Cassie didn't stop shaking for a long time after Scabior and Amycus left. She could hardly clean all the cutlery, and then ended up dropping some on the floor when she tried to put it all back where she found it. When Draco walked in, it was a welcome distraction.
"I bought you some clothes," Draco said brusquely, with no greeting. Then he noticed her shaking hands. "Are you alright, Hannett?"
"Clothes? That's nice. Thank you. And I'm fine, Draco. No need to call me Hannett, I think we know each other a bit too well for that now." The last remark made both of them blush, but nothing more was said on the matter.
Suddenly, a memory popped up out of nowhere. The two of them curled up on the sofa in the Slytherin common room, their bodies entwined and his mouth on hers, passionately kissing her like he never wanted to remove himself from her arms…
Cassie shook her head like she was trying to rid herself of that memory. 'Stay focussed', she scolded herself. That was a long time ago, no need to bring old memories to the surface. George was her love now, and always would be.
"I put everything just inside your room. Maybe you'd like to take a break and see what I got you? If I go with you, Father can hardly complain or shout at you," Draco said.
'I don't know about that, Lucius would hate to miss an opportunity to shout,' Cassie thought, but tried to smile. "Okay, I'll go up with you. You'll be able to show me where I'll be staying." It sounded like she was staying in a hotel instead of being held hostage at Death Eater headquarters.
They travelled silently through the house together. Lucius was nowhere to be seen, and neither was his mother. Cassie privately wondered about her, and her relationship with her husband, but didn't dare voice these thoughts aloud.
Upstairs, they arrived at one of the many doors, and Draco pushed it open.
"Oh damn," Draco said in annoyance. "I can't come in. Too many jinxes." He looked to his right, then to his left. "If you grab those bags, you can come into my room quietly. I don't want Father hearing. He'll kill me if he sees you in my room."
She wasn't sure that it was a good idea, remembering the earlier memory and some other slightly saucier ones, but then shrugged. Everything was crazy now; what difference would it make to go into his room, as opposed to having Draco come into hers?
Retrieving the two overflowing bags, Cassie dragged them along the corridor to his room. He opened it, then allowed her in first.
"Thanks," Cassie said gratefully, allowing both bags to fall to the floor the second she was safely inside. Gazing round, she raised an eyebrow at the sheer luxury of it all. Unlike the rest of the house's interior, it wasn't quite so dark. There was an emerald green theme, which was fitting for the uncredited Slytherin king. In the middle of the room was a four poster bed, and surrounding it were comfortable green velvet chairs, a large bookshelf, a writing desk and a huge wardrobe.
"Wow," Cassie said, thinking of hers and George's tiny bedroom above the shop. She blinked away tears and continued as if nothing had happened. "Your room's amazing."
"Thanks," Draco said awkwardly, closing the door and locking it with his eye. Cassie felt alarmed but said nothing. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it.
"I have to warn you, none of this will be to your taste," Draco said, gesturing to the bags that had fallen over on the luscious carpet. "You can sit down," he added, gesturing to the chairs. Perching on the edge of the nearest one to him, she definitely felt out of place. Draco was wearing the finest black suit that fitted him to perfection. Cassie, on the other hand, was wearing an outfit that was not exactly the latest or trendiest fashion, and hadn't been washed for over a day.
"Have a look," he offered, gesturing carelessly at the bags. "There wasn't much choice."
"Don't worry, it's fine," Cassie lied, tipping the garments out of the black bag. Her face visibly fell as she surveyed the clothes. Not one was her style at all, and they all looked like cheap, second-hand clothes. Cassie spread them all out on the floor to take a better look at them.
There was a black strappy vest top with a daringly low-cut back, a strapless purple top, a huge scratchy grey jumper, a white dress with only one shoulder, a hideous lacy floral top with a white Peter Pan collar and two skimpy, low-cut orange dresses. There were also two pairs of stiff, shapeless jeans.
Cassie dreaded the thought of facing Lucius and the other Death Eaters in these little numbers, especially Scabior and his stupid friend from earlier.
