**CAREFUL, TRIGGER WARNING. Graphic violence and torture + sexual abuse content. Feel free to skip those parts (mainly in the chunky paragraphs) but there is some important info written so maybe just read the dialogues at least**
Hermione had just finished her Potions class. It was the middle of October. Malfoy was quite comfortable not talking to her. She didn't expect him to make small talk with her every time they passed each other, but they were partners. She walked out of the classroom and began to walk towards her dorm. She felt someone tap her on the right shoulder and she turned around, but the person dodged to her left in a flash.
"A-ha!" cried Blaise, playful, who came to stand to her left. "That little trick always works so well."
"Good afternoon, Blaise," she greeted him.
He rolled his eyes and sighed. "You're so formal, it's ridiculous," he said.
She glanced at him curiously. "Um… I'm sorry?" she tried.
"And you apologize too much too," he added. "Anyway, do you wanna know a fun fact?"
"Okay?"
"Goblins run faster than House Elves."
"Who told you that?"
"I read it in a statistical study in the Daily Prophet. You should try it sometime."
It was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes and she nudged him with her shoulder, a thin smile on her lips. It seemed to her that this was the first time she had smiled all day.
Hermione faced Blaise, wand still held out in front of her. The cold bit into her skin. Her hand was shaking. She couldn't think straight. She couldn't accept what he had just told her. She shook her head, heart beating wildly.
"No," she whispered. "No, it's not you... You're cursed."
He took a step towards her and the snow crunched under his feet. He was only a metre away from her. Slowly he took out a cigarette, dangled it between his lips and lit it with his wand.
"Oh, but it's me," he said. "And I can't wait to reveal it all to you..."
The posters for the Halloween Ball had been up for a few days. The students were excited to hear what the theme would be. Hermione walked out of her dorm and headed for lunch. She was tired. She hadn't been able to get much sleep since she'd been working almost non-stop for two days with Draco to organise the Ball.
She entered the Great Hall and noticed that her friends were not yet at the Gryffindors' table. She took a seat at the very end of the table and began to lazily help herself to some salad. Unexpectedly, her salad leaves turned blue and she gasped.
She looked up and saw Blaise dropping onto the bench in front of her, wand in hand. Hermione poked a blue salad leaf with her fork and examined it.
"We don't play with food," she mumbled.
"You look tired," he remarked.
She put her fork down and massaged her forehead. "We've just been... working a lot, Draco and I."
Blaise waggled his eyebrows in a sly expression. "Worked… Is that really what young people call it these days?"
Hermione pouted and shook her head. "You're impossible!" she grumbled.
Harry and Ron finally arrived in the Great Hall and raised their eyebrows when they saw Blaise. The Slytherin didn't let it bother him. He stood up from his bench.
"I'm going to go," he announced, not losing his smile. "Some people are just not ready yet for the 'Zabini phenomenon'.
He left the Gryffindors' table, nodding to Harry and Ron, and tugged lightly on a lock of the brunette's hair. She looked down at her plate again. Her salad was green.
Hermione looked around, confused and losing her bearings. Blaise stood between her and the Forest, and the castle was at her back. Pansy had disappeared completely. "I... I don't understand. Where's Pansy? Why are you acting like this? It's not you, Blaise, I know you…"
"Pansy? She's gone back to enjoy the Ball."
Blaise took another step towards her and found himself practically nose to nose with the Gryffindor, towering over her. Blaise blew his smoke in her face. Hermione coughed. Firmly, he lowered the arm that held her wand and lifted her chin so that she was looking directly into his eyes.
"Soon you'll understand everything," he whispered, leaning sensually towards her.
Hermione, chilled and paralysed with fear, did not move, and received his warm and smoky breath against her face.
"But first, as I promised..." he continued softly. He kissed her right cheek. "The hunter—" He kissed her forehead. "...will become—" He kissed her left cheek. "…the hunted."
Hermione, gripped by fear, did not move a muscle and stared at him blankly. Her eyes widened in terror and a spiral of white steam swirled out of her mouth as she exhaled.
