Chapter 8
*Warning: May contain typos*
Severus sat calmly in his place amongst the other Death Eaters around the large table. The seat to his right, which belonged to Lucius, was vacant, and the seat next to it was empty as well, having belonged to Draco for a short time.
He and the other Death Eaters were waiting for the Dark Lord to show himself. Sometimes the ugly man would already be seated and waiting for them, other times he would appear last. Severus wasn't sure which entrance had a scarier affect on the Dark Lord's followers, but either one really had their knees shaking.
The Dark Lord finally appeared, and whatever sort of atmosphere that had been amongst the room was fully evaporated and one of fear and evil replaced it. This was the dark man's affect...
He took his seat at the head of the table. To his right was Bellatrix, the only one brave enough to sit so near to him. Wormtail, who desrved the disgusting nickname, was standing behind him ever ready to be at his beck and call. That large rat of a man had always disgusted Severus, and he had never trusted him in the first place when they had had school together. He had even warned the werewolf that there was something wrong with the rat-man, but he and his friends had refused to listen to 'Snevelus Snape'.
"I'm sure you, my ever so loyal followers, are wondering why I called you here." That gravelly voice was enough to give a dead man the shivers... It sounded like death, that was the only way to describe it. It was soft and gravelly, but it was a voice that no sound could cover up. It dripped darkness, and the body it came from was hard to look at... It was like a corpse talking.
No one replied because no one had been asked to reply. They just waited for their lord to continue.
"In regards to my order to kill Lucius Malfoy on sight," Voldemort began, "I have changed my mind. To kill the traitorous Malfoy quickly would not be enough in my opinion. I have something far worse planned for him." A grin began to form on his pale face; it was a smile that shouldn't even count as a smile because of the feelings it caused. "I want Lucius Malfoy brought to me alive... And his son as well."
TLA
As he watched the Dark Mark appear on his arm, Draco was filled with dread... and fear. The Dark Lord was honestly the only thing that he had ever been scared of. Thunderstorms, trolls, werewolves, Death Eaters, giant snakes, large spiders, heights... None of it had ever caused him any fear, but one look at the Dark Lord's face and his spine went rigid.
It was like the Dark Lord could see right through him. He always hated being the object of that man's gaze. The red-eyed stare was almost tangible; Draco could practically feel it on his skin. And there was always something in those eyes that Draco particularly didn't like one bit, but he couldn't decide what it was. All he knew was that the Dark Lord was his biggest fear, and the thought of having to be in his presence again was frightening.
Having lost the Dark Mark, he could allow himself to relax... but having it appear again... This wasn't good for his nerves.
He began breathing very heavily; he couldn't help it.
Jacob was at a complete loss. He had no idea what the hell was going on, but it obviously wasn't good. And was Draco scared? Of what? The blonde was shaking even more, and he had begun to breathe like he wasn't getting enough air.
He gently grabbed his mate's face in his hand and made him look at him. The fear in those silver eyes was wrenching, and tears were even forming. "What is it, Draco? Please, say something. What's wrong?"
Draco tried to calm himself. Calm down, Draco. Calm down. Breathe... Just breathe... In... Out... In... Out... He found that it was much easier to do with Jacob so close; those worried brown eyes were calming.
What do I say?
Draco couldn't exactly write this off to his sickness... "You have a secret don't you?" he finally managed to get out.
Jacob's eyes widened, and there was a collective gasp. "I don't know what you mean."
Draco tried to smile; it probably wasn't as nice as he wanted it to be. "You do," he said, "Even if you don't want to admit it right now." He looked away. "Mine's worse... my secret... It's dangerous..." He looked at the mark on his arm, but then looked away.
"And this secret has to do with this tattoo?" Sam questioned. "And why you're here I guess?"
Draco nodded, not looking at anyone. What if Voldemort found him here? What would the Dark Lord do to his forming friendships? To Jacob...? It was probably a big mistake to come here. "I shouldn't have come here," he mumbled. It had only been a few days and he couldn't bear the thought of any of the shifters getting hurt.
"What do you mean?" Jacob questioned, hurt. He sounded all the world like a kicked puppy.
"It's not a tattoo on my arm," the blonde replied, "It's a brand of servitude..." He looked down at the ugly mark; it no longer hurt like hell, but the idea of it still bothered him. "I thought it was gone... I should have known that the Dark Lord wouldn't let me go. He's why my father and I are here."
"Dark Lord?" Jacob asked. "He branded you? Where is he?" he finished angrily.
Draco looked at him alarmed. "No!" he exclaimed, "No, no, no! You don't understand; he could kill you with a glance! That's why I shouldn't have come; he can kill all of you just because you know my name! You couldn't have chosen anyone worse to imprint on!" Oops...
