Draco calmed down after a few minutes. He sat in a big, comfy armchair that his father had favored, drinking some tea as Snape disappeared into his Potions' Room and Hermione and Ron sat next to him.
"We need a plan." he said. He hadn't told them anything, and Ron had apparently learnt the lesson. He didn't ask for details this time. "Weasley, the Dark Lord knows for sure that at least your parents and sister are alive, so that's that. And Lupin, too."
Ron's eyes widened, hope finally filling his eyes for the first time in so long. He hesitated though, his expression faltering a little.
"Wait, they're not..."
"No, they haven't been caught. Yet." he said, sipping the tea. "I figured we could get to them first, bring them here safely and then... well, eventually I will need to take someone to the Dark Lord."
"Who else did he mention?" Hermione asked, grabbing Ron's hand as he beamed with joy.
"Longbottom, Luna Lovegood... Cho Chang... uhm... I don't remember the rest." he said. "The ones that weren't in the slave auction are probably still alive."
They remained silent for a while, remembering the terrified faces.
"Draco... has he said anything about... muggles?" Hermione asked.
Draco looked at her. He had almost forgotten that she was a mudblood. He looked back at the cup of tea and tried to gain comfort from the warmth and the sweet smell.
"Not yet." he said. "He needs to make sure he has whole control over the Magical World before moving to the muggles."
There was a short silence. Then, Ron spoke.
"Mate... you gotta tell me what that was, with Harry. What you two had." he said. "I had no idea and I don't know why... he wouldn't even tell us."
"I asked him not to." Draco said. "It would have been extremely dangerous. And it was nothing. I... we met, sometimes, just to talk. He was sad and so was I, and we clicked. He found me crying like a loser in a bathroom and tried to comfort me, and at first I pushed him away but then I found him moping in the Astronomy Tower and I wanted so badly to mock him but... I didn't. I sat down and we talked."
Draco stared at Harry's face. He looked despaired, utterly sad and broken. He was sitting on the ledge of the window, hugging his legs to his chest. Draco sat next to him.
"What's the matter, Potter?" he asked. The name sounded weird without the undertone of mockery and superiority.
"You tell me first." he said, a small smile breaking through. "Why were you crying in the bathroom a few nights ago?"
Draco sighed. "If you really must know, and mind you I don't appreciate your bloody nose burying in my damn business, I was stressed out because... well, sometimes my father expects too much of me. And that drives me mad."
Harry swallowed and looked at Draco, aching to ask him something. Draco raised an eyebrow.
"Does it have to do with Voldemort?"
"Merlin, Potter! Don't say the bloody name, will you!" Malfoy snapped, looking around. "It's none of your business anyway."
"Fine. I understand." Harry said. "Being dragged into this life that you never asked for. Things and hopes and other's peoples lives depending on you when you only want to be a teenager for one in your damn life." he sounded so bitter, but his words were exactly what Draco felt.
Draco looked at the boy up and down and sighed. He hated Potter, or so he thought, but the boy was truly a sight. Draco had always thought he was gorgeous. Too bad he was a damn Gryffindor.
"Is that what's weighing you down?"
Harry chuckled sadly and nodded.
"I didn't ask to survive Vold- his curse. I don't want to be the Boy-who-lived. I don't even know how... I mean, that man is terrifying." Harry said. "I don't ever want to see him again."
"We talked for hours that night." Draco said. "And then began meeting up, just to talk. And my feelings for him just kept growing."
"Did you ever tell him that you were a Death Eater?" Hermione asked.
"No." Draco scoffed. "But he knew my father was one, so I suppose he assumed. I never talked to him about the Dark Lord, and he didn't either."
"I did't know you were into blokes." Ron said, receiving a jab in the ribs by Hermione. Draco glared at him.
"Yes, I am. So was Harry. We kissed once." he said. "I told him I liked him, he told me liked me, too. It was nothing. Like I said, no epic romance, no secret affair, no love confessions and broken hearts. Just two blokes who hung around, kissed once, and then went to fight a war."
"What do you think would have happened if... if the war hadn't... you know." Hermione said, the memories still fresh and painful.
"Gee, Granger, I don't know. We probably would have gotten together only to be torn apart anyway, more painfully, because the war was a fucking reality, no matter when it happened or how." he spat.
Hermione glared at him but didn't say anything else.
Draco drank the rest of his tea and they hung around for a while, none too eager to be alone.
