A/N: Hi again! Here we are with another update. I promise I will update at least once a week, more if I get the chance. Alas, everything cannot be all naked guys tied to a bed. There's this little thing called a plot we have to hurry along. Introducing brief vignettes of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Ahhh, Lucius. We all love a bad boy.
Lots of dialogue in this chapter, but it really can't be helped. It does carry the story and the plot ahead, so bear with me. Lucius needs to be taught a few things about not being in charge, so even though he's here, his character will unfold gradually. My Lucius is dark.
As always, my lovelies, please review. :) Pretty please with Lucius on top.
-Elvee
Snatch
Chapter Six
"In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
-George Orwell
In the morning, Hermione put three drops of Veritaserum in Malfoy's tea. Lucius Malfoy would be calling at two that afternoon and she needed all the ammunition she could get. She drank her own tea, then pulled an assortment of muggle electronics out of her beaded bag. She'd worked hard to charm them over the summer to work around magic, and while they'd been twitchy at Hogwarts, she was sure her own wards wouldn't faze the protections she'd put on them.
When Malfoy woke just a few minutes later, she brought the tea to his bedside. Offering him the cup with a soft, "Good morning," she watched as he eyed the cup suspiciously.
"What's in it today?" His voice was still coarse with sleep.
She didn't see any reason to lie, "Veritaserum. Drink it and I'll give you all the breakfast you can eat."
He stomach growled loudly. "Why'd you tell me?" They both knew the potion was colorless, odorless and tasteless.
She shrugged, "I don't see much reason to lie, really. I have questions I need answered. You need breakfast. The rules stand. You do something for me, I do something for you." She held out the cup with a wry smile, "That and I can't lie to save my life."
He didn't take it. "What kind of questions?"
"About what it was like to be a Death Eater, how they treated you and your family." She patiently answered.
"You could just ask." He sniped.
She shook her head and said, "No, actually, I can't. I think we established last night you're far too Slytherin for that. I need the truth, the whole truth; and you won't tell me anything that embarrasses you or your family."
His eyes narrowed to slits. "Why? What are you trying to do?" his stomach growled again. It sounded painful.
She thought for a moment. She needed a truth, or, at least a partial one. "End the war." She shoved the cup closer. "That's the short answer, anyway. Last chance. You want to eat this morning or not?"
His stomach gurgled. He took the cup, complaining, "You don't fight fair, Granger."
Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was back to 'Granger'. Maybe the old Malfoy was back. She smirked and said, "Never said I did." She watched as he downed the tea in three large gulps. "Up to the table with you."
She fell into the common routine of petrifying, unshackling and moving him. This time she chained him at one end of the rectangular table. At the other end she set up an abundance of muggle electronics: laptop, headset, and microphone.
Watching her fiddle with them, he asked, "What the hell is all that, Granger?"
"Muggle electronics."She slid the microphone across the table, motioning to it. "Talk into this." When he didn't respond, she looked up. His eyes were flat and distant. She checked the charms on the laptop one last time before booting it up and starting her recording equipment. "Veritaserum questioning session number one. Subect Draco Lucius Malfoy. Questioner Hermione Jean Granger. Please state your name."
So it began. She asked him more in depth questions about all of the Death Eaters he'd named. She was searching for patterns in behavior, places they frequented and truths to uncover possible weaknesses. After fifteen minutes or so, she switched topics to his own life in the Death Eaters.
"Did you want to become a Death Eater?" She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. This question was said as passively as the rest, it was all being recorded for use later by the Order and the Ministry. It wouldn't do to let her personal feelings get in the way. She was going to stick to her prepared list of lines of questioning.
His eyes were vacant, his voice was a scary parody of calm. "At first. I'd been groomed for it my whole life. My father always made it sound so glorious. Then, over the summer, as my time to take the Mark got closer, he took me to the meetings. After that, I didn't want anything to do with it."
"What happened at the meetings?"It would be the first time she was aware of that anyone outside Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape knew about anything that went on behind closed doors with the Death Eaters.
"They captured and tortured muggles and mudbloods. Sometimes they fought over the right to rape the prettiest ones. It was more of a fight to see who got to go first, than anything. I saw the Dark Lord kill Professor Burbage and feed her to his snake, Nagini. I saw the other Death Eaters kill dozens more. They weren't quick deaths. Little babies got their heads bashed in while their parents watched. It was all I could do not to throw up."
She didn't expect any different, but having her theories proved correct wasn't comforting. Quite the opposite, it churned her stomach and with the nausea a feeling of revulsion clawed it's way out of her. Before she knew what she was asking, she blurted, "What color was their blood, Malfoy?"
"Red. Just like mine," he intoned.
She inhaled a sharp breath through her nose, trying to stay calm. He learned the hard way, but at least he was learning. She glanced back down at her list. The real question was how much of a participant he'd been. "Did you ever join in to torture and rape?" His answer could condemn or free him when the Ministry pressed charges at the end of the war.