"Where'd you hear that?" Sam questioned, shooting Jacob a warning look.
Dammit; this day is not going well at all. Guess I have to fess up to knowing now... "I remembered the story that Jacob told me my second day of school, about the Quilette history. It wasn't hard to figure out that it was true."
"I didn't say a word about imprinting!" Jacob exlcaimed. What!
"My father has some old books... We found your kind in them. He wouldn't have let you in so easily if we weren't soulmates; he's very old-fashioned."
"Okay!" Paul exclaimed, "This is too fucking much! What the hell is up with you, albino? Explain."
Jacob punched Paul on the shoulder, but he wanted to hear the explanation as well. No. Wait. "Who the hell is the Dark Lord, and where can I find him?" How dare any man maim Draco's perfectly smooth and pale flesh? He needs to die!
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Draco questioned. "He could kill you with a glance; I wasn't kidding. You would die if you found him; why else would I run from him? I'm not some pushover you know."
Embry spoke up this time. "You know what we are you said, so you know how strong we can get. I doubt he'd have that much trouble. What the hell kind of name is 'The Dark Lord' anyways?"
"I didn't want this to happen," Draco began, "And especially not so soon after meeting you guys. This wasn't supposed to happen at all in fact, but... I guess it can't be helped now..." He was really glad he had learned some wandless magic; his father had forced him to leave his wand at home.
But who should he use it on? Jacob was out of the question, and Seth, and Sam, and Leah... He still didn't like Paul so he was a good choice.
"I can show you what he's capable of... or at least a small taste of it. I'm no where near as strong as him..." He held his hand out towards Paul, who looked at it questioningly, as did everyone else. "This will hurt a bit," he warned.
"What wi-" Paul began.
"Crucio!" Draco yelled. He felt the magic spill from his hand and right into Paul, who cried out in agony. He stopped the flow of magic as quickly as he could, but he had let Paul taste enough to where he crumpled on the ground and panted like he'd just ran around the world. "You'll feel better in a moment."
"What was that?" Sam questioned.
"Draco..." Jacob started. "What are you?"
TLA
Severus felt sick to his stomach as he apparated back into his friend's house. The Dark Lord was truly a terrible man.
"Severus?" Lucius called from the other room, walking into the room with his friend. "What did the Dark Lord want? Another pillage? More lives to be taken? Another crazy plot to get Potter?"
Severus shook his black head. "It was about you... and Draco..."
"Draco?" Lucius questioned, alarmed. "What did he want with my son?"
"Well, first, he told us that we were not to kill you anymore. We are to capture you and bring Draco along as well..."
"I'm not meant to die?"
"He said he had something worse than death planned for you. After all, your family has served him for the longest time; he doesn't take kindly to your betrayal."
"I don't care about me," Lucius shot out. "What does that creature want with my son?"
Severus couldn't say it. He couldn't. He only looked at his friend pleadingly. 'Don't me me say it,' his dark eyes pleaded.
Lucius looked at him for a moment, trying to figure out what Snape didn't want to say... Then the thought hit him. He gasped in horror.
TLA
"You're a... wizard...?" Leah finally questioned after a moment of silence.
"You're a werewolf?" Draco shot right back. He was a little irritated that he had just spent the time explaining what he was to magical creatures, and they were going to find it hard to believe him. What the hell is that?
He had calmed down drastically from his momentary panic attack earlier. He still couldn't shake the fear from his bones, but he was trying his best. Jacob-personality-Draco was really trying to remain calm. He really shouldn't have freaked out like he'd done. He revealed way too much information; they'd just met! If he were himself, that wouldn't have happened. But the newly forming Draco was different. Before, he could depend on himself and his family, and now, he was getting soft and didn't want to just hold it all to himself. He could admit that he actually wanted to share with the wolfshifters; after all, it was fair since he knew their secret.
Weird, right?
His nerves were really being tested. If not for his Malfoy upbringing he would have snapped earlier.
Jacob could understand Leah's question; he felt the same way. A wizard? I knew there was something different about him! It was just weird. Like being a werewolf isn't weird? Or... a wolfshifter... That's what Draco called them. Draco seemed to know a lot... Maybe... "You know a lot about our kind, more than even we know..." Jacob pointed out. "So... do you know why I imprinted on you? Because this has never happened before."
"I... know..." Draco replied reluctantly. He was back in his chair, having not wanted to lie on the ground anymore, and he crossed his arms over his chest in an almost pout-ish manor, very un-Malfoy-like. "But I can't say. I just found out myself, and it's still a rather sore topic. I might get angry over it all over again."
"But you will tell me right?" Jacob questioned. He really wanted to know.
