“Ahh!” Draco clutched his left arm which was now burning with pain. He looked down at the dark mark now very clear, and giving him the sensation of having his skin seared off.
The Dark Lord was summoning him.
Draco snuck out of the castle to the apparition point, touched his wand to the dark mark, and was instantly transported to Lord Voldemort’s current location.
“Cruico!” said high pitched voice.
Draco fell to the ground screaming. Pain like he had never experienced in his life coursed though every part of his body; his very bones felt like they were on fire. His screams penetrated the dense fog hanging over the graveyard, where he was being punished by the Dark Lord. After what seemed like hours to Draco the pain lifted, but his body still ached. He lay there gasping for breath, unable to move.
“Now then Draco,” Lord Voldemort hissed. “I want you to tell me why you have not been following my orders.”
Gasping for breath, Draco tried to form an answer but he was too slow. Again the Dark Lord sent pain like none other through his body with the Cruciatus curse.
“What have we learned?” Voldemort asked in a hiss.
“I am sorry my Lord, forgive me for not answering swiftly enough.”
“You are lucky to have such a merciful master, now answer my question. Why have you been neglecting your orders?”
“I have not been neglecting your orders my Lord, Albus has -” but his explanation was interrupted. Once more Draco was screaming and writhing with pain on the cold earth.
“Do not lie to me!”
Again the curse lifted leaving Draco weakened and sore.
“Do you think that I have not searched your mind? Crucio!”
Draco was on the verge of losing consciousness.
“You have been neglecting my orders, to consort with a mudblood! You have turned traitor to your Lord!”
“No,” Draco managed as the curse was lifted once more. “No…Master, I swear…I haven’t. I am merely using her.”
“Ah, are you now?”
“Yes, my Lord. If -” Draco gasped as he stood up; his body was aching all over from the punishment he had received. “If I can get in close enough, I can slip something to Potter that will kill Albus Dumbledore. Potter has meetings with him.” Draco kept his gaze respectfully cast downward.
“So the mudblood is a means to an end?” Lord Voldemort asked.
“Yes, my Lord. As soon as I have fulfilled your orders, I will dispatch with that mudblood filth.” Draco stood and braced himself should Voldemort decide to curse him again.
“Very well, go. But do not fail me Draco, next time I will not be so merciful.”
Draco bowed and dissaperated back to the castle grounds. He slowly made his way up the sloping lawns to the oak front doors.
*~*~*~*~
“Hermione, where are you going?” Ron asked as Hermione got up from the table they were sitting at.
“It’s Draco’s night to patrol, remember? I’m going to go meet him.” She could not help but smile, she had her friend back and now she could work on getting Draco to notice her.
“Oh right, well hurry up because I need you to read over my potion’s essay, Slughorn is starting to turn into Snape when it comes to these.” He grimaced and continued working.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him, waved bye to Harry, and left the common room.
“You know,” Harry began. “I don’t think Hermione will like this plan that you are formulating.”
“What do you mean she won’t like it? It will get her Draco now won’t it?” Ron asked looking up from his essay.
“Yes, but not the way she wants to get him.”
“Look Harry, we can just tell her the plan, and if she doesn’t like it we will come up with another, ok? Lay off it for now.”
Harry shrugged and went back to his Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment.
*~*~*~*~
Hermione was half way down the marble stair case, intent on heading to the passageway that lead to the dungeons, when the oak doors of the entrance hall opened and Draco walked in looking as if he was about to pass out.
“Draco! What happened!?” Hermione ran down the rest of the stairs over to him to keep him from falling to the floor. “I need to take you to Madam Pomfrey.”
“No,” gasped Draco.
“But you need to go to the hospital wing! Madam Pomfrey can -”
“No, I need-” Draco could barely speak due to the after effects of the Cruciatus curse. “I need to go to the room of requirement.”
“The room of requirement? But-”
“Please, Hermione.”
“Ok, lean on me. I will take you there.” Hermione was both worried and troubled about what had happened to put Draco in this state.
When they were nearing the room of requirement, Draco could not remain conscious any longer and fainted.
“Ok, I need a room for Draco to rest that has potions to ease his pain.” Hermione concentrated on this thought as she walked three times past the apparently solid wall. On her third pass a door materialized; she stumbled a bit under Draco’s weight as she entered the room.
Inside the room were several beds like those in the hospital wing, and shelves of medical books and potions. She put Draco on the nearest bed and turned to face the shelves of potions.
‘I can’t help him if I don’t know what happened!’ Hermione was frantic with worry as she looked at Draco, who was very pale.
“Draco,” she said standing next to his bed. “Draco, you have to wake up and tell me what happened to you.” She shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him.
“Ennervate!” Hermione shouted, and pointed her wand at Draco’s chest. Draco’s eyelids fluttered.
‘Oh please, please let it work.’
“Draco?” Hermione said uncertainly. Draco answered with a groan.
“Draco! Oh thank goodness. Listen, you need to tell me what happened to you so I can help.”
Draco’s thoughts were a mess. He remembered the Dark Lord and his torture. He remembered Hermione and… ‘Hermione!’ He looked around, and there was Hermione standing next to him looking very worried. He realized he was in a bed and went pale at the thought that she really had taken him to the hospital wing.
“Hermione,” Draco was surprised at the weakness in his voice. “Where-”
“You said you didn’t want to go to see Madam Pomfrey, so we are in the room of requirement. There are all sorts of potions here, but I need you to tell me what happened so that I can help you.”
Draco wanted to hug Hermione, and would have if he wasn’t so weak. Madam Pomfrey would have noticed immediately that he had been tortured, and that would have led to awkward questions.
“Draco!” Hermione shouted. Draco’s eyes had begun to close again, and it looked like he was just going to go to sleep without telling her anything.
“I’ll be fine Hermione,” Draco managed in a strained voice.
“Draco what hap-” she stopped.
‘That…that cannot be what I think it is! That cannot.’
Hermione’s eyes were very wide, and her face had gone ghostly pale. Draco could not figure out why she had stopped so abruptly.
“Hermione,” he said tentatively.
Hermione turned her eyes to meet his. In that moment Draco knew. He glanced over, and sure enough his sleeve was pushed up far enough to expose the Dark Mark which was branded on his left arm. He turned back around, but instead of seeing the concerned face of Hermione, he met the tip of a wand. Hermione was on her feet with her wand pointed directly at his chest.