Chapter 7
Hermione jerked awake. Her sight was still blurry, and she blinked a few times to clear her eyes. Slowly her pupils matched the light, and she discovered herself lying on the hard, cold floor of a dungeon cell. She slowly got up and felt every joint in her body stiff like a rusted door hinge. She stretched her arms and legs gently, and heard her bones crack. She must have been out for a very long time.
Hermione looked around the dungeon cell, and found that it was nothing more than a square room with one wall as bars. Beyond the bars was a small hall lit with a few torches on the walls. Below a particularly bright torch sat a red haired man Hermione assumed to be a hunter. He was snoring gently. Eager not to wake this hunter up, Hermione silently crawled around the dungeon cell, looking for any weaknesses in the infrastructure. The walls were made of huge stone bricks, and upon knocking on them gently Hermione discovered that they were extremely thick. She looked up, and saw that the room had no windows. Sighing, she crawled towards the bars.
She observed the bars carefully, and decided that they were nothing more than iron bars stretching from ceiling to floor. They did not look particularly strong, and were quite thin. Making up her mind to slowly pry them to the sides, she gently grabbed the bars.
Almost immediately, Hermione felt her hands clap onto the bars and were unable to take them off. Then, within milliseconds, she felt electric shocks running through the bars and into her body. She shook violently, but was unable to scream out. She tried to take her hands off the bars, but found that they were stuck for good. She felt panic entering her mind as she realized that she had no strength to fight whatever charm it was placed on the bars.
"Hurts dunnit?" said a voice. Hermione felt the shocks stop, and fell to the floor as her hands unglued themselves from the bars. Trembling, she looked up, and saw the red haired man standing in front of the bars. "What… was that?" she asked feebly. The man just smiled bitterly, and backed away from the bars. There were footsteps approaching, and soon Hermione saw Draco Malfoy hurrying towards her cell, accompanied by the tall man with the silver-gold hair.
"Open the cell, Weasley," Draco demanded. The red haired man stepped forward and flicked his wand. Hermione watched as the cell doors slowly open. Draco stepped in, and pulled Hermione up by her robes. He silently pulled out a long, silky rope and tied it to his wrist. Hermione's eyes followed Draco's movements, confused. Draco kneeled, and tied the other end of the rope to Hermione's ankle. Then he pulled Hermione out of the cell.
"She seems harmless to me, Lucius," said Weasley, poking his head from behind trying to watch what was going on. The tall man, Lucius, turned to Weasley. "Vampires are not to be judged by their looks Weasley," he said softly. "That is why you, a pureblood wizard, will simply be down here manning dungeon cells. You are ignorant, and disrespectful. Need I tell you once again, not to call me by my name?" Lucius looked down at Weasley for a split second, and his eyes flashed with distaste. Weasley shrugged, and slid back into the background.
"Now, we shall proceed. Bring her to me Draco."
Not knowing what was going to happen, Hermione resisted Draco's lead. "Stop." Draco said simply and pushed her aggressively to Lucius, where she fell to the floor. She looked up fearfully.
"Now, this will hurt," Lucius said, with a hint of glee in his voice. He pointed his wand at the silky rope, and muttered a long incantation. As he did so, Hermione suddenly felt the rope burn against her skin. She whimpered in pain, as she had no strength in her body to scream. She looked over at Draco, and found that he too was frowning in pain. He did not meet her longing gaze. She dropped her head to the floor, hope lost, and with nothing to cling onto. And after what felt like a century, she felt the burning sensation fade from her ankle.
"You are in charge now Draco," Lucius said, pocketing his wand. "I sincerely hope that you do not fail so dreadfully, and I expect you to keep this… pet of yours under control."
Draco nodded, as Lucius turned and swiftly exited the dungeon. Weasley tipped his head as Lucius passed, but Lucius took no notice. Scowling, he turned to Draco and Hermione.
"So you gunna take this girl out with you, eh?" said Weasley, eyeing the silky rope that bound them together. Draco pulled Hermione up by the robes again. "Walk," he commanded. Hermione obeyed silently, like a child who was just disciplined. Weasley stepped aside for them to pass, and lightly tapped Draco on the shoulder. Draco looked back, and pushed Weasley's hand off his shoulder. Then without a word, he half dragged Hermione out of the dungeon, leaving a scowling Weasley behind.
Hermione tried to remember all the corridors and stairs she and Draco passed, but it was impossible with her dazed mind. She felt so weak, so confused, and most of all, so thirsty. Thirsty for blood. Her subconscious mind fluttered back to Riddle Manor, where she could picture Tom sitting in his room elegantly, his neck exposed just enough to drive Hermione insane. She could almost feel her teeth sinking into Tom's wrist. She could almost feel Tom's blood gushing down her throat. She could almost feel Tom's fangs penetrating her skin, and she shuddered as she could almost feel the pleasure and bliss coming from the act of bloodsucking.
"Get in," Draco said, snapping Hermione out from her imagination. Hermione found herself in a handsome room, with a four poster bed and hanging wine colored drapes. She looked around and saw a small window with the heavy curtains drawn to let in the moonlight. The room was bathed in the silvery light, and Hermione spotted a bedside table sporting a tall bottle and an empty glass. She instinctively walked towards the table, but stumbled as the rope that bound her to Draco pulled her back, as Draco did not move from the door. She stopped, and Draco shut the door behind them.
