A long awaited chapter! Sorry for the wait & thank you for the reviews ;)
Chapter VI: Marks and Taboos
"Don't you see? I have to do this!" Draco's voice cracked as he stared at his calm Headmaster at the top of the Astronomy Tower. How could he be so calm – he was about to kill him!
"Draco-"
"No!" Draco yelled, his wand shaking in his hand. There were voices and footsteps behind him, and he instantly recognised the Potions Master. Snape looked at Dumbledore, who had a strange twinkle in his eye. Snape pointed his wand at the headmaster and without blinking, whispered;
"Avada Kedavra!"
Dumbledore was blasted backwards by the force of the killing curse, the green light hitting him squarely in the chest. Almost like time had stopped, Dumbledore stumbled over the battlements of the Astronomy tower and fell towards the dark Hogwarts grounds...Draco instinctively took a step forwards, but was forced backwards by Snape's hand and he followed him down the steps descending the Astronomy tower, not before shooting an odd look at the spot Harry Potter was currently immobilised on the floor under his invisibility cloak...
Draco sat bolt up right in bed, panting, his chest heaving as cold sweat dripped down his face and back. He had pulled his wand out from under his pillow as he awoken, and now had it held tightly in front of him, his knuckles turning white. He breathed in and out, unable to shake the image of Dumbledore suspended in mid air underneath the emerald Dark Mark before toppling over the battlements.
Draco clutched at his hair, wanting to rip it all out. Seeing Dumbledore's dead body two days ago had seriously frightened Draco, and had awoken memories Draco had tried to hard to forget.
"Come over to the right side, Draco.." Dumbledore's words echoed in Draco's head, reverberating around his mind. Draco moaned and climbed out of bed.
xxx
Hermione was sitting downstairs on the sofa of Bill and Fleur's living room, staring at the crackling fire. She flicked her wand at it numerous times, changing the colour of the flames. Right now they were a bright emerald green, reminding her of the Dark Mark. With disgust she changed them to a vibrant purple.
Someone suddenly burst through the door and Hermione snapped around automatically, her wand pointed at Draco who had stumbled onto the sofa beside her.
"Malfoy?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows raised. He had collapsed beside her on the sofa and was breathing heavily. "Are you alright? Why are you down here?" When he didn't answer her she poked him in the side with her wand.
"I'm fine, Granger." Draco snapped, his eyes closed, batting away her wand which was still focused on him. Then he opened his tired eyes and looked at her. "Why are you down here?"
"I had a horrible nightmare." Hermione whispered, wrapping her arms around her shins and resting her head on her knees.
"What about?" Draco sat up right and watched her as she stared into the flames.
"Bellatrix." She whispered, instinctively covering her left arm with her right hand. Draco's heart squeezed together. "I dreamt that she carved the word Mudblood into me everywhere." Hermione shuddered.
Draco looked down at her arm and slowly reached out, removing her hand. He looked down at the disgusting word, running his thumb once over it before resting her arm back on her legs.
"She can't hurt you again." Draco whispered. Hermione looked at him and sighed.
"She still does."
There was a silence before Draco hesitantly lifted up the sleeve of his left arm.
"I'm branded too."
Hermione looked down at the Dark Mark on Draco's forearm. The deep ink contrasted alarmingly with his beautiful milk bottle skin, and she felt a sudden hatred burning inside her that someone could have so easily tainted something so pure.
Hermione reached out and gently placed her warm fingertips on Draco's cold skin, tracing the snake that slithered out of the skull. Draco flinched at her touch.
"Don't." He hissed, moving his arm away. "I don't want anyone to touch it."
"Please." Hermione whispered, reaching for his arm again.
It sickened her to look at it, but she felt that if she touched it, that Draco wouldn't feel so ostracised by the hideous tattoo on his flesh. Draco suddenly grabbed Hermione's wrist and looked up at her, his smouldering grey eyes flashing a warning at her. Hermione held her breath as Draco turned her arm over and stared down at her own mark. Hermione looked at his and she felt a strange connection to the mark on Draco's arm.
