Snape came upon a very different Room of Requirement than the one Hermione and Draco had just made love in. The room was dark and cluttered. The room had skyscrapers made out of old tattered books, and mountains seemingly useless objects. He twisted and turned himself quickly around the piles of mismatched and displaced items until he came upon his godson writhing in, what he was certain was unbelievable pain.
"Just what in the hell do you think you're doing in here, at this hour? How stupid are you?" The oily haired man snarled down at Draco.
"Yeah, I'm fine thanks." He said with a strangled voice, he sounded as if there had been gravel poured down his throat.
"Of course you're not fine; I would assume your arm feels as if it's been dipped in acid infused molten lava." He said as easily as if he were teaching a lesson.
"Uh yup that's about as accurate as you can get." Draco chocked out in his horribly scratchy voice. "Did you come here to help or just stand there?" The anger in his voice was evident even through the pain.
The dark looming figure of Snape crouched down beside a writhing Draco.
"How was it that I'm here to help you Draco?" Snape drawled out, looking down at him like he was talking to a small child.
"For Merlin's sake this is no time for a pop quiz professor!" Draco felt as if he would pass out from the pain, it was becoming worse by the millisecond. He had no idea why Snap would choose now to ask ridiculous questions. He knew he couldn't possibly have any idea why he was here, or why Hermione was here. He would believe almost anything before he would believe the truth of tonight's events, most sane people would. He felt his right arm snatched away from the protective grip he had on his left. He was half-conscious at best, but all his thoughts were worry for what might happen if somehow he knew about them.
"You are such a child. Granger the fucking princess of the wonder trio, she knows you were here. It was her who came to get me Draco, spouting off some ridiculousness about being on rounds, at this hour, I'm no fool. Potter must be up to something, and now she knows something is going on with you. Really Draco you were told to only work on this during school hours when you could get away so as not to raise suspicions, do you have a death wish?" He finished his rant looking down at Draco with a snarling expression.
Draco felt a small wave of relief wash over his pain stricken body. He didn't know about them, h had his own paranoid, delusional version of events. Sure Hermione definitely had her suspicions, and he would have to deal with her if he ever made it through this torture, but he would.
"At this moment in time, yeah pretty much, look can you lecture me when you fix this." He said quickly.
"Of course you show no concern, why should you it's only your life, oh wait it's mine and your mother's too." He said in a low tone unlikely to ever cross his lips again.
Draco at least liked the fact that Snape clearly knew better than to add his father into that mix, even though his life was on the chopping block as well.
"Just help me." He choked out, in a tone that in no way could be considered as begging. Malfoy's didn't beg.
"I can't do anything to help you with this Draco." He stated simply.
"That's not funny." Draco's eyes bulged out of his head toward Snape.
"Have I ever once cracked a joke Draco?" He asked looking down at Draco with a thin raised black eyebrow.
"Well what the hell? How am I supposed to do anything? Chop my arm off should I?" Draco asked a slight hint of panic in his voice through his always sarcastic tone towards his godfather.
"Not at all curious as to why your arm is in excruciating, soul deadening pain right now?" he asked with a raised eyebrow his hand tightening around Draco's pained forearm.
"Would you cut the dramatic bullshit!" He yelled his voice hoarse. "Merlin give a guy a black cloak turns into a giant drama queen." He murmured through his pain.
"It's no ordinary mark Draco; it lives, just as much as you or I. You're rejecting it, I've seen people get the mark that aren't happy about it but I've never seen this type of reaction. You're completely fighting against it, every part of you… Well it's fighting back." He sounded as if he was teaching a class, very calm.
Draco's head was swimming. He never thought he could feel anything like this, and Snape didn't know how to stop it. He suddenly remembered his determined thoughts just before the pain took him over.
He wished he could think of some way to save his life, his mother's life, and still keep her. He had to try.
That was it. His feelings for Hermione, the feelings that gave him the courage to even think of finding some other solution to his, and his mother's survival, those feelings that made him determined to try. The mark felt his determination to defy everything it stood for, every reason he had taken it. Snape's voice snapped him away from his thoughts.
"I may be able to dull the pain, make it slightly bearable." He drawled, examining the marked forearm closely. "When I was working with the order, it began to fight me. He wasn't back then, maybe that's why yours is so much worse."
Draco curled his face at Snape's words, because he knew why it was so much worse. He had made up his mind. He had fallen for a better person than he was a better person than anyone he'd ever known and she was good. If he loved someone that good, how could he be something so evil?
His expression must not have been as cryptic as he thought because Snape began to speak again.
"Oh by all means if you think I'm wrong do you have any other theories? Perhaps there is some big secret you have. Well Draco?" He asked pulling out his wand and a shimmering vile.
Draco remained silent, not wanting to give anything away. He felt the pain numb slightly in his arm as Snape muttered a spell.
This was all too much, something had to give. He had to make some decisions, very hard decisions. Have the woman he loves, or protect her. Be a person worthy of her love, or be a person who lives.
TBC