"I'm thirsty," she muttered. Draco silently walked across the room, and Hermione followed him as the rope was only about five feet long. He went over to the bedside table, and poured the content of the tall bottle into the glass. It was blood. Hermione hungrily lunged towards it as Draco held it out to her. She hastily gulped it down, then stretched out her arm for more. Without saying anything, Draco poured more blood into the glass. Hermione emptied it swiftly.
"What now?" Hermione asked, feeling some strength reentering her body. Draco took the glass from her, and set it on the table. He then walked towards what seemed to be the washroom, and Hermione had no choice but to follow him. He turned the water on in the tub, and turned away from Hermione.
"Bathe. You have been out for four days," he said. Hermione blushed. "With you in the room?" she asked faintly. Draco nodded, still looking away. "Can't we take the rope off just for when I shower?" Hermione asked, feeling every corner of her face go red. "I think it's already proven that you are faster and stronger than me."
"The rope cannot be removed by anyone except my father, Lucius." Draco said softly. "Now bathe. I don't want a filthy vampire next to me."
Perplexed and somewhat embarrassed by Draco's change of attitude towards her, Hermione slowly removed her clothing. As she removed her robe, she felt her face grow hot, and by the time she removed her undergarments she felt as if her whole body was blushing. She got into the tub, and started to scrub the filth off her skin. Draco slid to the floor and sat down with his back leaning on the tub. Although Hermione could only see the back of his head, she still felt extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable at the proximity of Draco to her.
Hermione bathed in silence, wishing dearly that this wasn't happening. Being naked in front of a hundred vampires was bad. But oddly, it was more embarrassing being naked in front of one man, who wasn't even looking at her. She quickly washed herself and whispered that she was done. Draco stood up, grabbed a dry towel and handed it to her, and she dried herself hastily and wrapped it around her body. Then Draco walked back into the room, making Hermione follow. As she was walking, she spotted herself in the washroom mirror, and saw that she was pale, thin, and covered in small scars. She dropped her head not wanting to see the scars that reminded her of Tom Riddle.
Sensing that Draco stopped, she looked up, and discovered Draco in only his trousers. Blushing, Hermione quickly looked away. She heard the rustle of clothes and guessed that Draco had stripped off his clothing. Then she felt something soft hit her head, and discovered a set of black robes resting on her head. She held them, and followed instinctively as the rope was pulled again towards the washroom. She had her head turned away and dressed rapidly, and she heard the shower turn on. After a few silent, embarrassing minutes, Draco stepped out of the shower.
"Sleep," Draco said, as he pulled on thin, comfortable looking trousers and walked towards the bed. He lied on it, and pointed on the ground. Getting this nonverbal language, Hermione laid on the floor, which was surprisingly hard even though it was covered in carpet. She tossed and turned trying to get comfortable, and finally curled up like a puppy. Now that she was slightly comfortable, and the embarrassing moments over, her mind was bursting with questions. Did Tom follow her? Was she safe here? When was she going to be able to turn back into a human?
"You are safe here," Draco said, as though reading her mind. "Now sleep. I am tired. Don't think of doing anything. The rope senses hostility towards me and will alert the guards immediately."
"Okay." Hermione replied. She closed her eyes, and although a million questions and worries were racing through her mind, she quickly fell asleep. She fell into a world of the past, dreaming of the Riddle Manor, its corridors, the Gatherings, and Tom. Tom, who was so beautiful yet so cruel. She dreamed of Tom's bare neck, the neck she had never bitten but imagined sinking her fangs into countless times. She tried to remember what his blood taste like. She wanted him. His blood. Tom Riddle's blood. She needed Tom's blood.
"Stop it!" yelled a voice. Hermione snapped her eyes open, and saw Draco wrestling a squirming Hermione. She realized she was screaming. "Be quiet, stop!" Draco yelled. Hermione clawed at Draco, her body no longer in control of her conscious mind. All she needed was Tom's blood.
"I need Tom," Hermione gasped. "Please, his blood. Please."
"Drink this," Draco said, handing her the glass of blood from his bottle. She knocked the glass out of his hand. Draco sighed, and grabbed her wrists, trying to stop her from clawing his face. Hermione struggled trying to free her hands. "No!" she screamed. "Not this. I need Tom's blood. I want to go back. Why did you bring me here! I need… I want…"
Then quite suddenly, Draco smashed his lips onto hers. Hermione's eyes widened from surprise. She tried to free her hands, but he aggressively pulled her arms over her head, and pushed her down to the floor. She felt blood seeping into her mouth, and guessed that Draco bit his lip… or maybe she bit his. Whatever it was, she felt soothed, and soon found herself savoring even corner of Draco's mouth. Draco grabbed her hair violently and returned the motion, but Hermione did not mind. She merely submitted to his dominance, and fell into the blissful feeling of drinking his blood.
"No…" Draco breathed, finally pulling away. She laid their motionless, somewhat tired, and mildly confused.
"That should not have happened. I… I don't know…" Hermione saw that Draco's face had a confused expression. "Forget that it happened." Draco said finally, and went back up to the bed. Hermione stared after him, blissful, but confused, and most of all, tired. She felt her eyes drop and she did not fight the sleep that was over coming her. She was content, and her craving for Tom's blood had lessened. Curling up into a ball again, she succumbed to what she knew was going to be a deep, dreamless sleep.
(A/N: Sorry it took so long! Job hunting and senior yr in college is not a good mix :( I will try to get back on track! Constructive criticism is always welcome, and I live on reviews! :D)