Hermione was flying through the air for the one millionth time during their training session. She heard him cast a muffled cushioning charm moments before she slammed into the brick wall surrounding their extravagant garden. She hit the gravel ground with a heavy thud and dragged herself up out of the rocks, glaring at him on her hands and knees.
"Up. Again." he snapped, rolling his shoulders and adjusting his stance.
Hermione stood and threw herself at Malfoy rather sloppily, flailing her arms in some wild attempt at making contact. He parried effortlessly as though he was brushing an insect out of his face. Her chest heaved up and down as she panted.
Malfoy backhanded her lightly as she lunged again and he growled in frustration.
"Pathetic." he snarled. "You're going to die." he said matter-of-factly. "You will die and my- I will lose power. Respect. If that happens, I will make sure that anything the Dark Lord does to you is mere child's play in comparison to the things I have in mind." he hissed. Hermione filed away his slip up for later analysis. "You are telegraphing. You need to stop."
"Then teach me." she shouted, throwing her hands up. "Shouting at me and insulting me accomplishes nothing, Master." his eyes blazed and he straightened up, once again towering above her.
"Fine," he spun and stalked over to the table behind them, deftly pulling his wand from his pocket and spinning it between his fingers. Hermione tracked the movement carefully then looked up at his face quizzically. The wordless charm he casted sent a potted plant flying through the air at Hermione's head. She threw herself to the side and felt it catch her hair as it fell. Next was some sort of glass lawn ornament. "Stop. Dodge it, do not throw yourself away from it." Hermione panted, chest heaving and glare trained firmly on Malfoy.
"You! You are the-" she was cut off by Malfoy sending a garden mouse at her head with a lazy flick of his wrist. Stepped one foot backwards, turning her body to the side as the poor creature flew past her face. A look at the wizard's face revealed an upward tick in his eyebrow that could almost be considered approval.
"That wasn't entirely horrible," he drawled. They carried on like that, Hermione's movements growing less and less obvious and the items he sent her way got smaller and smaller.
By the time she was dripping sweat, she had managed to avoid being knocked out altogether. She was even able to avoid being hit by some smaller objects he'd hurled at her.
"The Colosseum opens tomorrow." he sheathed his wand, smirked a bit as Hermione's eyes tracked the movement carefully, committing it's location to memory. "Your objective will not be to win." he leant back against the table, mopping at the sweat on his brow with a towel Hermione was certain cost more than her childhood home had. "Your one and only goal will be to stay alive."
"But I thought-"
"Silence."
Hermione's teeth clacked as they snapped shut.
"Yes, it is a fight to the death. Bide your time. Tire out your opponent. You will not win by force. Not like this." he looked her up and down once again with disgust. Hermione scowled.
"I'm stronger than you give me credit for, Malfoy."
"Yes, yes, Mudblood. I'm sure you are." he sighed dismissively.
"Besides, if the virgins are needed for a spell, what exactly is the point in attempting to have them all murder each other?"
Malfoy's eyebrow twitched slightly and his eyes darted up to glance at Hermione. For the brief moment that he decided to grace her with eye contact, Hermione could have sworn she saw something like amusement.
"Hm," he hummed, nodding once. 'Come,' her back tweaked and she glowered at Malfoy's muscular back.
"Compulsion is unnecessary. I'm not a dog." Malfoy didn't respond as he led her back up to her prison cell. He shoved her door open with a bang and gestured her inside. "How very chivalrous of you, Ferret." she smiled and made her way inside.
"Eat the food that is brought to you," and then the door slammed shut. Hermione tried the handle, hissing along with her flesh as the metal sizzled against it on contact.
"Fuck you, Malfoy." she screamed, slamming her fist against the mahogany door as all traces of forced playfulness faded away. She sank to the floor, back to the door as she dropped her head into her hands, breathing shallow and controlled as she compiled her composure, piece by piece.
The spell would wipe every Mudblood off of the face of the earth. That much had been made clear.
The spell obviously needed to be stopped. Whichever virgins were used would be murdered if this "Colosseum" didn't kill them first.
Ginny was at least safe for the time being but Hermione had six months to get her out of harm's way.
Malfoy was hiding something - some sort of leverage.
The fight to the death did not allow magic.
There was obviously at least one remaining horcrux - they needed to figure out what that was if they had any hope of stopping Voldemort.
The coolness of Malfoy's presence in her mind reminded her that she also needed to learn occlumency.
Her friends needed to be rescued.
All of this needed to be accomplished without the use of magic, books or communication with her friends.
She could practically hear Malfoy's smirk in her head.
Wonderful.
Pipsey woke her up before the sun had even risen. The fighting leathers were spread out on the desk along with a platter of enough food to feed an army.
"Master is wanting the Mudblood to eat all of the food. Master is saying Mudblood is weak."
Hermione inhaled slowly through her nose.
"Thank you, Pipsey."
Pipsey nodded and shuffled over to Hermione, waving her hands wildly.
"Up, up, up. Pipsey is to be taking Mudblood to the Colosseum. Master and Master's Master will be most displeased if Pipsey is making the Mudblood late."