Draco dozed off on the armchair, and when he woke up, the pair was gone.
A whole week went by before Voldemort summoned Draco again.
This time he ordered Draco to bring Hermione and Ron along.
They stood in the foyer, terrified. Draco watched as Snape handed them the vials and they nervously drank it. The next minute was a nightmare. Both of them groaned and tried to choke their screams back as their skin ripped open and turned blue and green and yellow. A few bones snapped before getting healed again, giving the impression that they had healed incorrectly due to lack of attention. They both were screaming when the minute was over, and then the pain was gone. They panted and paled as they stared at each other, beaten down and looking completely destroyed. Blood dripped on the carpet and Draco rolled his eyes, but said nothing. The Slytherin robes they wore became dirty and ripped, and Draco thought that it was an advantage. In the eyes of the Lord, it would look like Draco was humiliating them by forcing them to wear the enemy's attire.
"Incarcerous." he muttered, and ropes bound their hands and legs. "Now, you two have to play the part."
They apparated away.
Seeing the manor for the third time after seeing Harry really nearly broke Draco down. He swallowed the bile and thought absentmindedly about how much weight he was losing due to this crap.
"Alright." he muttered. "Listen you two. What you are about to see will be horrible. But no matter what you do, don't jeopardize this. You can't help him."
The three entered the horrible place.
Pettigrew was there, as usual, receiving Draco's coat. He smiled nastily at the state of his slaves, and they were truly playing the part like pros. Draco walked and they followed, dragging their feet and limping and coughing occasionally.
They went up the stairs and Draco stared at the golden door with trepidation. He couldn't hear any screams or sobs and hoped that it didn't meant Potter was in the horrible chest. Maybe he was sleeping... maybe the Dark Lord had allowed someone to heal him a bit.
He approached the door but it didn't open, so he pushed it slightly and peered inside, keeping Ron and Hermione blind to the inside for the moment.
The image was nothing short of horrific.
Harry was kneeling on the floor, on the side of the bed, his upper body slumped on the bedspread, his hands chained to the bedposts on the top and the foot of it, stretched out. He wasn't screaming because he wasn't even aware of what was happening. His head was turned towards the door, his eyes open but unseeing, tears running across his face to pool on the cover. Voldemort was behind him, brandishing a whip, covered in blood. Harry's back was so torn, he had been whipped so badly, that blood was all that was visible on him. He wasn't truly conscious, but not unconscious either.
Draco pulled his head back and took a deep breath.
"Brace yourselves." he muttered.
Half a minute passed before he knocked.
"Come in." came the terrible voice.
Draco pulled his face into a cruel smile before pushing the door open.
Potter was on the floor now, the shackles gone. Voldemort was placing the whip inside a drawer, seeming content.
Ron and Hermione stared at Harry's fallen body and Draco could hear their gasps, could almost feel the pain they were going through. And they hadn't even seen anything.
The Dark Lord smiled at them and the two Gryffindors shuddered.
"Well, you filthy worms? Kneel!" Draco demanded as the stretching silence made him nervous. They obeyed, to his great relief. He thought the sight of Harry would have given them some sort of rebellious spirit.
"Oh, this is wonderful." Voldemort said. He walked over to Harry and with his wand, elevated him onto the bed. Then, he muttered, 'Ennervate'.
Harry gasped, awakening. His entire body was shaking, but he remained staring at the ceiling, his back drenching the sheets, so he didn't notice his friends straight away.
"Sit up, Harry." Voldemort said, his tone gentle and soft, and it only made Harry shudder. The Dark Lord grabbed his hair and pulled him into a sitting position, earning a groan from the boy. Hermione and Ron gasped again, and Draco nearly did, too.
He didn't look better than the last time he had seen him, except his swollen eye had reduced a little. It was still black, but at least he could open it a bit. And his leg, although still sporting the horrible, still bleeding, gash of Fenrir's bite, didn't seem broken. But the rest of the wounds were there, and topping them were the burn marks left behind by the Carrow brothers; all of them shapeless except for the C burnt around his navel. Draco gained his composure fast, because he knew what he was in for, but his slaves didn't. They stared at Harry in horrified shock, tears running down Hermione's face, mixing with the blood on it.
Harry looked mortified. He stared at them and Draco could see utter humiliation; he could see shame and fear... and then anger. He knew Potter was going to lash out. He knew that his friends were his weakspot; he himself had exploited it back in school many times. Trying to save him even further terrible torment, he spoke before Harry had the chance to do it.