Draco then cleared his throat, and for some reason, looked rather embarrassed. His face began to redden. "I also bought you some, uh… some… you know-?" He made a funny hand movement, but Cassie didn't understand.
"You know what I mean…? Oh, look, just take the bag." He picked up the pink bag and thrust it towards her, then turned away, clearly too overcome with embarrassment to look at her. Cassie instantly recognised the lurid pink; it was from her favourite lingerie shop. She looked up at a tomato-red Draco, and her mouth twitched.
"Draco?" she said softly.
"What?" Draco mumbled, still not daring to look round.
"I appreciate this." Cassie tried not to laugh. "I bet it was really awkward, right?"
Draco shrugged, his face now in his hands. Cassie took out the lingerie; it wasn't too bad at all. In fact, it was quite pretty. There was nothing skimpy, just several sets of normal underwear in light blue, mauve, pale pink, light green and white. For the first time, Cassie felt rather embarrassed too. Her schoolmate had had to go out and buy her some lingerie from a shop filled with curious, nosy witches.
"Draco?" Cassie said again. "I'm sorry that you've had to do this. I get it must be really embarrassing, but it's fine. I'm not judging or anything. It's hard on all of us."
"Yeah," Draco muttered. He clearly needed a moment or two to get over it, so Cassie took another look at what she had been bought. The mauve set was the prettiest, with tiny embroidered flowers. She twirled it on its little hanger to see it properly in the sunlight, when the door flew open and Lucius barged into the room.
"Father!" Draco yelped, staring wide-eyed at Cassie, who'd had the sense to toss the underwear behind her and kick the bag over the garments strewn across the floor.
If Cassie had felt embarrassed a few moments before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now. She and Lucius eyed each other for a moment, before she looked away, pretending to be interested in Draco's lamp.
"Well, I…" Lucius seemed lost for words. He looked at Draco, then back at Cassie. Thankfully, his gaze did not even swivel in the direction of the pale green underwear set that lay bold as brass on Draco's carpet. "Cassie, get back down to the kitchen! Draco, you and I are going to have a talk in a moment. Go now," he said patronisingly to Cassie. She did go, leaving all the clothes and lingerie exactly where they were.
'I'll return later, or Draco can pick it up and put it outside my door,' she decided.
As she passed Lucius, Cassie gave him the most horrible look she could muster. Under his watchful eye, she pretended to be walking down the corridor, but the second she heard the door close, Cassie doubled back and tiptoed to the doorway of the bathroom next to Draco's room, where she hid and listened.
"What on earth is this?" Lucius asked next door, his voice higher pitched than she'd ever heard before. Cassie had a sudden mental image of him holding the lingerie at arm's length, looking totally revolted. She stifled a giggle and a feeling of deep embarrassment, even though in reality he'd probably just pointed at it rather than picking it up.
"What was I meant to do?" Draco asked defensively, sounding quite angry too. "I wasn't having much fun, Father, and it was the best I could find." He paused. "I could have come home with far worse," he added devilishly.
There was an ominous silence. Then Lucius spoke, quietly and dangerously.
"What is going on between you two?"
"What?" Draco yelped. Cassie had never expected to hear such an undignified noise to leave his mouth. "Is this what this is all about? Father, she's been here two days; I haven't seen her for ages… she's living with her boyfriend anyway! I overheard her telling her friends-"
"Who is this boyfriend? Anyone of interest?"
Draco's silence said it all.
"Draco," Lucius said harshly. "Tell me. Now."
"One of the Weasley's," Draco muttered. "George, I believe." Cassie's heart sank; no good could come out of Lucius knowing this.
"Interesting…" Lucius mused. She heard footsteps, and Cassie ran. Unfortunately, she was not fast enough, because Lucius stepped out and saw her.
"What are you doing now?" Lucius barked at her.
"Using the bathroom," Cassie said innocently. Lucius looked suspicious but said no more; Cassie took this as a cue to go back to the kitchen before he could have another go at her. She began to wonder as she walked down the staircase why there was so much interest in her if the others really weren't aware of her big secret.
