Interstellar || Draco Malfoy

42 || Scars

After two excruciating weeks of being held in the Malfoy's cellar, Draco had finally been allowed to visit me.

"Mona?" Draco called, appearing in the doorway beside his aunt Bellatrix.

"Draco." I breathed, wincing at the sound of my broken voice. I couldn't tell if it was from the lack of sleep, or the lack of water.

"You said you were taking care of her!" Draco hissed, turning to glare harshly at his aunt.

"I am taking care of her." Bellatrix pressed. "She eats once a day, and she gets water when she deserves it."

"More like she spills it before it gets to me." I rasped, offering Draco a soft smirk.

"That is exactly why you won't be getting water today." Bellatrix snarled.

"Accio goblet." Draco summoned a water goblet and filled it with water before handing it to me. "Drink, love."

I gulped down the water greedily, holding out the empty goblet twice for more water before I handed the goblet back to Draco.

"Thank you." I whispered, looking down at my shoes. Draco grabbed my hands gently through the barred door, running the pads of his thumbs across my knuckles. "Are you preparing and figuring out a way to mend the cabinet?"

"Yes," Draco nodded, giving my hands a squeeze. "I know a few spells that can help me."

"And what about Dumbeldore?" I asked, shying away from Bellatrix's harsh glare.

"I have a few things I'm working on." Draco nodded.

"Good, good." I nodded, squeezing his hands in mine. "Make sure to follow through, Draco, please."

"I will, Mona." Draco said, dropping my hands and gently taking my face in his hands. "I promise, Mona, I will keep you alive."

"That'll do, Draco." Bellatrix said stiffly. "Why don't you run off upstairs?"

"But, I-" Draco started to protest.

"Now!" Bellatrix shouted, pointing up the stairs.

"Go." I whispered. Draco nodded, looking into my eyes for another moment before he turned and made his way upstairs. Bellatrix waited until Draco was gone before she slipped into the cellar with a twisted smile painted on her face.

"Tell me, Desdemona." Bellatrix sneered, beginning to stalk toward my retreating figure. "Do you think you are good enough for Draco?"

"I-I-" I stuttered, feeling my back make contact with a wall.

"You filthy half-blood!" Bellatrix yelled, making me wince. "Trying to turn Draco against his family by making him care for those less than him."

"I-it was never my intenti-" I was swiftly cut off by Bellatrix's left hand making contact with my right cheek.

"You never intended to make Draco feel anything other than hatred for half-bloods like yourself?" Bellatrix questioned, casting a stunning spell at me. I crumpled to the floor, trying to scoot away from Bellatrix's fast approaching frame. "And, what about Cissy? Allowing my dear sister to buy you things, knowing your blood is filthy."

I shook my head, trying to reason with the unhinged woman before me. I tried to shuffle away faster when I saw the knife in her hand.

"Maybe this will teach you." She hissed, grabbing the back of my neck and holding me still. The blade dug unforgivingly into my right cheek, and while I tried my best to keep quiet, I screamed out in pain. After what felt like hours of pain, Bellatrix dropped me to the cellar floor and smirked sinisterly down at me.

"That ought to keep you in your place, mudblood."

========

I hadn't seen Draco for the rest of the summer holiday, but once my father caught wind of me being held in the Malfoy's cellar, he came to see me. He had come rushing down the stairs in a blur of black fabric, and pulled me ever so gently into his arms. He took care to avoid touching my right cheek and my back, where two freshly carved words were embedded in my skin. Unfortunately, both wounds would scar and leave the imprint of the word "mudblood" behind.

My father held me in silence for a few minutes before kissing my forehead and disappearing back up the stairs. I heard him speaking to Voldemort about me, almost pleading with the Dark Lord about me. But quickly, my father was reminded of who was in charge, and was told not to bring it up again.

Today would have been the start of my sixth term at Hogwarts, but instead of being there with Draco, he would arrive alone. He would, no doubt, lash out uncontrollably under the pressure of being selected to do the Dark Lord's dirty work. I could only hope that he would stick with Goyle and Blaise, as I heard rumor that Crabbe and his family had left the country to escape Voldemort and his reach.

After months of being tortured by both Bellatrix and Voldemort, my father managed to sneak into the manor and down into the cellar. He told me that Draco and Harry Potter got into a sort of duel in the school bathroom, and that Draco had been seriously injured. He reassured me that Draco was going to be okay, and to keep vigilant in the next few weeks; because Draco was taking a bit longer than the Death Eaters had hoped, Voldemort was getting frustrated, and would no doubt take it out on me.

After my father left, I was tortured with great force by Voldemort himself, him carving the word "filth" deep into my left forearm. He collected a few drops of my blood on a piece of parchment, and used it to write a letter to Draco, warning him to hurry up with his tasks. After that, I'd been starved, beaten, and dehydrated daily, only to be nursed back to stability before I could die. And the cycle would start over.

Finally, the night came when the Death Eaters were able to infiltrate Hogwarts. I thought that I would finally get a break from the abuse I'd endured, but I was wrong. A Death Eater I didn't recognize came down to the cellar to collect me, dragging me up the stairs and tossing me haphazardly into Bellatrix's awaiting arms.

"Thank you." Bellatrix shrilled, pulling me into the fireplace in the dining room. She grabbed a handful of floo powder and used the Floo Network to transport us to Knockturn Alley. There, Bellatrix met up with a group of Death Eaters at Borgin and Burkes, where she dragged me along with her through one of the vanishing cabinets.

Bellatrix dragged me out of the second vanishing cabinet, weaving through the piles of objects until we were in the hallway outside of the Room of Requirement, Bellatrix led the group of Death Eaters up to the Astronomy Tower.

"If I don't kill you, he'll kill her." I heard Draco cry as Bellatrix shoved me to the floor at Draco's feet.

"What are you waiting for?" Bellatrix questioned, ripping me off of the floor and pressing her wand to my throat. "Do it."

"He doesn't have the stomach for it!" A Death Eater commented. "Just like his father!"

"Enough." My father's voice sounded, appearing behind Draco. He stepped in front of Draco, raising his own wand and pointing it at Dumbledore.

"Severus," Dumbledore rasped. "Please."

In an instant, my father shot the killing curse at the Headmaster, sending his body hurtling to the ground. The group of Death Eaters went into a frenzy, racing from the Astronomy Tower to cause mischief about the school. Bellatrix shoved me into the arms of another Death Eater, who dragged me away before Draco could lower his own wand.

Within seconds, I was dragged through the castle and out to the Forbidden Forest. There, the Death Eater holding me disapparated back to the Malfoy Manor, and dropped me roughly at Narcissa Malfoy's feet. I felt her gentle touch as she pulled me into her arms, and then I fell unconscious.