Disclaimer: You have no idea how many times I wished I owned Harry Potter. But then I realized that without Jo Rowling's wonderful mind that none of this would've existed. Enjoy.
Ch. 13
I felt incredibly guilty.
So, so guilty.
Of course I shouldn't have let Pansy even try to seduce me in the first place, but then again, when did I even have the nerve to care about anyone else besides myself? I already knew I was a selfish prat, but that didn't mean I was happy with myself. Never, had I even been remotely happy with myself. Sure, there were childhood memories where I could remember myself being happy, but that was the point. I was a kid. All little kids cared about were toys, candies, and other sweet things, their mothers reading them bedtime stories in the eve of night, their fathers teaching them about the game of Quidditch.
Family.
I think I had had that once in my life. When The Dark Lord vanished and my father could resume being himself again. But there had always been a difference between the man who would give me hugs and kisses when he came home and the man who decided that The Cruciatus Curse would be better for me, for being 'such a disappointment.' In the end, all came down to my mother, the only person who actually cared about me. Granted, when father was present, she would always act as if I didn't exist, only focusing on my father's wishes, doing whatever he told her to do, and whenever he wanted it done.
There had been a few times where he had Imperuised her, right in front of me. He told me, 'the only way you'll get a real woman to obey you, is to put her under The Imperius Curse.'
I laughed bitterly to myself. As a fourteen year old boy, I had believed him, scared to contradict him or his views. Now four years later, what had his lessons brought me?
Nothing but the feeling of emptiness inside.
VVVVV
My head was throbbing. I was covered in sweat, my right arm itchy and uncomfortable in its sling. In the other hand, I looked bitterly to see that four of the five half-mooned ridges embedded in my palm had returned, dripping a small amount of blood onto my white bed sheets. My own screams had waked me up. The dreams had returned, and this time, it was as worse as ever.
I was in a small, dark cellar, somewhere deep underneath the ground. I looked around me, seeing nothing but barren, cold, grimy stone. I felt alone, cold, and the sense of death lingered inside of me like a second skin. There was loud banging noise from somewhere upstairs, and though I hadn't notice it before, a flight of stairs stood to my right, and without a second thought, I began the steps, the noises getting louder as I came closer.
"Where is he!" I heard a high, strong voice hiss. There was another slam, and a groan. I hurriedly climbed up the rest of the stairs, being cut off by a curtain hanging downwards, blocking my view of the room ahead. Hesitantly, I pulled it back an inch. I wished I hadn't. Inside a brightly, lit, elaborate room, Voldemort himself stood in the middle of the room, wand pointed at a cowering…Lucius Malfoy?
"My – My Lord, I have sent Greyback to fetch the boy! He should be here any second, I promise you, I –"
With an enraged look on his face, Voldemort raised his wand, and in less than a second, Lucius went flying into the air, crashing onto a large table a few feet away. He did not move.
"Lucius!" Narcissa managed to cry out, before Bellatrix Lestrange's dirty hand clapped across her mouth, silencing her as she whispered into her ear. Narcissa went limp, and did not fight back, all the while staring at Voldemort with fearful, teary eyes.
"Has anyone got anything else to say?" Voldemort jeered, daring any of his followers to protest. Bellatrix went to open her mouth to praise her Lord, but before she could, the great doors of Malfoy Manor burst open, revealing Fenrir Greyback, his hands tearing into a young man's suit as he attempted to grasp him properly.
A young man with shockingly platinum blond hair.
I gasped, and clutched at my throat, not being able to breathe. Why was this happening? I watched as Draco was dragged into the large room by the collar of his shirt. The more he struggled, the more the werewolf's nails dug into his neck and shoulders. There was a slight rusty metallic smell, and I knew that somewhere under his clothing he was bleeding profusely. Greyback slammed him onto the floor at Voldemort's feet, taking immense joy in pulling on Draco's hair, so that his head lifted up, meeting eyes with The Dark Lord. They stared at each other for a moment, silently. No one breathed.
"Have you done it, boy?" Voldemort asked Draco quietly, his eyes scanning over his face to detect any betrayal.
Draco jerked his head as much as he could, indicating a yes. Voldemort raised his wand to Draco's forehead, performing Legilimens on him. There was a moment of silence, before a frighteningly evil look of happiness appeared on Voldemort's face. He cackled victoriously, before it turned into a fully fledged laugh.