One thing was certain: there had been a deliberate plan to bring her here, and it wasn't for no good reason.
When Lucius barged into the kitchen a few hours later, demanding to know what she'd been up to, Cassie decided to ask him outright. It was easier to speak to him as he no longer was able to meet her eye.
"Why me? Why on earth have I been brought here? There's been a deliberate plan and I just can't figure out… why me?" she finished lamely. Although part of her found it funny that he couldn't look at her after the underwear fiasco earlier, she wished he would so she could gauge whether or not he was telling the truth.
It didn't take long for Lucius to look up and fix her with a cold, fixed gaze that took her aback. Gone was his awkwardness and in its place was his old arrogance and haughtiness.
"Surely you are not as stupid as you look?" Lucius said. "You are friends with Potter, Granger and several of the Weasley's. All of whom are wanted, either dead or alive." He spoke insultingly slowly; Cassie was itching with irritation. "We've decided to make an example of you, seeing as you were stupid enough to go along with the world's worst impersonators of the Weasley twins."
Cassie hated to admit it, but he did have a slight point there. However, Lucius couldn't appreciate the overwhelming boredom she had been feeling, the boredom that she had to do something about or else she would have gone crazy.
"Judging by the newspapers, you are famous now," Lucius said with a slow, cruel smile. "No doubt all your little friends will be worried to death about how you're faring. Unfortunately, we will hardly be able to reassure them, so they'll just have to keep wondering. If we're feeling kind, perhaps we shall let them know every once in a while that you haven't gone the same way as your precious Dumbledore."
"How could you-" Cassie began tearfully, and he turned on her.
"This is my house!" he suddenly shouted, full of rage. "I can do whatever I please; I certainly don't need your worthless opinions or tears! Now, get to work at once or I can promise you, you will not like what happens next!"
Lucius slammed the door on the way out and this time, there was no Draco to clumsily attempt to comfort her.
~~~(O.O)~~~
Draco had heard everything, having crept down the stairs. He had been heading towards the kitchen to speak to Cassie, to reassure her, but after hearing the shouting, decided it was best avoided for a while. How could Lucius make her cry? This was bold, bubbly and outgoing Cassie here – hardly a shrinking violet. Yet she'd been reduced to an emotional wreck with two short days.
And as for him, well…
The conversation with Lucius had been awful and embarrassing, and he had felt the wedge being further driven between them as it had played out. No longer was Draco the boy who bullied, who always came out on top and was almost revered as the unofficial king of Slytherin. He had seen and experienced too much, and besides, none of the Death Eater's saw him as impressive. They were hardened people, with criminal records that could shock most of Azkaban and an unnatural keenness to cause agony to as many people as possible.
The snake curled painfully on his left forearm as if to chastise him for his deviant thoughts. Not for the first time, Draco regretted the initiation that brought him closer to Voldemort and his hideous cause. Alright, he agreed to quite a large extent about blood purity, but he didn't agree with the lengths they were currently going to eradicate almost everyone considered 'unworthy'. It turned out that Draco Malfoy, son of the feared Death Eater, didn't have much of a taste for causing pain, suffering, torture and death.
"Draco, what are you doing?"
Lucius stared at him, his face still slightly magenta from his recent outburst. While he didn't ask rudely, it was not a polite question either.
"I was just getting… a book," Draco lied.
Lucius squinted at him. Draco hardly ever read unless he had to, and the family library was full of dreary old books about law and politics from bygone centuries. It also contained banned books that contained subject matters enough to give most sane people nightmares.
"Extra reading for school?" Lucius enquired sharply.
"Yep, that'll be it. Gotta beat that Mudblood Granger, right?" Draco laughed humourlessly. "Not that it'll matter in future-"
"Draco, enough!" Now it was Draco's turn to be snapped at by his increasingly short-tempered father. "I am tired of you feeling sorry for yourself! I know the situation is… precarious, and I know our living circumstances are not as, ah… comfortable as they were a year ago, but we have to make the best of it. If we succeed, we will go back to the old days… No! It will be better! It will be better son, I promise."