Hermione sighed again and rose from the bed, sitting at the desk to eat her breakfast while Pipsey began the arduous task of charming the witch's curls into tight braids. Once Hermione couldn't eat anything more, she dressed in the fighting leathers, cursing her near nakedness once again. Pipsey was bustling about the room, straightening things and charming away trash while Hermione sat silently on the edge of her bed.
"Yes, yes. The Mudblood and Pipsey must be going." Hermione nodded and stretched two fingers out towards the elf. The moment their skin touched, a loud pop echoed in Hermione's ears and they were gone.
When they reappeared, it was at the base of an imposing stone structure, in early morning daylight. Arches and pillars towered above her, parts of it crumbling away. Between the time jump and the intricate concrete building before her, the first question that came to mind, however inappropriate was-
"Is this the original Colosseum?"
'Yes,' She jumped at his voice in her mind and felt his presence at her back but couldn't be bothered to look away. 'Come along. This is not a field trip.' He instructed after a moment. As he shoved her along she noticed the various death eaters and tethered witches and wizards. Hermione took note of the different outfits and lack thereof. She saw classmates she hadn't noticed at the last…gathering. She saw Luna and her heart lurched towards her friend. Her blonde hair was flat and she wore next to nothing except for a scrap of fabric that hung from the collar around her neck. Her eyes were dull and sunken but she was still her. Her eyes still shone and they glittered a bit brighter when she saw Hermione.
Malfoy prodded her in the back with something and she gasped a bit, intentionally brushing Luna's arm as she passed. One of the Carrows shoved her forward and her friend was gone. Malfoy led her up and around some stone steps and corridors until they arrived at a box with a spectacular view of the arena.
It closely resembled the boxes at the football games her father used to take her to as a child; the ones that rich people would rent for the season. Only this one was much larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. It was all shiny black marble and gold - cold and expensive looking.
"What do you imagine the Carrows are doing to her?" Hermione asked quietly as she stood still, watching Malfoy stride around the box, pouring himself a couple of fingers of Ogden's.
"Fucking her, I presume." Malfoy drawled, leaning back against the counter and bringing his glass to his lips. Hermione flinched.
"You are abhorrent."
"Do not ask questions you do not wish to know the answer to, Mudblood." he hummed, downing the contents of the expensive looking cup. Hermione scowled as he poured himself another. "I'd offer you some but your fighting really is abhorrent enough on its own." Hermione turned away from him and drew measured breaths in through her nose while she studied the arena through the glass.
"Who will I be dueling?"
"Fighting, not dueling." he corrected, the bottom of his glass clinking against the granite counter tops after he had emptied it yet again. "The Sorting Hat chooses for you."
"The Sorting Hat?"
"Yes. The Dark Lord quite enjoys the irreverence of it all."
Hermione turned with an exasperated sign, focusing intently on ignoring the anxiety pooling in her stomach. Malfoy looked different. He was leaning back heavily on the ornate countertop, pale palms flat on its surface. His Death Eater robes washed him out even further, his eyes were heavy lidded and his hair could nearly be considered disheveled. He looked almost ill.
Before she could even decide if she wanted to say anything to him about it, the door opened and he jerked upright.
"Father," he greeted.
"Draco," It was noteworthy, in an odd way, how stiff Malfoy got upon Lucius' arrival.
"When are our other guests due to arrive?"
"Any moment, Father."
"Ah," Lucius hummed, tucking his hands behind his back. He reminded Hermione of Peter Pettigrew with his twitchiness.
"Luciusss," Voldemort hissed and Hermione shuddered violently. Voldemort slid into the room, robes fluttering around him unnaturally. "You ought to be bowing before my Second should you not?"
"Yes, my Lord." Lucius bowed low before his son.
"Now me," Voldemort smirked gleefully, reaching a foot towards the elder Malfoy. Lucius kissed his bare foot without hesitation and Hermione gagged. Draco's eyes flashed to her warningly and Hermione glared right back.
"Mudblood," Voldemort's attention focused on her next and Hermione lifted her chin defiantly. "She seems far from broken, Commander." he mused, gliding towards her. Malfoy stood even taller.
"Yes, my Lord." His feet were shoulder width apart and his arms were folded behind his back, eyes focused straight ahead - like a soldier.
"Why is that?" Hermione fought another gag as Voldemort leaned into her space, breathing putrid rot across her face.
"She is not so easily broken, my Lord." he replied.
"You said she was weak." Voldemort countered.
"Yes. In body only. In mind? My Lord, there is a reason you gifted the Gryffindor Princess to me." Hermione didn't miss the way the words 'Gryffindor Princess' were said with such disgust.
"I expect progress by the end of the month, Commander Malfoy."
"Yes, My Lord." he bent at the waist. Hermione jumped as Malfoy crashed to his knees with an audible crack against the marble floors. She barely heard his groan of pain over the incessant swishing of Voldemort's robes. Nagini watched her in his place, curling around and around her legs.
"You haven't touched her, Draco? Why?" Voldemort twisted his own wrist and wand even further. Malfoy grunted and forced his eyes open as they tried to roll back in his head.