Blaise brushed his lips gently against hers and stepped back a few inches to look into her eyes. He took another drag from his cigarette. "Run," he ordered.
Hermione did not move.
"Save yourself," he said, his voice suddenly deep.
The Lioness swung round and started to run towards the castle, her steps hindered by the snow, but Blaise was quicker and threw a well-placed Impedimenta. She stumbled hard into the snow.
"Run to the Forest!" he ordered. "I want to hunt you!"
He let her stand up awkwardly, and Hermione leapt forward, changing her course to run towards the Forest. She knew she was obeying him, but she wanted to put as much distance between herself and Blaise as possible. There was no way out. She dashed forward, dress billowing in the wind behind her, and soon she was swallowed up by the first trees of the Forbidden Forest. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him darting behind her. He was hunting her, enjoying her obedience.
She might let herself be "hunted", but certainly not without defending herself...
"Stupefy!" she shouted over her shoulder.
The spell hit the tree Blaise had been standing in front of a second earlier, and the bark burst. Blaise laughed, relishing the exhilaration of the hunt. Hermione went deeper into the Forest and had to weave quickly through the trees to avoid bumping into them. Branches slashed at her cheeks and bare arms. Her chest felt as if it were on fire from the great gulps of frigid air she was taking in.
Draco, she thought. Draco, I'm so sorry...
She threw another spell over her shoulder and missed again. If she wanted to strike him, she had to stop. But if she stopped, then he would definitely catch her and Merlin knows what would happen if he did... With no time to think about why it was Blaise, her friend Blaise, who was chasing her through the Forest.
The Christmas decorations had been up for a week. In her spare time, Hermione was studying for her exams which were coming up fast. At breakfast, Blaise and Ginny were eating with her, and the Slytherin had asked what the plan for the day was.
"Do you need us for anything?" Hermione asked.
Blaise shrugged and took a bite of his cereal. "No," he replied. "I should be studying, actually."
"Well then, come study with us in the library," Hermione offered.
Ginny glanced at Blaise to see his reaction. His eyebrows rose.
"We have study dates now?" he grinned.
"You're part of the team," Hermione replied.
She continued to cast spells behind her in the hope of slowing Blaise down. She could hear him screaming in delight. He was thrilled to be hunting her.
I'm so sorry, Draco...
She couldn't keep running at this speed through the snow any longer. Her lungs were crying out for mercy, and her head was buzzing with incomprehension and utter bewilderment. Perhaps the only thing to do was to turn around. To face hell.
She stopped and spun around, hard-faced. "Stupefy!" she repeated.
He parried her spell in one swift movement, without stopping his progress towards her. Hermione went through spell after spell, still gasping for breath, but he blocked them all with impressive ease. He was about ten metres away from her, slowly coming closer.
"Oh, Mia darling," he murmured when he finally reached her, short of breath after all that running. "Your lips are almost blue... Are you cold?"
He stepped forward again until he was two metres away from her, a wicked grin on his face.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" the Lioness shouted. "BLAISE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"
He ignored her completely and even winked at her. Hermione could no longer make out the lights of the castle. The moon cast a ghostly light over the Forest, lengthening the shadows of the skeletal trees that stretched their bare branches towards them.
"You can't run anymore, can you?" he asked softly.
The brunette breathed through her nose, her breath ragged, trying in vain to chase away the burning of her eyes, which were beginning to moisten under the absolute anguish that was consuming her. Draco, forgive me. I'm so sorry... She couldn't quite pinpoint the new tone she heard in Blaise's voice.
"What have you done?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
Blaise gave her a broad smile without answering. He pulled another cigarette from his pockets and lighted it with his wand again. "Ask me," he said. "Ask me the fateful question that's been burning in your mind."
Hermione gasped, trying to control the trembling of her jaw. "Did you kill him?" she gasped after a moment. "Did you kill my brother?"