"You're not the only one who is constantly reminded of who they are perceived to be." Draco whispered.
"But you're not a Death Eater. Not anymore." Hermione whispered. Draco let go of her arm.
"And you're not a Mudblood. You never was." Draco whispered. Hermione looked up at him with wonderfully round brown eyes, her heart flipping over in her chest. "Blood is blood."
xxx
Harry opened the living room door slowly. Hermione jumped as she saw Harry walking in the room and shifted away from Draco uncomfortably. Harry hardly took any notice as he sat in the armchair and stared off into space.
Hermione tried to control the blush on her face. She wasn't sure why she was blushing – she felt like Harry had just walked in on something intimate. She shuddered as Draco hid his Dark Mark again.
"Harry? You alright?" Hermione whispered, wondering whether Harry was sleep walking. Harry's head snapped up and his eyes blazed at her before he looked away and leaned back in his chair.
"I'm fine. My scar prickles, though." Harry forcefully rubbed at his head. Hermione slid off the sofa and sat on the arm of Harry's chair.
She pushed back Harry's jet black messy mop and ran her thumb over his scar lightly.
"Did you dream of Voldemort again?" Hermione asked, missing Draco shift uncomfortably on the sofa. Harry nodded, leaning his head on her thigh.
"What did you see?" Hermione whispered fearfully.
"I dreamt that he had found us." Harry said, rubbing at his scar again.
"Don't do that." Hermione chided at him. She looked over at Draco, who had strangely gone silent and was trying his best to mold into the sofa and never been seen again. He was clutching at his left arm trying to control the pain on his face.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, having followed Hermione's gaze.
"My mark suddenly burns." Draco whispered quietly, and if Harry and Hermione hadn't have been listening intently for an answer, they would have missed it.
Hermione looked from Draco's arm to Harry's scar, and Draco seemed to understand the second that Hermione did.
"They're here." Hermione whispered, just as there was a deafening roar. The front of Shell Cottage was blown clean off by a "Bombarda!" exposing them to the sea and the sand outside. The wind slapped them hard in the faces as black smoke flew above their heads and Harry, Draco and Hermione frantically piled out the living room door.
"Where's Ron!" Hermione screamed, as she grabbed her magical bag that was hanging off the back of a chair in the kitchen.
Hermione reached out for Draco's hand as he pulled her up the stairs, narrowly avoiding a curse. Harry had already dragged a petrified Ron out of his bedroom and had grabbed Draco by the elbow.
Hermione was the quickest to disapparate them, turning on her heel as the Death Eaters ran up the stairs behind them, throwing curses that crashed into the wall, and they were only to meet thin air as the four teenagers popped out of sight.
xxx
They landed in a field seconds later. Hermione sprang to her feet, throwing her bag to Harry.
"Tent, Harry." Harry nodded and said clearly, while pointing his wand at the bag;
"Accio tent!"
Hermione began to set up wards, walking around the clearing while moving her wand in complicated motions. Harry had set the tent down on the floor where it folded out automatically. Draco watched the whole thing with raised eyebrows.
Harry and Ron entered the tent and began to pull various items out of the bag. Draco cast a glance to Hermione who was still casting wards before he followed them into the tent. Draco was taken aback by the size of the tent, looking around in awe at the beds, kitchenette, sofa..He knew all about magically enhanced tents, but this. This was huge.
"She is amazing." Draco said as he collapsed onto a sofa, looking around.
"She is." Harry sighed. "I wish we didn't have to come back here. We lived in here for months."
"Months?" Draco repeated, shocked. "How could anyone live in a tent for months?" Draco wrinkled his nose, disgusted.
"Here he goes, the conceited brat." Ron said, shooting a dark look at Draco. "Excuse us for not making this as fancy as your fucking manor."