"You fixed his leg." he said. Harry looked at him, eyes watering, anger in those green orbs, and Draco had to look away.
"Well, I didn't want him to be impaired from standing up." Voldemort said, chuckling. "Or kneeling for that matter. Isn't that right, pet?" He sat next to Harry on the bed and caressed his face, and Harry flinched and looked away, his shaking intensified by anger. "Well, Harry, you should be thanking me. I brought you this gift. Your friends are still alive."
"You..." Harry muttered, tears finally slipping. "What did you do to them?"
Draco swallowed. Oh, if he only knew.
"Tortured them Potter, what else?" Draco said. "Even you can't be that blind."
The tension in the room was palpable. Voldemort was always unpredictable, and Draco knew that he ached to torture someone. Either way, whichever he decided to torture, it would be torture for the other two as well. Draco didn't know what was better. Harry didn't look like he could take much more, but torturing his friends would also probably send him over the edge. Voldemort assessed the situation before leaning over to whisper in Harry's ear, in Parsel, and Harry's whole body shuddered, his eyes closing shut, his teeth clenching, before he answered in Parsel as well. He hated it with every inch of his being. He flinched when Voldemort laughed.
"Well, obviously." he said. He then turned to the other three. "I just asked my dear little pet if he would rather watch me torture you, or if he'd rather be tortured by us. Guess which one our little martyr chose."
The 'us' struck Draco like a wall of bricks.
"No!" Hermione finally shouted. "Leave him alone! Haven't you done enough to him?"
Draco closed his eyes and kicked her in the arm. It wasn't hard, wouldn't really hurt her, but Hermione still acted like it did. At least she was still in character.
"Shut it, whore." Draco said. "Proceed as you may please, my Lord."
Voldemort laughed again and pulled Harry from the bed. The boy fell on his hands and knees and his friends had to look away. His body was so injured... How was he even alive anymore?
More so, the blood on his legs... It was awful. It was fresh.
Draco wondered if it was normal that he still bled six months into being raped brutally by that disgusting pervert.
"I can give you the honor, Draco. Cast a Cruciatus curse on him. You said you weren't too good at it, perhaps we can practice on my pet."
Harry whimpered slightly and shook even more, but this time he didn't beg. Probably because his friends were there.
"I'd much rather watch, my Lord." Draco said, trying to sound cruel and like he was experiencing the best moment of his life.
He wondered briefly, if he hadn't befriended Potter, would this scene be any pleasurable to him? If he still hated the Golden Trio?
"Well, then I'll start." Voldemort said. "Crucio."
As expected, Harry began screaming, his voice hoarse and crackling. His body writhed and the injuries on his back formed a pool of blood below him.
"NO!" Hermione and Ron shouted. Ron got to his feet, but Draco grabbed his arm, glared at him and shook his head.
"Stand down, slave." he said, his teeth clenched.
"You're killing him!" Hermione cried, but she remained on her knees. Voldemort laughed, his wand still trained on Harry's writhing form. "Please, just stop!"
He did. Harry panted, sobbing, his throat completely torn. But, to everyone's immense surprise, he turned his head a little and looked at his friends, his swollen green eyes filled with pain but also that damned Gryffindor bravery and compassion. He smiled a little, and Voldemort raised an eyebrow as it had been the first smile he had seen on the boy in six months. Draco swallowed, his heart aching. That smile had once melted his kneecaps but it was know mixed with pain and longing.
"Hey, don't cry." he said, his voice raspy and quivering. "I'm fine."
Sharp contrast to the first time Draco had seen him in the room. His friends really did give him strength.
"For Merlin's sake, Harry..." Ron said, his voice shaking, tears running down his face. "No, you're not."
"Shut it." Draco said, glaring at him, hoping that they would both calm down. Couldn't they see that their desperation only spurred Voldemort even more?
"Oh, no, Draco. Let them cry. Let their hopes shatter. Crucio."
Harry tried with all his might to not scream, to not show his pain in front of his friends. But after a minute, he couldn't, tears rolling down as his mangled body writhed, blood and sweat pouring out of him. Draco looked down at the other two Gryffindors, scared out of his mind. If they began fighting back or trying to save Potter, not only would Volemort realize that they weren't precisely injured or broken; they would also be tortured and probably killed by the madman and well, Draco would be, too. He swallowed hard and prayed in his head that they would understand.
"Just stop it you fucking bastard!" Ron screamed, and Draco knew they were doomed.
