Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Torture

"As I thought, Potter." Lucius said stepping off the bottom step and giving Harry a wicked smile. "This will actually require very little on your part."

"Just tell me, Malfoy." Harry said bitterly.

"So eager for the pain, are you?" Lucius said wanting to draw the mental abuse out a little further.

Harry could feel the tips of his fingers itching to wrap around the wizards throat. He had felt hate before, but the utter helplessness he felt at that moment was driving him beyond reason. He wondered if he could possibly make it the ten feet across the room before Lucius could curse him. He took one tentative step forward.

Lucius could see the war waging inside Harry, and it was exactly what he wanted. "Ah, ah, Potter. I can read you like an open book. One more step and she will not enjoy the consequences." Lucius pointed his wand at Val again.

Harry immediately stepped back again and held his rebellious tongue.

"Now that is better. I enjoy a dutiful subject." Lucius gloated.

"Get on with it." Harry said between gritted teeth.

Lucius laughed coldly. "As you wish. First we must keep from being interrupted. I want you to shackle Val to that wall." Lucius said motioning to the far wall.

Harry's eyes became large as he thought of doing such a thing. He looked down to Val who was regaining her strength and had sat up. She was shaking her head back and forth at the thought of being shackled to a wall while Lucius had his fun.

"Mr. Potter. I am growing impatient." Lucius said raising his wand a slight amount.

Harry looked back to him and then to Val. He leaned over placing his hands under her arms and pulling her to her feet. "I'm sorry, Val." He whispered.

"Don't do this, Harry. You can't give in to him." She said as he began pushing her back towards the wall. She was still too weak to fight back as she found herself against the wall.

"I can't let him hurt you." Harry whispered to her again as he reached out and placed one of her wrists in a shackle snapping it shut.

"Harry, don't." She gave her final plea and placed her other hand against his chest above his heart.

Harry covered her hand with his. "Do you trust me?" He asked.

She looked in his eyes and admitted that yes she did trust him and always would. "Yes." She whispered.

Then he pulled her hand away fastening the other shackle to her wrist. It snapped shut with a loud snap and Val felt an immense overwhelming fear pour through her heart. She was trapped and there was nothing she could do to help him.

Harry took one last look at her and turned to face his tormentor. "It's done."

"Good. That is very good, Potter. Now just one other thing. The table before you. I want you to lie on it. It's as simple as that." Lucius said in a falsely casual tone.

Harry looked at the table, which he recognized as a Muggle examination table. He had seen them before during his days at Privet Drive. He wondered what evil Malfoy had planned for him.

"It's a simple request, Potter." Lucius said impatiently. "If you don't want to do it, I can always concentrate my efforts on the girl again."

Harry moved forward immediately. He turned sitting on the table and then lie down knowing in his heart that he would regret the outcome before his back touched the table. Without any warning metal bands came from seemingly nowhere wrapping around Harry's arms and legs. Harry immediately tried to pull his arms and legs free but it was impossible. He mentally berated himself for agreeing. He was trapped and he had willing walked into it.

Lucius' evil laughter poured through the room echoing off the walls. "It will only be worse if you fight it, Potter." Lucius said moving forward to peer over Harry.

Harry made a low growling noise in the back of his throat as his anger grew at the Wizard, who was gloating over his prone form. "You will not get away with this, Malfoy."

"Oh, I already have. You are completely at my mercy, Potter. And there is no one to come to your rescue." Lucius said as a brilliant smile spread across his face but Harry could see that the smile did not touch those cold eyes of his.

"Now to begin. Evanesco shirt." Lucius said and watched as Harry's shirt disappeared. Harry immediately felt more vulnerable at that point.

"I'm assuming since you grew up with Muggles that you recognize this table you are lying on. You know sometimes we Death Eaters do learn from those nasty Muggles and their crude means of treating patients. Do you know that if something is wrong in a Muggle body most of the time they cut it open to treat the problem? They actually inflict more damage to the body to correct a problem. Of course we in the Wizarding World realize how barbaric a practice that this is. But in certain cases we can learn something that can be very useful in certain instances." Lucius had leaned over Harry and was using his wand to draw patterns on his chest. "Scalpellum." Lucius said smiling and Harry immediately felt a stabbing pain in his chest. It was not an excruciating pain as the Cruciatus curse was, but still hurt like hell.

Lucius reached out touching the place below his wand and then pulled his fingers up showing them to Harry. He could see bright red blood covering those pale fingers. "You have seen your own blood before, haven't you?"

Harry began to speak a biting remark but Lucius moved the wand ever so slowly to the left and it felt as if a knife was cutting a deep line through his skin. Harry bit hard on his lip keeping the scream at bay. "Ah, that does hurt, now doesn't it?" Lucius said conversationally.

Val had an unobstructed view of what was happening from where she stood by the wall. She rushed forward until her arms were bent completely back as she strained against the shackles and chains that held her. "Stop this, you monster." She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Lucius looked up remembering her presence. "That is very annoying don't you think?" He asked Harry. He immediately pointed his wand at Val and sent a Langlock curse at her virtually stealing her voice. "Now that's better."

Harry still fought against the bands holding him in place. He could feel blood running down the sides of his chest as he struggled.

