Chapter 18: Crucio

"D-Draco?"

I was utterly shocked. My mouth was hung open and my eyes were bulging out of their sockets. My heart twisted sickeningly and I felt like throwing up.

"Surprised?" the blonde-haired Slytherin smirked.

"W-What…" I stuttered, too flabbergasted to even speak properly.

"Yes, Muddy. He is a DeathEater. And he has been playing you all along. Both of us have. And you, stupid Mudblood, fell for it."

"Draco…" I whispered, staring into his dead, cold eyes.

There was not even an ounce of emotion in those grey eyes…

None at all.

"Don't call him that, Mudblood!" Chad snapped.

"But…but…"

I refused to believe Draco had betrayed me. For some reason, I just refused to think like that.

"Oh, Muddy, when will you ever learn. You honestly thought I, Draco Malfoy, would ever even like you?" Draco roared in a cold laughter.

"Aw, she's confused. We should at least explain it to her." Chad sarcastically cooed.

"You see, Draco and I had a bet. Whoever would get a Mudblood here first would win. Now, I have to admit he had a pretty good head start, with him being Head Boy and all, but my charm worked better. And, obviously, I won. So if you're thinking why Draco wanted you to stay away from me, it was only because he wanted to take you first!" Chad laughed.

I glared at Draco…

No…

Malfoy as he laughed along with Chad.

"HOW COULD YOU!" I yelled out with all the strength I had.

So everything we shared…

All the laughs and tears…

Our friendship…

It was all an act.

It was all fake.

"I was doing rather well, actually. But obviously, being the Whore that she is, she fell for you instead. But I tried. I have to admit, I tried hard to keep her away from you, so that I could win. But, since you are the winner, you earn the prize, of feeding her the first intake of the potion." He smirked at Chad, who returned the look.

"Bring forth the potion!" Malfoy called out to one of the DeathEaters as he stepped forward with a black vial in his hand. Before he could take it, Chad held up his hand.

"Wait." He spoke, staring maliciously at me.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?"

I glared at Chad who smiled sadistically at me, his eyes full of cruelty and evil.

He pulled out his wand slowly, looking at me intently with a sly smile.

Oh no.

"CRUCIO!"

Before I could register what was happening, I felt my insides set on fire as I screamed out in pain. My stomach felt like it was being crushed and I felt like I was being stabbed in all directions. My blood started to boil and my skin felt like it was being scraped off with a knife. My head exploded a thousand times and my throat closed up tightly, cutting off my air supply. The pain was so excruciating that my tears were flowing non-stop.

Suddenly, it all stopped and I was left, panting heavily in the chair as I tried to regain my breath.

"Oh that was so much fun!"

I swallowed hard as I could still feel the pain coursing through my body, killing me slowly from the inside.

"Why don't you give it a go, Draco?"

I looked up to see Chad grin widely at Malfoy, who was staring at me with a blank look for a while before slowly taking out his wand, just like Chad had done earlier.

No.

Please no.

I begged Malfoy silently with my eyes, pleading at him to remember all we went through.

The times we laughed.

The times we teased each other jokingly.

The times we comforted each other.

When we opened up to each other.

How could he forget all of that?

How could he say that was all just a pretence?

How could he just betray me like that and still look me in the eye, with no guilt whatsoever.

Malfoy slowly raised his wand at me, his hand quivering slightly.

"Come on, Draco. She's just a Mudblood. You said it yourself. A Filthy Mudblood Whore!"

"CRUCIO!"

I screamed again as fire burned my skin and daggers pierced me in every place possible. My head was spinning and my skin felt like it was melting. The pain was ten times worse, my screams ten times louder.

Finally, it all stopped again, just like the last time. I was so exhausted; I was ready to pass out.

"Good job, Draco!" Chad cheered.

Through the tears, I could see Malfoy stare down at me, a certain look on his face I couldn't recognize properly as stars kept blinking in front of my eyes.

"And for doing such a great job, I allow you the honor of serving her the first intake. You deserved it, mate!"

I looked up slowly as my head continued throbbing to see Malfoy take the vial from Chad and approach me slowly. I felt my head being yanked backwards so that I was now staring at the ceiling. Malfoy's face appeared before my eyes and I tried my best to give him my nastiest glare, but I was just too damn tired.

My face was held firmly in place and my jaw was pulled down forcefully so that my mouth was wide open. I struggled as much as I could, but it was simply useless.

Malfoy slowly uncorked the vial and tilted it above my mouth. I felt a drop of hot, sticky fluid flow down my throat as my head and jaw were violently released. The DeathEaters watched me for a few seconds for any effects before I suddenly cried out in pain. I could feel something crawling beneath my skin and my blood was on fire again. It was like acid was coursing through my veins.

For a few minutes, I was shaking and shivering violently as the potion continued to travel through my blood, making it feel like it was being boiled in the sun. Finally, the pain slowly died down and I looked around sleepily to see the DeathEaters continue to watch me, motionlessly.

As my vision started to blur, I heard a muffled voice and the DeathEaters slowly started exiting the room. The light went off and the door slammed shut as I blacked out.