With every bit of anger he could muster from the horrible display and the fact that Weasley was the worst possible person ever at handling emotions, Draco whirled around and punched him square in the face, hard, wincing almost imperceptibly as his long nose crunched and began bleeding. Goddamit, and his had did, too.
"Show some respect, you low-class rat." he growled. "Apologize to the Dark Lord right now."
Ron had fallen to his knees, holding his nose with his hand as it bled through his fingers.
Harry's screams had ceased as the cruse was lifted, but he still sobbed desperately.
He had no energy to talk anymore, but as Draco turned to look at him, he realized that his eyes were focused on his friends, the green orbs terrified and pleading. He was mouthing something but his voice wouldn't come to him. He couldn't suck in enough air, couldn't gain enough bearings to at least plead. His writhing had rolled him onto his stomach, and his arms were outstreched, as if trying to reach them. Trying to protect them.
"There's no need for an apology." The Dark Lord said. "This is punishment enough for your little slaves. But how about you join me, Draco?"
Draco took a deep breath and stepped forward, knowing that if he kept on refusing the Dark Lord's requests, they would all be in danger. He smiled cruelly and pointed his wand at the boy. Harry's eyes didn't look away from his friends, tears still coursing down.
"Malfoy, don't do it." Weasley said, through the pain of his newly broken nose.
His wand shook minutely and he really hoped for a second that Potter would look at him. Maybe if they crossed eyes the other boy would know, he would understand, that all Draco wanted was to save him from that hell.
"Crucio."
Voldemort laughed softly as Harry writhed, but didn't scream. Draco's curse was weak, but he had already told his master that he was bad at the curse, anyway, so Voldemort didn't question it.
He lifted the curse.
Harrry coughed blood when it was done, his entire body shaking.
"What about your own slaves?" Voldemort asked. "You're not very good at the curse, Draco, so I don't assume they are too used to it. Not like my dear Harry here."
Draco swallowed hard and looked back at the pair, who were looking wide eyed at the Dark Lord.
"B-but Snape is." He blurted out. "He tortures them all the time."
"No..." Harry muttered. "L-leave them..." his sentence ended in a coughing fit.
"Harry, we've talked about this." Voldemort said, his tone disgustingly sweet. "You don't speak unless I allow you to."
"P-please..." he whispered. His eyes looked around the room, disoriented. Draco felt a pang in his stomach and chest. He was losing his mind. It was clear as day.
Hermione's sobs filled the space as Harry finally, blessedly, passed out; but the terrible shaking of his body remained.
There was a terrible tense silence, and then the three boys watched in despair as Voldemort elevated Harry to the air, onto the bed, and the cuff magically reattached itself to his mangled wrist. But at least the boy was resting, if only for a while.
The Dark Lord stared at his pet for a moment before turning to Draco.
"Then, allow me to do it." Voldemort said, pointing his wand at the pair. "You have been very insolent tonight, Weasley, and I honestly believe that Draco hasn't been as harsh with you as he should have. And you, Granger, my dear Bellatrix told me how much she enjoyed it when she did it to you. If I may, Draco? They belong to you after all."
Draco's stomach twisted and churned and he could tell that he was paling, sweat rolling down his back. He took a deep breath and hoped that they understood that they had to go through it if they had any hope of leaving that place alive. He looked down at them, but their eyes were locked on Voldemort's wand, both of them shaking in fear.
"Of course, my Lord."
But then Harry was coughing, again, waking up. His hand rattled the shackle and whimpers escaped him.
"V-Voldemort d-d-don't..." he coughed again, gasping for oxygen in a way that sounded like his lungs had given up on him entirely. "L-leave them."
"Oh, Harry. You will pay dearly for speaking out tonight. I will rip you apart." Voldemort said, making Harry shudder, but his eyes never left Hermione and Ron. "But first... Crucio."
The curse hit Ron, who fell face-first on the floor, writhing and screaming. Hermione screamed as well, but Draco grabbed her arm and pulled her back, trying to avoid an even bigger mess. Harry began screaming, too, his voice raw but filled with desperation. He pulled at his restrains as he tried to plead with Voldemort to leave him be. Draco knew that the image of the Golden Trio screaming in pain and despair, the three of them crying, would forever be imprinted into his brain. Tears climbed to his eyes but the pushed them back as he forced a laugh, to join his master. To keep up the stupid facade that had already probably disintegrated his stomach by that point.
