Hey, guys! I know I just updated yesterday, but this chapter is pretty short, and I didn't want you guys to be disappointed on Saturday when this is all you got. So...Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Twenty-nine

The next morning, Lucius's mark on my neck hadn't faded, and swallowing still burned like fire. It would fade eventually, but I had no idea how long that would take. I inspected it briefly in the mirror as I got dressed. It was still an angry, inflamed red that enveloped almost my entire throat. No one would miss it.

A pounding and demanding knock came at my door, making me jump. "Get up, Draco!" It sounded like Lucius. "As much as I would love to leave you in there, the two in the cellar need food!"

I didn't respond. I was entirely frozen, my heart pounding and hand shaking. My chest tightened painfully as I imagined him barging in here, but he never did. It took me a while to accept that he had left, even though his steps resounded through the hall outside, as if he was marching away.

After a moment longer, I was able to relax enough to finish getting dressed. I had only slept for about three hours last night, and instead of sitting around, I decided to get dressed, trying to avoid exactly what had just happened.

"Here," Lucius said, sliding two trays of food towards me on the kitchen counter.

I took the trays and quickly turned away from him, taking a step forward.

"Draco," he called. There was a note of warning in his voice that was strong enough to make me stop and tense. "Wand."

I slowly turned back to him and found him staring at me pointedly with his hand out and palm open. I put one of the trays back onto the kitchen counter and reached into my blazer, taking my wand out of my inside pocket. My hand shook as I offered it to him. He ripped it from my grasp and looked at me in a way that made me lower my head.

I took the tray of food back from the counter and walked away from him.

"Are you alright, Draco?" Luna asked as I handed the food trays to her. At least she didn't look any worse-for-wear. "When your father dragged you off, I thought that-"

"I'm alright," I interrupted, wanting to avoid all talk of my father.

"Then why is there a red mark on your neck?" she asked in her distinctive, high voice.

Her question made me freeze, so when I didn't answer, she walked away and moved to Ollivander, who was still sitting on the same bench as yesterday, and handed him his tray of food.

"I've always like your name," Luna commented as she lowered herself onto the bench. "It means 'dragon', you know. And Draco has always been my favourite constellation."

I gave her a fake smile in return for the compliment, and the three of us fell quiet. I knew I had to leave them and go back upstairs, but leaving would mean facing Lucius again, and my stomach flipped at the thought.

"If you have something you need to get off of you chest, Draco, we wouldn't mind," Luna voiced, turning to Ollivander as he nodded.

"I think he hates me," I heard myself say. I tensed again, glancing behind me.

"You mean your father?" Ollivander asked.

"I don't think he does," Luna contradicted. "Despite what most people think, the opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference. So if your father hates you, I think, that at his core, he loves you (1)."

I raised my head to look at her to see if she was lying, but she wasn't. The expression she had gave the impression that she wasn't even capable of a lie.

A knock echoed on the metal of the barred door, and I turned to see Wormtail staring in through the bars. "If you're done talking…"

My family and I ate breakfast in complete silence. I sat as far away from Lucius as decorum would allow. I hardly looked up from my plate, though I could still feel his eyes on me, gradually burning holes into my clothes.

As soon as the House Elves came to clear the table, I rose from my chair and briskly walked out of the dining room. Footsteps followed after me, and my heart raced, images of Lucius coming after me springing to the forefront of my mind.

I quickened my pace until I was practically running. I finally made it to the relative safety of my room and moved to shut the door as tight as possible. I still didn't have my wand. I would be entirely powerless to stop him from doing anything.

A pale hand slapped the wood of the door and forced it back open. I backed away from the door as quickly as I could.

My mother rushed in and shut the door behind her. "Are you alright, Draco?"

I had to take a moment to get my breath back. "I-I'm fine."

"Then come here," she said softly, taking my hand and gently guiding me towards the bed.

She sat us both down on the mattress and drew her wand. "Let me see it. The mark on your neck."

I hesitated but eventually put my head back to let her view Lucius's mark in a better light.

She put her hand on my hairline to keep my head back as she leveled her wand at my neck. "I'm sorry he did this to you."

"I didn't realise that healing Luna and Ollivander could be considered wrong."

"If they weren't the Dark Lord's prisoners and you a Death Eater, it wouldn't be," she answered.

The two of us fell quiet as Mother healed my burning neck. The constant throbbing in my throat gradually ebbed so that I wouldn't wince every time I swallowed. After a while, my mother removed her hand from my head, allowing me to see her frightened and guilty expression.

"If you want to be a Healer, that's fine," she assured. "But you can't be one for the Dark Lord's prisoners." With that, she got up and left, leaving me alone again.

Once the door fell closed behind her, I moved to my private bathroom and inspected my neck. The red mark had faded to pink, and though the skin was still irritated and slightly raised, the mark was much less noticeable.

(1)This is a quote I found from Tom Hiddleston describing Loki's relationship with Thor. Some of the words are altered for the purpose of this fanfiction, but I did not come up with the entire phrase on my own.

Hope you all liked it! Keep a look out on Saturday for Chapter 30!