"Of course," the blonde replied. "I think you should know, especially since our souls are linked together. That's where the term 'soulmate' comes from, you know."
Seth was taking this the best. It was really exciting. "So you can do magic!" he exclaimed. "Show me! Show me!" He was bouncing around, and if he had a tail it would have been wagging like mad.
Draco found himself laughing. The little guy was like Jacob, hard not to like. "I can do more with my wand than with my hand."
"Speaking of which," Sam stated, "What did you do to Paul?"
Draco lost the smile. "Something I shouldn't have done," he replied guiltily. He turned his silver eyes to the big wolf he'd hit with the curse. "I'm sorry baffoon," he said, "I just had to show you all what people like me could do. And I'm not even the most powerful; there are many who are stronger than me, much stronger."
"Stronger than that?" Paul questioned, rubbing his chest with a grimace. He couldn't even explain the pain he felt, but it had been horrendous.
The blonde nodded. "Much stronger. I hit you with a weak Cruciatus curse, one of the three Forbidden Curses. I could have hit you with a stronger dose, but I've felt it before and even though I don't like you I couldn't do that to you." He shuddered. "It's Forbidden for a reason."
"If it's forbidden, then why do you know it?" Embry questioned. Everyone was circled around the blonde and his wheelchair.
"The Dark Lord forces all of his followers to use Dark magic; the three Forbidden Curses are some of the darkest there are, hence their forbidden nature. There's another Forbidden curse that is much worse; it's the Killing Curse. Only one person has ever survived it."
"And you said that was Harry Potter, right?" Jacob questioned. He wanted to make sure that he remembered everything his mate told him because he got the idea that Draco didn't like repeating himself.
The blonde smiled and nodded. "If only you could remember as well for your schoolwork."
Jacob stuck his tongue out childishly. Since he knows we're soulmates... and he seems to be okay with it... I can say it. "You're more important than schoolwork," he replied.
Draco's eyes widened, and he blushed. "You idiot," he mumbled, looking away.
Jacob laughed. "So you can show us some non-forbidden magic right?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Seth exclaimed, clapping. "Please!"
"You want to see it that badly?" Draco questioned. The smallest shifter nodded enthusiastically, and the others seemed to be fighting off the same reaction. "I need to get my wand from my house first," he replied with a smile.
"I can take you there with the Rabbit!" Jacob exclaimed happily.
Draco grimaced. "No offense, Jacob, but that thing is hardly suitable to call a car. It barely moves. I can get there faster on my own."
"How?" Seth questioned, eyes sparkling.
With a smirk, Draco disapparated with a loud 'pop', leaving stunned wolfshifters behind.
"Wow, that's awsome!" Seth claimed loudly.
"So... A wizard..." Sam trailed off, looking at Jacob. "And one mixed up in dark stuff..."
"So?" Jacob questioned challengingly.
"So nothing," Sam replied. "I told you; as your mate he is part of the pack. We will treat him as one of our own as we do for the others. And if this so called Voldermort guy decides to try anything, we'll do what we can. I promise." The others agreed.
"Thanks," Jacob replied.
"So... I wonder if he's magical in bed," Quil trailed off, thoughtfully.
Jacob pounced on him.
TLA
Draco managed a perfect landing right on top of his bed. He laid there for a minute to think.
It had been an almost surreal day. He went to the beach, kissed Jacob, could use his legs in the water, he relaxed in the sand, his arm burned, his Dark Mark returned, he let slip the fact that he knew of imprinting, he let out his wizarding secret, and he was about to show the wolfshifters some magic... And not to mention he had a panic attack and now he was perfectly fine, for the most part at least.
He raised his arm up and looked at the ugly skull and snake with a sigh. The only thing keeping him so calm was the fact that he knew he couldn't be traced with the Mark. And it shouldn't have surprised him as much as it had for it to reappear; after all, the Dark Mark spell was invented by Lord Voldemort so it made sense that he would be the only one who could properly remove it.
I overreacted. Father still has his, so it's not a big deal.
Feeling better, he grabbed his wand off of the bedside table and disapparated back to the beach, hoping to land gracefully in his chair.
"Draco?" Lucius questioned, opening his son's door. "We really need to talk to y-" he heard the pop of yet another apparation. "Damn," he mumbled. He had heard his son come home, and he hadn't expected him to leave again.
"Malfoys do not mumble, Lucius," Severus said, coming up behind his friend. "Did Draco leave?"
Lucius nodded.
"That must mean that the wolf knows about his magic. I wonder which one of us won the bet."
"Now is not the time for that damn bet, Severus!" the blonde man snapped.