And then, out of nowhere, it happened.
Magic blew out of Harry; a heat wave that destroyed the shackle keeping him tethered to the bed; which in turn collapsed, the bedposts breaking and splintering. The lamp next to the bed shattered to pieces that flew around, and both Draco and Voldemort stumbled as hot air hit them with fierce strength. The curse was lifted and Ron coughed weakly before looking up, at Harry, who through all the pain and trauma was doing wandless magic; and a very powerful one at that.
But it didn't last. The simple explosion drained him, and the hot waves of air returned to his body.
He spoke in Parsel then, his face contorted with fury, and Draco wished he could understand because Voldemort looked stunned.
Hope swelled in his chest. Maybe Potter could do it. Maybe he was such a powerful wizard that wandless magic was enough for him to defeat Voldemort.
But he was wrong.
Harry released a few more hisses before passing out again, covered in sweat and pale.
"Draco... You may go. I need to analyze this new... ability that my pet seems to have." Voldemort said.
Draco nodded, grabbed Hermione and Ron, and dragged them out as fast as he could before apparating away.
Draco rubbed his face as Weasley shouted while Hermione cried.
"You FUCKING LET THIS HAPPEN!" he screamed. "You said it was okay for him to torture me! And then you tortured Harry! As if he hadn't had enough! What's the deal, Malfoy?! Are you even on our fucking side?! Is this some fucking elaborate ruse to torture us even further?!"
"Please, tell me how you would've acted differently." Draco said softly. "Saying no to the Dark Lord would've blow our cover. He would have killed the both of you on the spot, or given you Potter's same fate."
"Don't you say his name!" Weasly kept on shouting. "You bastard! You don't fucking deserve shit from Harry! You are a fucking monster!"
Snape walked in then, sporting potions in his hands. One was for Ron's nose, the other one to calm his nerves after being subjected to the torture.
"If you would calm down, Mr. Weasly, we could devise a plan." Snape said, handing him the potions. He sat next to Draco. "We know that he can do wandless magic."
"Barely." Hermione said. "It took it all out of him."
"But we can use it to our advantage." Draco answered. "He needs provocation, though."
"Fuck off, Malfoy." Weasley said, remembering that Harry's provocation had been his own torture.
"Ron, stop." Hermione said, softly. "What do we know about the manor?"
"Magic wards." Snape said. "The Dark Lord is alerted of any spell cast inside the house, and he doesn't allow certain spells like apparating. That's why you usually need to leave the Manor before disappearing."
"Which means we wouldn't be able to apparate Harry away." Hermione said, her eyes watering.
"We would need to drag him out. But he is also alerted of every single person who enters or leaves the manor, which means sneaking in or out is not an option." Draco continued.
"So we're out of bloody options then." Ron said, but he was significantly more calm thanks to the potions. He sighed and rubbed his face, frustrated. "Is there anything that can be done?"
"We would need a distraction." Snape said. "There could be a way to take the magic wards off, sneak Potter out."
"Let's brainstorm, then." Draco sighed.
Three days passed and none of them had any substantial plan; nothing concrete. Any idea that came up would instantly be brought down by each other, until only frustration and rage remained. They worked nonstop trying to find anyone else that could help them; especially the Weasleys, upon Ron's request.
And then the Dark Lord summoned Draco again. This time with Snape.
"Don't you dare torture him again." Ron growled as Draco put his cape on.
"Or what?" Draco answered.
"Draco..." Hermione insisted.
"Look, you pair of brainless animals, I am trying to save Potter but I am also trying to stay alive, so if the Dark Lord asks something of me I am not about to refuse his direct order, because then he would not only kill me, he would also torture your Golden Boy further and then kill you, and Snape." he spat.
The three of them looked at each other with hatred for a while before Snape rolled his eyes and tugged Draco closer, apparating away.
Draco almost threw up as he stared at the enormous, terrible mansion.
"I hate this." he muttered.
"I know." Snape answered, but started towards the mansion anyway, Draco on tow.
Voldemort received them at the long dinning table, where he often held meetings. He had a plate of food in front of him, but he wasn't eating, simply staring at it. It was just a few pieces of meat and bread.
"My Lord." they both said as they bowed.
"My dear Draco and Severus. I am so glad to have you here. Please take a seat."
It wasn't until they walked closer to the table that they saw it... Harry was kneeling beside Voldemort.
Draco sighed. What fresh hell would Voldemort put Harry through now?