The Slytherin looked at her gravely, unmoved, and puffed out his smoke. His features were distorted by some sort of emotion that Hermione could not name.
"Yes, I did."
Hermione let out a broken sob through her throat and covered her mouth with her hand, still pointing her wand at him. A frightful curtain of pain and shock numbed and petrified her in place. Her feet were pinned to the ground in the pure white snow.
Hermione felt like uprooting all the trees around her. They hadn't found anything in Duncan's house, except for some stupid letters that had just proved her ex boyfriend had cheated on her. Draco had just suggested that they all have a drink, and she thought the idea of a Firewhisky was the best she'd heard in a while.
The four of them walked back towards the centre of Penshaw village, where they had apparated earlier. Hermione did not speak, keeping her arms firmly crossed over her chest. Ginny stayed beside her, but soon stepped forward to peer with Draco at the best place for them to go.
"There," Draco offered, pointing to a bar. "The Wacky Wizard."
"You're forgetting that Ginny isn't eighteen yet," Blaise blurted out.
Draco sighed loudly. They continued to walk slowly down the main street, trying to find another place. Blaise stayed behind and stood next to Hermione. He watched her for a few moments and immediately read her state of mind.
"You'll relax, I promise," he said.
"Yeah..." she retorted, unconvinced.
"The Greedy Grindylow!" Ginny announced in front of them.
Draco grumbled, but eventually everyone agreed. They walked towards the pub, Ginny leading the way. Draco entered the building second and Blaise held Hermione back before they entered.
"Wait," he breathed.
Hermione looked up at him. He appeared worried, but he was smiling. Blaise often smiled.
"I know it sucks," he said. "It really does. You have the right to say it."
The brunette shook her head. "We've got to move on, I mustn't stop at one tiny pitfall—"
Blaise rolled his eyes and reached for her wrist. "No, Mia," he cut in abruptly. "It fucking sucks. Just say it."
Hermione bit her lip and sighed. "It sucks a lot."
"Yes," he agreed, almost happy to hear her use that language. "What else?"
"It pisses me off!" she exclaimed, surprised to hear herself continue. "I can't find the answers I want! Instead, I find out that this stupid prick cheated on me!"
"Yeah, that sucks," he encouraged her. "Tell me about it, voice it."
"I don't deserve this. I've never hurt anyone. At least, not that I know of. Why do others have to be so... nasty?"
"Amen."
Hermione stopped and almost felt like smiling. Something in her chest had lifted slightly.
"Better?" asked Blaise.
"A little."
He opened the door to the pub, but didn't let her go before him as a gentleman.
"The only reason I'm not opening the door for you," he threw over his shoulder, "is because Draco is watching us and I don't want him slapping me."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Would he slap you for being chivalrous?"
Blaise shook his head dejectedly. "Uh, probably, yeah," he said.
Blaise breathed in and out. A white puff escaped between his lips.
"I...I don't understand," she whimpered. "What did you do… What did you do?"
She continued to mumble, refusing to believe Blaise's confession. Another sob struggled to emerge from her throat. She did not recognise her own voice, mournful and broken.
"What have you done... Why? Why did you do it?" She straightened her arm tightly and pointed her wand at him again, renewing her strength to aim. Her face was tight with an expression of extreme betrayal. Something broke loose inside her and exploded into a thousand pieces in the pit of her stomach, sending a wave of hatred through her body.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" she screamed. "Why, WHY?"
In one swift movement, Blaise launched towards her and grabbed her wand, shoving it into his back pocket, out of her reach. The Slytherin placed his hands on her bare shoulders and clutched her with an iron grip. I'm so sorry, Draco... He then shook her violently and pushed her against a tree. The brunette felt one of her vertebrae snap with a loud noise and she bit her tongue in shock.
"I only did what was RIGHT!" he exclaimed, rage twisting his features.
"This isn't you, this isn't you," she kept repeating, ignoring the rusty taste in her mouth.
"Look at me," he ordered. "LOOK AT ME!"