"Yes.' Her breath caught, but he continued evenly, as if he hadn't even heard her, "My father ordered me to rape a young muggle girl. I told him I didn't want to dirty myself, but really, I didn't want to hurt her. She was only twelve or thirteen. In the end, I wound up killing her instead of raping her. I thought a quick death would be better than what they'd do to her. "
There was still a scrap of humanity in him after all. Here was the proof. He may not have been a nice guy, but he was no monster. That couldn't have gone unnoticed by the other Death Eaters. "What happened when you defied them?"
"Father was furious. Aunt Bella called me weak. She cast the Cruciatus curse on me until I passed out."
How many times had this boy... No that was wrong, he wasn't a boy, he was the same age as she was, a young man. Every time she pictured a scared Malfoy, why did she always see him as a little firstie, soft, blonde and angelic? How many times had he been tortured? How did he hide all this knowledge at school? "Was that the only time one of the Death Eaters hurt you?"
"No, but they were careful not to leave any scars. My father insisted. It would have made it more difficult to contract for an arranged marriage."
Suddenly, the impossible happened. Arranged marriage? Torture without scars? Seeing death after death, some of them even in his own home! Hermione felt sorry for him, and in the moment she realized it, she also knew he'd never tolerate her pity. Was there no refuge for him? "How does your mother feel about you and your father being Death Eaters?"
"She was fine with it until the Dark Lord set up shop in our manor. I don't think she had any real idea of what my father was doing until then. To celebrate, he brought a naked muggle woman in. I was supposed to offer him pieces of her; literally cut her apart while she was still alive. I couldn't do it, I threw up all over her. I disappointed my father again, this time in front of the Dark Lord. As punishment, I was forced to watch while my mother played hostess for the night. They strapped her naked to a table and each of the Death Eaters in the inner circle got a go at her. They tortured and raped her for raising a weak son, but she never complained. She didn't dare, He would have killed us both." A single tear trickled down his passive face.
Gods, above! Horrified didn't begin to cover what she was feeling now. Pity wasn't enough. "What about your father? What did he do?"
"Took his turn." This time the dead look in his eyes actually seemed to reflect the true Draco Malfoy.
Hermione let her eyes slide shut against the horror that was Maloy's life. She exhaled deeply before asking quietly, "Would you trust me if I told you I could get you and your mother out of this alive?"
"No. You can't help me. No one can."
Thankfully the serum was starting to wear off now. Hermione didn't think she could take much more. "Merlin. Okay, that's enough for now. Would you like some breakfast?"
At his nod, she shut down the recording equipment and handed him the antidote to squash any lingering effects. She busied herself with feeding them, cooking eggs, toast, bacon and porridge. True to her word, she allowed Malfoy to stuff himself silly. She sipped her tea from the opposite end of the table, her stomach too sick to eat. Pensively, she watched him as the Veritaserum melted away and his face shuttered closed.
He ate silently for a few minutes, before growling, "Tell me that's the last time you need to do that."
"I hope so," she said softly.
After breakfast Draco washed dishes, shoveled the walk and brought in more firewood. In exchange she gave him another sock.
During Malfoy's chores, she thought long and hard about Lucius. He wasn't a bad guy caught in a bad situation; he was just a bad guy. She planned carefully for the conversation that was going to take place in a few short hours. Her strategy had been solidified.
He was too full for a cup of cocoa, but he accepted his earned place by the stove shivering after she'd given him his prize. It was becoming commonplace to see him strutting around naked. As much as she knew she needed to keep control of the situation, after everything he'd been through, she felt bad about degrading him.
"Malfoy, do you want to give a message to your mother?" She asked, seated behind him at the table.
He stiffened, but didn't turn around, "You'd do that, Granger?" His voice was low and filled with disbelief.
"Yes, but no funny stuff. Just don't say anything about where we are, nothing about me, not even my gender." At his curt nod, she said, "Finish warming up, we've got less than an hour."
An hour later, Malfoy had read from the morning's Daily Prophet and recorded a short message to his mother. Currently he was shackled back on the bed under his blanket, his matching green-socked feet poking out of the end.
Hermione's laptop beeped. She slapped the earphones on her head and threw a silencing charm at Malfoy and surrounded the table with a muffliato so he couldn't overhear. He glared at her for the unprovoked spell. She had connected her laptop to the internet and picked up the phone call with the press of a key.
Hermione could hear Lucius Malfoy's angry hiss through her earphones, "Where is my son?"
Hermione typed, and the computer said each word out loud in a monotone automated voice, stringing the disjointed words together in sentences, "Hello, Lucius. Glad to see you can follow directions." The program was the closest thing Hermione could think of to cutting and pasting a ransom note together out of pieces of the paper.
