Consumed | Hermione x Draco

Ancient Magic

We are starting with working on my Occlumency. Father explained how Narcissa helped him during the first war. By using an aggressive Legilimency tactic his Ancient Magic took over and shielded his mind. Since then continued keeping on top of his own Occlumency shield, protecting his mind fully and even in his sleep.

That is why I find myself in the dungeon of Malfoy Manor, the one where I was kept before I became a Death Eater. The cage is still in the corner and if I look closely I can see the scratch marks I made and remnants of blood soaked into the floor. What I didn't see the last time I was here, was the torture chair. A big chair is set into the foundation of the Manor.

"Sit," Father orders and starts warding the room, along with Lucius.

I do as I am told and with a wave of her wand Narcissa conjures thick and strong chains, going across my forehead, chest, wrists and ankles. She also waves a diagnostic above me, to keep track of my mind and magic levels.

I can feel the weight of the wards on the room, there are a lot, I also know that Father and Lucius added triggers on the way towards the dungeon. As soon as someone walks towards here, they will know.

I can only watch as they place candles around the room, the candles are infused with herbs and spells for protection, purity and health. Old rituals often used them and luckily the Malfoys had a lot of them stored.

"Are you ready, dove?" Narcissa kneels in front of me and is staring up.

I try to nod, but I can't move my head for an inch. "Yeah," I murmur.

Seeing as Father didn't want to give away a lot of details, I figure it's going to hurt a lot. She will use a lot of force to go through my mind, hoping that my magic will take over and protect me. Father and Lucius are also extremely well practiced in the skills of Legilimency and if they need they will also enter my mind.

"Are you scared?" she asks.

At this both men still their wands and await my answer. "No, just nervous. I know why we do this, it's a Necessary Evil once again."

She strokes my cheek and before I can relish the feeling of soft motherly hands on my face, she dives into my mind. My body convulses for a moment as the sharp pain takes over in my mind. I scramble to order my memories and keep certain ones away from her. She's rough when going through them, it almost feels like she's pushing through them. I try not to get lost in them as she continues, short moments from the last few years flash by. It was already discussed that I would try to hide memories with Draco away from her, seeing as they are important to me and I don't want her to see them. That is enough motivation.

I visualize building walls as I push the memories further and further away. She easily tears through them, and I have to go faster. Wall after wall is created, making a manor inside my mind, hallways filled with doors and behind every door a memory, but keeping the most important ones close. It takes her longer to close in on me, having to go through all the doors and rooms.

She's like a knife, easily cutting through it all and I slow down in building, the mental power taking its toll on me. I push through, imagining higher walls, thicker walls, adding iron on them and making them stronger.

Suddenly she pulls back and out of my mind. I tremble and feel all the newly built walls collapse, leaving me with a destroyed manor in my mind.

My body is convulsing as I regain consciousness, I'm gasping for air and Father is in front of me, I can feel his magic on my head trying to soothe the burning pain.

"You're all right," he mutters under his breath. "You can do this."

I blink open my eyes, but my vision is spotted with darkness. It takes what feels like an hour to come back to my body, having normal breathing again and no more impaired vision. Every muscle in my body aches and I can taste blood.