She did so and noticed, despite the darkness, that his eyes were becoming a little lighter with each passing second. His nose was getting slightly longer. A cry of anguish almost came from her throat, but her voice was blocked in her chest. She tried to pull away, but Blaise's grip was far too strong. Placing his forearm against her throat, he put his weight on her to hold her down, and with his other hand, he drew a long knife.
"Let me go," she begged. "You're hurting me, let me go…"
"Mudbloods have no right to make demands!" he snarled, laying the edge of the blade against her cheek.
"This isn't you!" she cried, hot tears finally running down her cheeks. "You're my friend! You're cursed!"
"NO, I'M NOT!" With a nimble gesture he cut her skin, following the curve of her right shoulder.
Hermione let out a cry of pain and uncontrollable sobs began to break down all the barriers that had been holding them back until now.
"Look again," he grumbled.
His face changed shape and even his skin became less and less dark. The more his features distorted, the more terrified Hermione became. She tried to throw her knee at his tender spot, but he pushed her back hard.
"Wrong move," he snapped, before sliding his blade over her again, this time to her left shoulder.
The scream that the brunette let out echoed through the Forest but there was no one to hear it. Blaise grabbed her shoulders again, lifted her off the tree and this time sent her tumbling to the ground. Hermione's back was slammed hard into the snow, and she felt the bite of the cold freeze all her muscles. Her blood dripped onto the white ground. The Slytherin climbed on top of her and leaned over her with authority to look into her eyes. With the strong muscles of his legs he compressed her ribcage and Hermione heard more crunching sounds that seemed to come from her waist. She whimpered from the searing pain that tore in her sides. Now his eyes were blue.
"WHO ARE YOU?" screamed Hermione.
With violence he crushed his mouth to hers, knocking their teeth together, and Hermione unsuccessfully tried to escape the torturous kiss. A firm hand clamped down on her thigh and tore at the bottom of her dress. Before she even realised what was happening, Blaise was stroking her crotch without gentleness and had even found a way through her panties. Quickly, without delicacy, he thrust two fingers inside her and wiggled forcefully. It was the first time she had something inside of her down there… but this… this hurt terribly. Hermione screamed in pain, but the Slytherin locked his lips between hers again. His fingers inside her seemed to be tearing at her from all sides, and her back bucked as the pain tightened her muscles.
"PLEASE!" she begged, sobbing painfully. "STOP! PLEASE! STOP!"
He pulled his fingers out of her and placed both hands on each of her wrists, the knife still firmly held in one of them. Hermione stared at him, breathless, and she froze completely.
"Show's over," Duncan whispered. "Did you miss me, love?"
Too stunned to say anything, the brunette simply continued to cry, trying to get out of the beastly grip. Duncan's skin was almost white, and he'd obviously aged since she'd last seen him. His hair was no longer brown, but blond, and he had grown a beard on his cheeks. A huge tattoo in black ink was on his neck, just below the left jaw, and represented a skull; the pommel of a knife was plunged above the skull and the blade came out of the mouth, and the head of a snake sprang from the right eye socket with the tail twisting around the knife blade. It seemed to look like the Dark Mark somehow, close enough and yet so far away. A wicked, cruel smile graced his lips, and a sickly joy lit up his eyes. If Hermione turned her head, she could see on his arm, half hidden by his sleeve, the head of a snake. The Dark Mark.
"I bet you're dying to know everything at last," he continued.
The hateful messages that students and strangers had been repeating to her over the past few months jumped to her mind. "What have I done?" she squeaked. "What am I? How did you curse all those people? Why did you say that between theft, murder, and curses, you only did one of those things? How could you have Blaise's hair in your Polyjuice?
Hermione panicked, but couldn't stop herself. "What do you want from me? Did you steal his watch? Why did you say we'd never met? Where have you been all these years? Why did you disappear after graduation? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"
"So many questions," he gritted his teeth. "You haven't changed a bit."
