck to see over Alistor Moody's bony shoulder to point his wand at his father. "Expelleramus."
As Lucius' wand flew over the heads of twenty or thirty Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members, he gaped at Draco, cold fury mixed with complete bewilderment in his eyes.
"After all I have given you…" he said, not even making a move to defend himself as Draco walked over to him and started to magically bind his hands behind his back. "Why?"
"I thought about it," Draco said, unaware of Harry standing a little to his right, listening now that all the Death Eaters had easily been captured. It had been decided earlier that Draco could handle his father if that was what he wanted. "You gave me money and possessions and expected my soul in return. I might have no money, no friends and no family any more, but I'll still have some bloody dignity. I refuse to be at somebody's beck and call; I refuse to grovel and kiss the Dark Lord's robes. I am better than that, as you should have been."
Draco paused as he was about to seal the magical rope that bound his father's wrists. "A professor and a servant were there for me more than you ever were," he said, looking his father in the eye. "You took my family away. Now I'm taking yours."
"You are sadly mistaken if you think you have won here, Draco," Lucius drawled, looking entirely too smug. "I will not go to Azkaban because of your ridiculous naivety. There are more important things than a traitor and a slut."
Suddenly Lucius' hands were free and he had Draco's wand in his grasp. He caught hold of his furious son by the hair and dug the tip of his wand into Draco's throat.
"We're leaving the back way," Lucius informed his son, digging the wand in deeper as he dragged him a couple of steps back further into the shadows. "And when we are away from this place, I am going to give you the lesson of your life. All this over something as petty as that useless servant girl. Although I did keep her alive for a few days before I disposed of her, so I do understand why you were so keen on the girl. The way she wriggled underneath me as I held her down and screwed her was most delicious."
"I will never forgive you for this," Draco said, his voice choked. "You'd better kill me now, because if you let me live I am going to hunt you down and make you pay for hurting Eleanor. And my baby."
"Of course, Draco," Lucius drawled sarcastically. "And if you were anything more than a spoiled child, I would be quivering in my shoes; really I would. Now stop whining for a second while I get us to somewhere safe."
"Let go of me," Draco said through gritted teeth, trying to get free of his father's grip. "I am not going anywhere with you."
"You are coming with me so I can decide what to do with you," Lucius snarled, still moving further into the shadows until he finally hit the stone wall. He held Draco still with one arm wrapped around his neck, while he used his other hand to feel for a dent in the wall. "Never in my life have I been so disappointed in you."
"That is nothing compared to how I've felt about you my entire life," Draco answered back, close to tears. "You let them rape my mother. You killed the only girl I cared about and now you've killed the only person at Hogwarts who actually gave a damn about me."
"That's not entirely true, Malfoy," Harry said, feigning a wounded expression. "I'm hurt. Expelliarmus."
Draco's wand flew out of Lucius' grasp and into Harry's hand.
"Let go of him before I am forced to hurt you," Harry threatened Lucius. "And don't think I wouldn't love an excuse to pay you back for all the nasty things you've done to my friends."
"I'm your friend? Are you feeling alright, Potter?" Draco asked, wriggling free of his father's loosening grip and taking his wand from Harry's outstretched hand. He pointed it at his father and started magically binding him again.
"Need a hand?" Harry asked, watching Draco's face as he worked. He could tell he was trying desperately not to break down. At Draco's nod, Harry started casting binding spells of his own.
"There is no need to truss me up like a damned Christmas turkey," Lucius pointed out as they bound his legs together too. "And you associating with Potter! I would rather be dead than suffer the humiliation of that ever getting out."
"That's nothing," Draco said, finally content that his father couldn't escape. "You should see what an amazing kisser he is."
"I'd really rather not kiss your dad," Harry protested with a grin as he watched the emotions cross Lucius' face as he tried to take in what his son had just told him. "Besides, I'm sure you are far better in bed."
"Most definitely."
As Lucius gaped in horror, Draco grinned and floated him back out of the shadows at the back of the dungeon, putting him down near the rest of the captured and incapacitated Death Eaters.
"I am tempted to kill you here and now," Draco said, looking down into his father's cold eyes. "But I would rather you suffer the indignity and misery of Azkaban."
"Or the Dementor's Kiss," Ron piped up from somewhere nearby. "I'd say what he's been doing more than warrants that."
As Draco's face paled a little, Harry took his arm and pulled him away from both Ron and his father. When they finally reached a deserted and dark corner of the dungeon, Harry stopped.
"You're doing great," he said in a whisper. "Keep the brave face on for another five minutes and then I'll get you out of here."
"I don't need your help, Potter," Draco said, refusing to look at the dark haired Gryffindor in front of him. "I'm fine."
Harry sighed, debating whether or not to just leave the boy alone. Hermione would need him now and she would definitely want his help a lot more than Malfoy apparently did.
"Look Malfoy, if you don't want me to help that's fine, but at least let me find you someone to be with. You shouldn't be on your own right now."
"What is it with you bloody Gryffindors always expecting everyone to have hundreds of friends waiting to give them hugs and kisses?" Draco snapped, glaring at Harry. "I don't get close to people; I don't break down in front of people – it's dangerous. I don't give people ways to get to me."
"And how's that working out for you?" Harry said, glaring back. "Stop pushing me away."
"Oh just fuck off, Potter," Malfoy said, pushing him away. "Concentrate on your own pathetic problems instead of getting off on mine."
"Don't you dare touch me," Harry snarled back at Draco, stopping himself from falling by grabbing onto a bar of one of the many cells in the dungeon.
"Finally getting annoyed? Finally going to stop being Saint sodding Potter?" Draco said, moving towards Harry and pushing him by the shoulders until Harry hit the wall of the cell. "Are you finally going to hit me back?"
Harry stood with his back pressed against the cold wall of the dungeon and looked at Draco.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" Harry said, his voice calm and low. "That the only person you want to break down on is someone you've sworn to hate?"
Draco stared back at Harry, the fury leaving his eyes as quickly as it came. Then before Harry had realised what was happening he found himself pressed up against the cold dungeon wall, Draco's mouth moving against his. Harry groaned and kissed him back hungrily, his hands gripping Draco's shoulders tightly.
"Harry? Harry, where are you? I need you." Hermione's tearstained face appeared in the faint light as she peered around the cell, trying to see if Harry was there.
Draco and Harry sprung apart, Draco running his hands through his hair and Harry covering his face with his hands for a second. He groaned into his hands, before stepping out of the shadows and wrapping Hermione in a hug.
"What did Poppy say?" he asked gently, kissing the top of her head. He looked over her head at Draco who was still standing in the cell, watching him with an unreadable look on his face.
"Oh God, Harry." Hermione buried her face in Harry's shoulder and started sobbing again.
"It's alright, sweetheart," he said, his eyes still on Draco as he stroked her hair gently. "I'll talk to Poppy. Draco, can you keep an eye on Hermione for a second?"
"I already talked to Poppy," Hermione said between sobs. "She doesn't know what will happen. He's been taken to St Mungo's, but they won't let me go with him."
"Are you talking about Professor Snape?" Draco said, coming out of the shadows and standing close to Hermione. His brow was furrowed.
Harry shook his head at Draco and mouthed, "not now."
"Dumbledore will get you in," Harry said. "Come on, let's go and see him."
"The Headmaster has been injured too," a voice came from close by. "Someone had a knife, apparently."
As the person moved nearer, a shaft of light fell on the long, blonde hair, making it glow eerily. Draco moved towards her.
"Hello mother," he said with a weak smile.
"I think we need to talk," she said, putting her hand gently but firmly on his shoulder and leading him out.