Now Lucius was looking hopefully at his son. It was clearly an olive branch.
Draco was sorely tempted to take it, but then he remembered Cassie in the kitchen, and shook his head.
Lucius could only sigh in exasperation as Draco, forgetting his lie about the book, headed back upstairs to the safety of his room.
~~~(O.O)~~~
Scabior stretched out his legs and crossed them at the ankle. He was feeling pretty self-satisfied; even though his plan hadn't exactly worked thanks to Amycus, the stupidest man he'd ever met, in the end he'd got what he wanted. A glimpse of the lovely Cassie.
And he'd managed to threaten her too, with the knowledge he'd discovered. Letting out a chuckle at the memory of her terrified, beautiful face, he turned to his companions. He, Amycus and Alecto were spending an awful lot of time together these days. Scabior didn't mind admitting to himself that he missed his mates in the Snatcher's gang, but at the same time, he'd had a promotion of sorts.
Even if he wasn't a Death Eater quite yet.
"I'm guessing by the stupid, vacant expression on his face that you saw the girl today?" Alecto said scornfully, glaring at Amycus out the corner of her eye.
"Yep," Scabior said, eyeing his friend. Amycus did look particularly daft when he was in a daydream, and it was clear who the object of his desire was at that moment in time.
"She wasn't that pretty," Alecto said, and Scabior snorted. With her looks, she'd be jealous of anybody. There were ninety-year-old witches walking round with prettier faces than hers. "I've seen better."
"Like who?" Scabior asked, and smirked when she couldn't answer. Few girls were as stunning, as ravishing, as gorgeous as Cassie. He was just as obsessed as Amycus was, but of course could handle it more smoothly. Scabior considered himself a bit of a ladies' man. He certainly had been in his youth, before taking on what was by far the dodgiest job he'd ever had (and he'd had a lot of low-life, dodgy jobs before).
"I'm formulating a plan," Amycus said suddenly, still looking like he was in a daze. He looked up at Scabior, who roared with laughter. The poor old bugger looked totally lovestruck. How a man of his age managed to look like a lovesick teenager was quite remarkable, really.
"Why? Ain't you just gonna wing it, like I am?" Scabior said, stretching and yawning. He didn't need a plan, he decided. He was just going to keep an eye on his rivals (obviously not including poor old Amycus) and play it by ear. Scabior had never needed a plan for seduction before.
"What? No! How are you able to do that?" Amycus asked, finally snapping out of his weird daze. He stared, impressed.
"Oh, I don't know, Am," Scabior said breezily. "Maybe on account of having an IQ higher than 10."
Amycus looked deeply hurt. Alecto snorted.
~~~(O.O)~~~
Meanwhile, miles away, Voldemort was wondering what was taking so long with the plan. He'd heard nothing from those who were meant to be involved, and Bellatrix had told him she hadn't heard anything either. Neither had Yaxley or Rodolphus.
"It's been two days," Voldemort said savagely to a cowering Wormtail. "Two days and not so much as a whisper from any of them! I want you to find that useless gutter-rat Scabior and ask him what he thinks he's been hired for! Lord Voldemort does not put up with timewasters, and time is of the essence."
He wanted to see this girl for himself and decide on the best course of action. The thought of the Order panicking over her disappearance made him smile until it almost hurt.
"Yes, my Lord," Wormtail said, bowing and scraping until he'd Disapparated. It wouldn't take long to find Scabior; he was bound to be in an inn or tavern somewhere, drinking most of his money away.
Cassie's relatively safe, if boring and uncertain days were coming to a rapid end.
A/NL: Wow, it's been well over two and a half years since I last updated this! I've had a long hiatus and finally finished this chapter tonight! Unfortunately now I'm a Masters student I doubt I'll have time to update more frequently, but I hope this is good for now!