He trapped a handful of her hair in his hands and turned her head so that she was looking only at him. The cold froze her limbs and she felt her strength leave her.
"You'll know everything, Mudblood," he spat. "And I'll do to you exactly what I did to your bastard Mudblood of a brother before I killed him. Let me ask you this. Do you really think your boyfriend will come and save you? Do you really think that the Malfoy Lord, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, is going to rescue a Mudblood?"
"What are you talking about?" Hermione shivered.
"I have doubts about Malfoy's true allegiance. We had the same training, you know. I bet he didn't tell you."
Hermione shuddered, refusing to be fooled by his venomous words.
"What training?" she asked.
"Death Eater training, of course."
The brunette blinked for a moment and her breath caught in her throat. "You... You're a Death Eater?" she breathed.
"You'll find out soon enough," he repeated, amused. "I only hope that Draco will put his talents to good use. If only he'd let me talk to him directly…"
"You don't know Draco," she growled, feeling the need to defend her partner. "He would never side with you."
"That's what you think. But I have reason to believe we have much more in common than he thinks. It is enough that the right ideas are communicated to him in a clear way. Just like they were for me. Oh, how I wish we could work together…"
He looked at Hermione, still trapped between his legs, and his smile widened even more.
"Woah, could you imagine if the great Mackie would team up with the Malfoy heir?"
Hermione frowned. The cold was consuming her skin like a flesh burn. Something in her ribcage was throbbing horribly. She wouldn't be surprised if someone told her that Duncan had broken her ribs with the force of his knees against her waist.
"M—Mackie?" she stammered in a low exhale.
Duncan looked exasperated. "Do you know the Legilimency spell? I can't take your fucking questions anymore, it's time I give you the answers."
"Yes, but I didn't practice it much. I have not… I never studied this subject… I am not a Legilimens I-I'm not g-good—"
Duncan brought his face to hers and looked at her sternly. "A supposedly brilliant witch like you, I don't doubt you'll be able to. You only find out that you have the Legilimens' skills when you try, right? Let's make a deal."
He paused and Hermione lay in the snow, crushed by his weight.
"I will give you your wand back only for you to do the spell on me. You will have all the answers you want. If you try anything else, it's over for you, and all your mates…"
He brushed the tip of the knife against her throat, looking threatening. "Fortunately, I know where everyone is," he muttered. "Is that clear?"
The Gryffindor nodded weakly, trying to hide the sound of her sobs.
"Good girl," Duncan whispered.
He handed her wand back, leaving the knife pointed at her throat. Hermione, hand trembling, pointed her wand at him. Answers were all she wanted.
"Legilimens," she said weakly.
Nothing happened and Hermione lowered her arm, exhausted. She couldn't concentrate. The snow bit into every inch of her skin where it made contact, and the wind sent uncontrollable shivers through her body. Her heart was beating at a rate she couldn't bear for too long.
Duncan clamped his hand over her jaw and dug his fingers into her flesh.
"FOCUS!" he shouted. "DO IT!"
Forgive me, Draco, I'm so sorry...
Hermione lifted her hand, swallowed her sobs and clenched her jaw. She knew that this was going to wreak havoc on all the strength she had left.
"Legilimens."
She was sucked into Duncan's mind as if she were diving into a whirlwind of memories. The images became clearer and flashed by, like episodes she could witness. She felt as if she was inside Duncan's mind.
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone
Green Day, Boulevard of Broken Dreams
oOoOoOoOoOo
I have to thank my alpha Angelina for her ideas for this chapter and my beta Wise_Owl26 who took the job of an Alpha for this chapter and the next one. There was a lot of things to work on and I had to split my chapter! I'm glad to give you now a whole new and improved chapter. Of course, I want to thank my super duper beta enchanted4life who's there since the beginning. She's getting married this Saturday and still take time for my story!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even if it was a "harder" one. I will be able to post the next chapter on Friday, as planned.
Also, my total chapters number might change. Right now, it's 40 total, but it might be 41 or 42.
Love,
Axiomea