"Ah, ah, ah. We are no where near done." Lucius said placing his wand over Harry's stomach this time.

Harry cringed as the pain shot through him and he felt as if his insides were being spilt out on the table. Lucius again touched the wound pulling his hand up and showing Harry just how much blood he was spilling. Lucius stared intently at the blood and started speaking. "You know, blood is a fascinating thing. It actually has very little use. It runs through our veins circling through our body, going in circles so to speak. But if someone is cut deep enough letting the blood run free from their body they eventually become too weak to sustain life."

Harry could only think of one thing to say. "Why?"

Lucius looked to him as if he had been startled out of deep thought. "Oh but, Potter. I expected you to have understood by now. At the end of this day I will hand you over to Lord Voldemort. At that point you will be too weak to put up much of a fight. You will be defeated, and I will regain my rightful place by his side."

"No." Harry denied the thought. But he knew he had backed himself into a corner.

Val was still straining against the chains that held her. The tears had started to course down her cheeks in streams, as soundless sobs wracked her body. She blamed herself for what was happening to Harry. He had wanted to spare her more pain, and instead had signed his own death decree. She never once believed that Lucius would spare her more pain. She had grown up with the evil man as the only father she ever knew and she knew exactly what he was capable of. He knew full well the pain he was causing in her heart by forcing her to watch the torture. She was not even capable of screaming out the pain she felt. He had not even allowed her that. She would gladly accept the Cruciatus curse over the pain she was feeling at that moment.

The pain continued for hours as Lucius slowly drew pattern after pattern on Harry's unmarred skin letting the blood flow. It was dripping to the floor in a steady rhythm from the sides of the table. Drip, drip, drip ever so slowly and every time Harry thought that maybe he had lost enough blood to give out completely Lucius would heal the wounds with a few whispered words, and then the process would start all over again. Even with the skin healed the pain remained and multiplied with each cut.

Harry had been strong for such a long time until finally the pain had become too much and he had begun to whimper as the wand sliced through his skin. He was too weak for anything above a whimper but even the notion that he could not hold that back scarred his soul just as his body was now being scarred.

Val had slumped to the floor as the tears poured from her just as his blood was pooling on the floor below him. She was already weak from the Cruciatus curse and the pent up sobs she was so desperately trying to let out were wracking her body painfully.

Lucius ran his hand over the new set of cuts he had just made and was pleased as they sealed leaving scars in their place. He was very pleased with the pattern left behind. He had virtually carved a large picture of a serpent in Harry's chest and stomach. His hands were covered in blood and it had even splattered across his face, but in his own apparent madness he had not noticed.

He looked to Harry's face, and could see the distant look in his eyes. Harry had stopped making any noise at least ten minutes before as he retreated into his own mind blocking the pain away. "Potter, now, now. We can't go away just yet. There is one more task we must complete before the Dark Lord joins us." Harry's chest still rose and fell with his breathing but there was no other evidence that he still lived. There was no reaction at all to Lucius' words.

Lucius waved his wand above Harry and the metal bands holding him in place withdrew back into the table. Harry still did not move. "Hmm, maybe a little more stimulation." Lucius said looking down upon Harry's still form. He waved his wand yet again whispering a word and Harry's body immediately rolled from the table and landed in the pool of blood on the floor with a loud splat. Lucius moved around the table expecting the sudden jolt to liven Harry, but still there was no movement.

Lucius was lost as to what to try. How could he finish his torture if the darn boy would not even show the decency enough to respond to it? But then another thought struck him. "Maybe a familiar voice."

Lucius turned to Val and removed the Langlock curse. Val suddenly felt her tongue begin to move again and sobs poured from her mouth. "Harry." She cried out. The sight of him just lying there not moving frightened her more than anything else in the world could have. "Please Harry. Don't give up." She called to him as she strained even further forward.

Lucius watched Harry intently not seeing any reaction. He concentrated for another moment deciding on his next action. "As it shall be."

He turned to Val pointing his wand at her. "Crucio." And the blue light emanated from his wand enveloping her in excruciating pain.

Her screams echoed throughout the chamber as the blue light faded. Lucius had been watching Harry's reaction and he could see the slightest flinching around his eyes at her scream. So yet again. "Crucio."

This time Harry's eyes seemed to focus on the person screaming, and to Lucius' delight Harry began to move. "Crucio."

After the third time Lucius' waved his wand and watched as Val's chains and shackles disappeared and she fell to the floor.

Harry did not know where the strength to move was coming from but he had begun to use his arms to push himself up, half crawling half dragging himself over to where Val was writhing in pain.

Lucius watched in delight as Harry finally reached Val and pulled her into his arms. Her whole body was convulsing with the after-affects of the curse. "Val." He whispered her name trying desperately to hold her body still fearing what damage she might sustain from the convulsions.

"How touching." Lucius said sneering. He had moved to within feet of the two and was holding his wand at the ready.

Harry looked up to him and the rage he felt deep down was more than he had ever felt in his life. "You said she would feel no more pain, if I obeyed you." Harry managed to say through his gritted teeth.

"Sorry, Potter. I had to get your attention somehow, but I promise she will never feel pain again." Lucius said a bright smile lighting his face as he pointed the wand directly at Val's chest. Harry could see the tip of the wand begin to glow green. "Avad…"