"You have killed Albus Dumbledore! The boy has succeeded!" He exclaimed to everyone in the room. Some laughed, some cheered, but Voldemort did both, and more, making victorious jokes, bashing the headmaster. He stopped laughing, and the others stopped immediately. He looked down at Malfoy, who showed no emotion. It seemed as if he was looking past Voldemort.
"Looks like I won't be punishing you after all, boy", Voldemort said to him, sounding a little disappointed. A sickening smile came to his face instead.
"Instead of death, how about lifetime reward?" He motioned to a few death eaters, and they approached Draco, grabbing and lifting him from the floor. Once he realized what was going on, he began to scream out, begging.
"No! Please, no, no!"
Two death eaters removed Lucius's body from the table, replacing it with Draco's instead, while his mother watched him cry out for mercy, tears seeping into her long, flowing, and platinum blonde hair. As soon as they placed him on the table, iron chains and cuffs appeared, holding him in place. Bellatrix went to his side, whispering into his ear.
"Consider this…...the beginning of your future."
He turned to look at her in shock, and she smirked.
"Crucio!" A masked death eater yelled out, and my vision blurred. I wanted to scream out in agony. Out of nowhere, a blast of pain hit me, burning into my spine, head, stomach, throat and chest. Searing hot pain invaded my body, spreading like wildfire. My lungs burned and I couldn't breathe.
I was going to die.
I grasped the thick curtain for support, my nails tearing into it. I still couldn't bear to look away. The last thing I thought I would see before death swooped over me was Draco's agonized face, but as soon as it had come, it was over. Malfoy choked, gasping for air, and I found myself able to breathe again. It felt as if my lungs had burst. He was still protesting, but had grown weak from the force of the curse, so instead of screaming, he was now moaning in pain, his hair clinging to his forehead, blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth. I wanted to stop this. He didn't deserve it. No matter how coldhearted he'd been to me in the past, no one deserved this. I made a move for my wand, but to my surprise and horror, it was nowhere to be found. Voldemort glided to the other side of the table. He overlooked Draco for a moment, grinning menacingly at his fear.
He brushed a few strands of hair from Malfoy's forehead and he flinched. Without another word he drew his wand, and plunged it into Malfoy's left forearm, gouging it into his skin. As soon as he did, Draco screamed in agony, and I watched as black ink spread into his veins, mixing into his blood, creating the shape of the snake and skull. Mid-scream, he turned his head, and his icy, teary, grey-blue eyes hit mine. I was frozen in shock. Could he see me through the curtain? I went to back away, but the entrance that had once let me through no longer existed, and my head hit the stone wall with a sickening crack. My vision blurred, and I fell to my knees, grasping the curtain, and all the while, I could still feel his eyes on mine. There was no sound in the room but his harsh breathing. After Voldemort was done, Draco still stared at me. He noticed. Voldemort turned his snakelike face towards my direction, searching the room with his slit eyes.
"What seems to be the distraction, Mr. Malfoy?" He breathed. "Have you been hiding something from me?"
Draco jerked his head no, but it was too late. Voldemort's red eyes met mine, and I could do nothing about it. I wanted to run, scream, do anything, but I couldn't.
"Ah. So you've brought the little Potter mudblood sidekick as a present for me Draco?" Voldemort jeered, and the death eaters smirked. "How nice of you, two deaths in one day, Albus Dumbledore, and Potter's little slut, otherwise known as the brightest witch of the age? I think not. Should I let Greyback finish her off in front of you?" Greyback advanced, but at the raise of The Dark Lord's hand, he retreated, baring his teeth hungrily at me. Voldemort smiled again, showing his ugly, rotting teeth.
"Never mind then. I think it would be faster if we sent her body in one piece to Mr. Potter…as a message."
Draco's eyes widened in horror, and he yelled out in protest.
"Please, not her, take me instead, please, please! No!"
But it was too late. Halfway through his sentence, a bolt of green light flew forward and hit me square in the chest. It was melancholy and nostalgic, and I could not speak. My last glance was towards Draco's tear streaked face…
And that was when I woke up. It had only been a dream.
Just a dream.