On the other end of the phone, Lucius was clearly furious, his voice carried a very plain threat, "You listen to me..."
"Tut, tut, such manners, Lucius. What would your father say?" Hermione typed.
"My father would flay you alive and hang you for the sport of his crows, just as I intend to!" He spat through the phone line.
"Perhaps Draco could watch this time, instead of throwing up all over. The Dark Lord didn't like that at all. Shame about Cissy, but she was delicious." Typing those words made Hermione sick, but she had to keep Lucius guessing. She decided to use Draco's memories to plant a seed of doubt that this kidnapping was coming from within the Death Eaters themselves.
The implication wasn't lost on Lucius and his voice dropped to a deadly whisper, "How dare you?"
His tone of voice made her nervous, Lucius was an incredibly dangerous man. "Ah yes, straight to business then. We have the only thing you own that is absolutely irreplaceable: the very last pureblooded Malfoy. That puts you in a rather precarious position, doesn't it? If something were to happen to young Master Draco your name and your house would end with you. But that wouldn't be enough punishment for how you have failed the Dark Lord. No. Thought you were better than us? Would the Dark Lord still think so if your son were to marry a mudblood?"
"You wouldn't!"Hermione could picture him, his hair crackling in his fury, his gray eyes glittering like the blade of a knife.
"Got a pretty little willing chit right here. She seems quite taken with him, no doubt thanks to your own good genes. Nice birthing hips, too, if you know what I mean," Hermione knew she was playing a part, but it was still tough keeping her heart out of her throat. When he didn't reply anything more than a sucked intake of breath, she pushed on, "We're going to play a little game, Lucius. For each week we keep Draco healthy and unmarried, you owe us a favor. This week's favor is to kill Fenrir Grayback. He took my favorite muggle and shredded her up like yesterday's Prophet. It wasn't even his turn. You have one week. If at the end of one week, he still lives, I will pour a love potion down your son's throat and he'll beg me to muddy your blood."
His reticent silence was answer enough.
"Repeat it to me. What are you to do?"
"Grayback. One week." His voice strengthened, "How do we even know he's alive?"
Hermione ignored him, she wasn't very confident many wizards could trace the phone call, but she didn't put it past Lucius to kidnap a mugggle for just for this purpose. "Give Cissy a quill and let her speak into this muggle abomination."
"Draco?" It was a shaky woman's voice.
Hermione pressed play on Draco's message, his smooth even drawl went into the phone line, "The Daily Prophet headlines for May twenty-second are..."
Narcissa interrupted, "Draco, why are you reading the paper? Tell me where you are."
His recording continued, "Don't worry, mother. I'm safe. I'm being well treated. Please be careful. I love you." She flipped the recording off.
"Draco? Merlin! Draco!" On the other end of the phone, Narcissa was bereft by the ending of her son's voice. It was so very hard for Hermione to listen to his mother, knowing she couldn't comfort her. Hermione hoped just as much as Lucius and Narcissa she wouldn't be marrying Malfoy next week.
Hermione continued typing, ignoring Narcissa's hysterics. The disjointed voice of her text-to-speech program plowed over her sobs, "Tell Lucius no proof will be needed. We have our sources. We will know if he hasn't completed this week's task and Draco will suffer for it. Lucius will not want to do it, you're going to have to convince him. Help us keep Draco safe." Then she gave the new phone number to call when the deed was done before disconnecting.
With a wave of her wand, the spells she set up at the beginning of the ransom call were dropped, one after the other. Malfoy was still glaring at her from his bed.
She saved the audio files, dated them, and packed the electronics away. Without looking at him she said quietly, "I delivered your message."
He nodded, and said curtly, "Thanks."
Hermione busied herself putting on the kettle. While her back was to him, he asked softly, "Is she okay?"
She turned back to face him, kettle filled to the brim with cold water. "My laptop doesn't let me see her without a special camera." Seeing his eyes drop, she hurriedly added, "But she sounded okay. Worried about you, but okay." She dropped her own eyes and quickly put the kettle on the hot stove. She pulled out two cups and a pile of biscuits.
She poured the tea in silence and took it over to the edge of his bed, setting the plate on his chest. They sat for a few long minutes, in silence. She caught him more than once sizing her up.
"What's your plan, Granger?" He asked finally, when she stood to refill his cup.
Having refreshed both cups, she sat back on the edge of the bed and stuffed another biscuit in his mouth after handing him his tea.
"You know I can't tell you." If he hated her now, just think how he'd react to her if he found out they might have to marry! He nodded, clearly expecting her answer. She sipped her tea and pinned him with a hard look, "Let's just say I hope for both our sakes I don't have to go through with it."
His quizzical look was quickly buried under an impassive mask.
After some deliberation she said, "Draco?" She waited for him to meet her eyes, then continued softly, "I can't tell you how, but I'm going to make your father pay for what he's done to you. To both of you."