"Says you who lived in a run down old hut that looks like if you poked it, it would fall over." Draco sneered childishly, standing up off the sofa and advancing towards Ron.
Harry stood in the middle of them.
"For goodness sake, stop it. Draco, you can't hurt Ron or you die. Literally." Harry reminded Draco, and Draco scowled at both Harry and Ron as Ron smirked satisfied.
"Fine." Draco snapped, moving away.
Hermione entered the tent looking flustered.
"Those wards are the most intense I have ever made them. Hopefully, we shouldn't be tracked or anything."
"Well done Hermione." Harry praised her. Hermione smiled in appreciation and sat down heavily on the sofa next to Draco.
"How the hell did they manage to find us at Shell Cottage?" Ron growled angrily, sitting down on one of the beds nearby. "And penetrate the wards."
"I'm not sure, I had a strange dream that Voldemort found us." Harry shrugged from his position on the floor. "But I never saw him at the cottage just."
"No, it's something else." Hermione said, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Theories?" Harry asked.
"None at the moment really, but before when the snatchers found us, they found us through the word 'Voldemort' being tabooed-"
"Then why are you still saying it?" Draco asked incredulously.
"Because, Mr. Malfoy, I managed to figure a way to untaboo it when we got back to the cottage." Hermione smirked proudly.
"That smirk is worthy of Slytherin." Draco jabbed Hermione in the side and she scowled. She sniffed indignantly.
"Anyway, I was wondering whether they had tabooed a different word?" Hermione looked around at three sets of horrified faces.
"But it could be anything!" Draco insisted. Hermione shook her head.
"It would be a word that we use often."
"Such as-"
"Don't say it!" Hermione scolded Ron as Harry rolled his eyes at Ron. "If you say it and it is the taboo word we're going to get Death Eaters outside our tent again Ronald." Ron flinched.
"Okay, fine, you got any parchment in that bloody bag of yours?"
"Of course." Hermione pointed her wand at her bag by Harry's feet and said; "Accio writing equipment."
Hermione's favourite white feathered quill, personalised ink pot and plain parchment came zooming out of the bag. Hermione caught the ink pot before it smashed to the floor and Ron stumbled off the bed to grab the quill. He took the parchment and the ink pot off Hermione and began to write.
Malfoy.
Ron shot a look at Draco.
"Your bloody name is probably tabooed."
"Which one?" Draco's lips twitched.
"Unfortunately the one we call you by."
"Which means everyone's going to have to call him Draco from now on, to make sure." Hermione said. Ron scowled.
"How do you like wanker, instead?"
Draco stuck a finger up to Ron who just smirked. Harry laughed loudly before taking the quill off Ron. He added to the list;
Dumbledore.
"I have one." Hermione said, reaching over for the quill off Harry.
Horcruxes.
"That's just great." Harry said sarcastically. "What are we going to call them now?"
"Bits and bobs of Voldemort." Ron roared with laughter as Harry joined in. Hermione shook her head disapprovingly despite her own mouth lifting up into a smile. Draco flinched.
"Can I have the quill?" Draco asked, reaching out for it as Hermione handed it to him. His fingers brushed Hermione's knuckles and he caught his breath, spasms running up his hands. He shook it off before sliding off the couch onto the floor.
Hogwarts.
"I never thought of that." Hermione said surprised, as she leaned over Draco to read what he wrote. Draco tried not to breathe in her lavender scent.
"We should probably get some sleep." Harry yawned, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "No one say any of those words, okay?" Harry gestured towards the parchment on the floor.
Hermione pointed her wand to it and it suddenly pinned itself to one of the wooden posts holding the magically enhanced tent up. Ron dived into bed as Harry climbed into another one.
Hermione sighed and got into her own bed, only noticing that Draco hadn't followed into a bed of his own.
"Aren't you going to bed, Draco?"
"I'll keep watch." Draco replied, before he slipped out the tent, not even looking at her. Hermione stared at his retreating back with an odd lump in her throat and twinging disappointment.