Reina, Ron and Draco snapped back into their bodies, the feeling of falling overwhelming for the boys. They both inhaled deeply. Reina quietly laughed as she sat up.
"First time projecting?" She playfully asked, helping Draco sit up. Ron, already sitting cross legged on the ground, put his head in his hands.
"Is it normal, to feel like you got hit in the head with a club?" Draco nervously laughed.
"I might have to agree with you for once Weasley." He shook his head. The three were silent for a moment when Ron broke the silence.
"So, now we wait." He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. Reina and Draco nodded in agreement.
"So, Hermione said yes huh?" Reina said, smiling at Ron. "How long were you planning on asking her to marry you?" Ron's face turned as red as his hair.
"Well, I've always known I wanted to marry her. I was going to ask her over Christmas when she came to visit, but now, with the war breaking out and what not, I want to marry her as soon as possible in case…well you know, one of us dies or both of us die." He shrugged his shoulders. "When we bust out of here, wherever we end up, it's going to happen there."
"Well…hopefully our plan works. It's going to be difficult, but I think we can make it work before any of us…" Draco said, losing his words. He sadly looked down at the ground, going completely silent. Reina looked at Draco, the pain in his eyes sending daggers into her heart.
"Your father's disapproval bothers you…Doesn't it Draco?" Reina moved closer to Draco, putting her head on his shoulder as he put his arms around her.
"It does and it doesn't at the same time. I've always worked for his approval, even though I rarely got it. It hurts, because that's family, and letting down your family is the worst pain you could ever feel." Both Reina and Ron nodded in agreement. "Trying to get that approval, I did horrible things. Things that I can never take back, and the proof is this disgusting mark on my arm." He looked down at his dark mark and clenched his fist tight. "I would gladly die, if it meant getting rid of the crimes I have committed, but in seeking approval from Lucius that is a long gone dream. At the same time, his disapproval means that I have finally done something right. It feels good, to be doing the right thing. Fighting against the evil, instead of being the evil." He smiled, looking at Reina.
"Wow…uhh that was really deep Malfoy. You have really taken a hard left turn huh?" Ron said, lying down on the ground. "I don't know about you two, but I am going to try to sleep, I'm drained." The other two agreed with Ron and laid down as well. Reina buried her head in Draco's chest; her head touching his chin. He inhaled deep, wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep with a smile on his face and even though he knew the dawn would bring more torture, he savored the moment of having Reina in his arms again.
"Wake up!" A harsh woman's voice yelled though the bars of their cell. Draco, Reina and Ron all sat up, looking into the face of Bellatrix, who was smiling her crazy smile. With a wave of her wand, they were restrained. "It's time to see your friends again! This time for the last time!" Draco gave Reina a loving pinch on the arm.
"Be strong Reina. Remember what I told you; don't give a single tear to this scum." Bellatrix rolled her eyes.
"Well, let's go!" As she said this, she grabbed the three wizards and apparated. They were back at Hogwarts, the whole school assembled outside around a platform with death eaters standing on it. Everyone was silent, their magic blocked by a barrier around the platform. Wormtail stepped up and said loudly,
"Our prisoners have arrived! Now you will all see what happens when you defy and betray us."
Draco, Ron and Reina were led up on the platform. Whispers could be heard coming from the crowd. Most of them were about Draco. When they were all set on the platform, wormtail continued. "We will start with defiance. Let's start with your name." He grabbed Ron, pushing him in front of them. "Well, tell them your name." Ron looked straight forward, stoned faced, and said,
"Ronald Weasley." Wormtail grinned darkly, raised his wand and casted Crucio on him again. Ron immediately fell to the ground, once again writhing in pain, his screams echoing in the silence. Small amounts of blood began to flow from his nose and mouth, his screams getting louder and louder. Reina scanned the crowd, looking for Harry, Ginny and Hermione. When she spotted them, her heart went into knots. Ginny was screaming, Harry holding onto her, tears in his eyes as well. Hermione was also crying, holding onto Ginny as well, rubbing her arm and whispering to her. Wormtail finally lifted the curse, but the punishment was far from over. Bellatrix stepped up now and raised Ron high into the air with her wand. He hovered for a second before hurling down to the ground, hitting with forces so strong he was unconscious on impact. The death eaters snickered. Reina had to fight to keep from tearing up. Bellatrix walked over to her and checked her eyes.
"Still dry…" She sighed. "Oh well, it's time to really pull those pretty little heart strings now." She pulled Draco forward with her, his body pale and bruised. The crowd went silently watching Draco with their eyes. Bellatrix shoved Draco in front of the crowd, she giggled and said,
"This man is nothing but a filthy traitor. A traitor to us and a traitor to you. This is what happens when you betray the wrong people." Lucius stepped up and casted a spell on Draco, forcing him down on his knees and unable to move; his back exposed to the Hogwarts students. Bellatrix produced a blade from her pocket and without skipping a beat, dug the tip of her blade into his back. Draco screamed, feeling the blood drain from the wounds she was inflicting. She tore down his back, carving and cutting, all while Bellatrix was laughing hysterically. After cutting across his back, she pulled the blade out of his flesh and wiped the blood on Draco's face. He began to feel dizzy, the life leaving him through his wounds. She then turned him around, exposing his dark mark to the students, all while the death eaters laughed at Draco's new brand. She lifted the blade once more, this time looking at Lucius.
"Would you like to do the honors of getting rid of our brand, so he can wear his new one to the grave?" She handed him the blade, a psychotic smile on her face. He took the knife. Draco looked up at his father, who had no emotion on his face.
"Father, you are going to kill me? I am going to die by your hands? Your own flesh and blood?" He said loudly, for everyone to hear. The death eaters laughed once again, but Lucius hesitated. Bellatrix urged him on with a nod of her head. Any kind of emotion Lucius was feeling disappeared as he said,
"You are not my son." He grabbed Draco's arm, and began flaying the skin off where his dark mark was. Draco's eyes began to water as his screams of agony echoed over the heads of everyone present. After a moment of cutting, Lucius held up the flesh with the bloody dark mark on it. Draco used all his energy to stand up, but fell back to the ground, his eyes rolling in the back of his head. Reina screamed.
"Draco, please open your eyes! You can fight this I know you can!" She fought her way out of the grip of the death eaters restraining her, and knelt next to Draco. He wasn't breathing.
"Please…please wake up!" she pled. Then it happened, a tear escaped her eye. The blue light surrounded Draco once again. She grabbed Ron's hand, and looked at Harry, Hermione and Ginny, who slipped under the invisibility cloak while the Death Eaters were distracted. Reina looked at Bellatrix, hatred in her heart, and yelled,
"You want my tears bitch? Come and get them!" She felt Harry grab her hand, so she grabbed Draco's while Hermione grabbed Ron. With the cloak slipping off, Reina focused all her power, and apparated them out of Hogwarts.