The black-haired man sighed. "You're right, I was just hoping to lighten the mood a bit. Don't worry," he said, "You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you or Draco. And I certainly hope you know that you wouldn't let anything happen to him. It'll be fine."
The blonde only looked at him with a look that said, 'I hope so'.
TLA
The shifters felt an odd static in the air, and then came a loud 'pop'.
Draco let out an undignified 'umph' as he landed heavily on another body. At least it stopped his fall. It was hard landing when he wasn't dead sure on where his target was. He knew he hadn't landed on Jacob (for some reason), so who did he land on?
"Get off of me albino," Paul growled, although it didn't sound very threatening at all. It was almost... playful...
"I'm sorry baffoon," Draco replied. "Jacob! Help me up!"
Jacob was at their side in a second and easily lifted the blonde up.
"How long's it been?" Paul questioned as he stood up himself. "About a week? And already you're whipped; for shame Jacob."
Jacob gave him the finger. "Shut up, Paul." He placed Draco gently in his chair. A thought struck him. "When you disappeared, there was a loud 'pop'; we heard a noise just like it the other night. And I swear that I smelled you and heard your voice..."
"Oh... do I smell?" Draco questioned (cutely in Jacob's opinion).
"Oh no," the larger boy replied quickly, "You smell really nice. I'm just saying that I was sure you were there. But we heard that loud noise and then you weren't."
"It was me," Draco replied, inspecting his wand. "I had just received an entire mess of information, and I really wanted to get away. I had no destination in mind; I guess I ended up here because you were here. Our bond must have done it... or something... like that..." He trailed off with a slight blush. Dammit Draco! Stop doing that! What are you? A virgin schoolgirl! Hell no! Then stop acting like one!
Jacob couldn't believe how amazingly adorable and attractive Draco was. Damn! I'm one lucky dog... Oh shit. That was one corny pun Jacob. Way to go! Don't let Draco hear you say something like that.
"So... That's your wand?" Jacob questioned, sitting in front of the blonde.
"Yes," Draco replied proudly, holding it up to be seen by everybody. "It's made from the Dogwood tree for good, full magic. It's heart consists of dragon scales for strength, and a string of unicorn hair for power. It's coated with a unique blend of spider silk, silver dust, and black paint to create the dark, even shine."
"Dragon scales? Unicorn hair?" Seth asked excitedly. "Those exist?"
Draco smiled. "You didn't think you were the only magical creatures in the world did you?"
"That's amazing," Leah spoke up, sitting next to her brother, who had taken a seat next to Jacob. "Have you ever seen a Unicorn before?" she questioned; sparkles could almost be seen in her eyes; they matched the sparkles in her brother's eyes.
"I've seen a few, yes. They are very beautiful creatures, and very pure. It's a crime to hurt one, and a sin to kill one. I've seen dragons too. Most are large and mean; I did meet one though that was rather docile. I even managed to ride on him for a couple of miles."
"Wow..."
"Yeah..." Seth added to his sister's word dreamily.
"Okay," Draco said, "What would you like me to do?"
Strip right now and let me ravish you. Too bad he couldn't say that out loud. Dang.
Jacob had been really freaked out earlier, what with the whole branding thing. He would need to talk to the blonde more about that. Right now though... maybe it was best just to enjoy the rest of the sun. It seemed like Draco would like that too. For now, he could just let it go. They had plenty of time to discuss it later.
And it felt really good to be out in the open. Keeping secrets was always a pain in the ass. It agonized him to try hiding his transformation from his father, but then just a few days into it the man told him that he already knew! Holy hell! Just like with Draco! Draco knew what he was before he had the chance to tell him. It was probably better that way; now Jacob didn't have to think of a way to break it to him. 'Hey, Draco. I'm a werewolf and you're my destined mate.' 'Hey Draco, ever heard of love at first sight? Because I looked at you and I knew. By the way, I'm a werewolf.' Yes, definitely a good thing.
What was going to happen to their relationship now?
Draco knows that they're soulmates... Did that mean that Jacob could be more than friendly to him now? Was it all happening too fast? This was kind of too good to be true. Something was going to happen right? The young Black could feel it. Life didn't move this quickly, or this wonderfully, without some big dramatic scene popping up. Draco was too understanding; Jacob was too happy; this was moving too fast... When would the bomb explode, and what would the trigger be?
As long as it didn't include Draco getting hurt, then Jacob was fine with rolling with the punches.
Bring it on Life.
SasunaruTLA: Hola! ^^ YAY! Another update! Like a day after the other one! WOOHOO! Aren't you happy! I'm happy! YAY! Am I building this up good enough? Because it really is going to explode later on (I hope)! WOOT!
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I'll possibly-maybe update again maybe tomorrow or the next day!
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