Sweat beaded at Malfoy's forehead as Voldemort went through his mind. Hermione could almost see him flipping through memories and tossing them around as Malfoy flinched over and over again.
"You…gave…orders." he panted, fists shaking uncontrollably at his side. Voldemort's fingers curled around the back of his Commander's neck, long, rotting nails visibly digging into his skin.
"I gave orders to keep her virginity intact, Draco. I said nothing about contact altogether." Voldemort tapped his wand against the man's temple. Malfoy's nostrils flared. Hermione was certain she would vomit until she whipped her head in Lucius's direction, complete disbelief discoloring her face as the father watched motionless while Voldemort tortured his child. Before Hermione could so much as twitch forward, Nagini was tightening herself around Hermione's ankles. "Your peers have quite enjoyed other activities with their Enslaved. Why shouldn't you?" he purred.
"My Mistake… my Lord."
"Yes. I do believe that would only aid you in your attempts to break her. Don't you?" Voldemort drew back his wand and pulled him forward with the grip he had on the back of his neck. Hermione stared in disgust as Voldemort pressed a long and seemingly affectionate kiss to her old classmate's clammy forehead.
"Yes, my Lord." Malfoy rose, dusting off his robes as if nothing had happened.
"Your mother will be joining us soon." Voldemort said abruptly. The fluidity of Malfoy's movements jerked momentarily before he carried on towards the counter where the Ogden's still sat.
"Very good, my Lord."
"You'll behave, won't you, my boy."
"Of course,"
"Well," he clapped his hands together loudly and the room erupted in a flurry of activity. Nagini returned to her Master's feet, various masked Death Eaters entered with their scantily clad wards and Malfoy was pounding another glass of Ogden's.
Nott entered with his wisp of a Ravenclaw and Hermione honed in on the way he brushed past Malfoy, tapping his friend's arm in a barely noticeable movement. Harry was dragged in next, Ginny forcefully shoved along behind him. Harry looked completely beaten down: chained, dirty, bruised and bloodied. Ginny looked unharmed, save for the sickly pallor of her skin and the furious fire burning in her eyes. Hermione wondered, if things had gone differently, would she and Ginny be discussing morning sickness and baby names right now?
Hermione was distracted, staring at her best friend, when Bellatrix Lestrange escorted Narcissa Malfoy into the box. She meant to watch Malfoy's reaction - an attempt to decipher the situation, anything to get any sort of leverage over the man holding her hostage - but Bellatrix's presence froze her. Her blood turned to ice in her veins. The Mudblood carving in her arm burned. The oxygen in her lungs turned to lead. Shaking started in her hands as memories of the Cruciatus curse on the drawing room floor overtook her.
When she was finally able to tear her eyes away from the evil witch, she took in Narcissa's appearance. Her black and silver hair was dull and lifeless - flat. Her eyes were vacant and far away, not focused on anything in particular. Her head was cocked to the side, as if holding it upright was far too much effort. Makeup was smeared across her wrinkled face. She wore nothing but a sheer dressing gown that had fallen open; Narcissa seemed to be as far away from the box she was in as was possible. Her body was present but she was not. Hermione looked at Malfoy then and his jaw was set so tight it looked as though it might shatter. The glass that had been clutched in his hand had been traded for the half empty bottle of Ogden's and his fingers were clutching the granite countertop so tightly that they had gone completely white with the force.
"Aren't you going to say hello, little nephew?" Bellatrix purred, prowling towards her nephew and wrapping herself around him in a way that appeared wholly inappropriate. Hermione wondered, between Voldemort's behavior with him and now Bellatrix's, if he had been hurt in other ways - way's that made her so sick that she couldn't bear to linger on the idea for long. Malfoy didn't appear fazed though as Bellatrix ran her tongue along her nephew's jawline.
"Hello Aunt Bella," he said, tone dripping with sheer boredom and disinterest.
"Not to me, silly boy: to your mother," she giggled. "Cissy, come say hello to your son."
Narcissa floated towards them, almost like a ghost. She stared straight past Malfoy and Hermione studied him closely, watching, impressed, as he gave nothing away. He obviously cared, that much was clear. She could interpret his brief involuntary reactions well enough to know that.
"Hello, mother." Malfoy's voice was steady as he tilted his head, trying to get her to make eye contact, Hermione presumed.
"Cissy, say hello." Bellatrix said sharply. Narcissa flinched at the tone.
"Hello," the greeting was robotic.
"That is no way to greet your son, sister." Bellatrix pouted and drew her wand. Hermione watched Malfoy's shoulders go taut, all while Lucius stood motionless and useless.
"Enough, Bella." Voldemort sighed. "The show is starting." he bared his teeth in what she assumed was meant to be a smile. "Theodore, would you please escort Miss Haywood and the Mudblood down to the arena?"
"Yes, my Lord." Nott tipped his head in assent and took his ward by the arm. Hermione searched for Harry and Ginny's eyes and met their worried gaze with a comforting smile before Theo disapparated with Hermione and the Ravenclaw in tow.