Reversing the Cruciatus

eight

Knock.. Knock.. Knock

I looked at Tori, who looked at Draco who looked at the blank space next to him.  We all good there like a cliché, but then he got up and went to the door. 

"Hello, Malfoy, I've been sent by the Dark Lord to check on you as he noticed your absence from today's meeting."  Bill, I thought.  

"Whatever."

"Well,"  he said, looking around, "Your place seems okay.  Hey, Greengrss, what are you doing here?"

"Last time I checked, you weren't my parole auror."  She said, and I laughed.  

Bill immediately turned to look at me.  "Who's this?" he asked, inspecting me. 

"This is my friend, and he's visiting, err- so that's - um why I wasn't at the meeting?"  Draco lied.  For a slytherin, he was awful at making stuff up on the spot.  

"Really?  Why is he visiting?"

"Err- well he's-"

"He's my foreign boyfriend."

"Mm-hmm.  Mm-hmm.  Okay."

"What? Do you not believe me?"  She said, glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

"No.  I don't trust you.  But, all will be overlooked if I can see Draco's mudblood, and if he comes with me to the Dark Lord."

"I don't think-"  Tori began, but Draco cut in. 

"Sure.  In fact, Draco will take you to her." 

After they'd left, I stared at Astoria.  "What?"  she snapped.  

"Your boyfriend?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, would you've preferred for me to've introduced you as Draco's boyfriend?"  I stared at her.  "Exactly."

"You're really smart."

"It's called being a Slytherin.  Nothing you'd know about."

"I'm sorry?"  I said, but it was more of a question. 

"What for?"

"I thought you were mad at me."

"Nope.  Most Slytherins are like this.  We don't let people in, you know.  We keep behind closed doors."

"Oh."

"You Gryffindors probably have like a big board in the shape of a heart which you put your biggest secrets on, hanging up in the common room."

"We don't, but we're they're for each other, we care for each other."

"Slytherins do to.  We just don't show it as well."  

We sat in a broken silence, with odd bits of conversation.  

For most, it'd be awkward, but for me?  It was comforting.  

---

Meanwhile, Bill and Draco were walking down, to the basement.  

The first thing Bill saw, after seeing Hermione asleep in the cage, was a book. 

"Why  does the mudblood have a book?"  He said, his loud voice waking her up and scaring her.  

"She wouldn't stop biting."  Draco said, and after Hermione had noticed that he was here, she calmed down.  

"I don't believe you.  The only way you can prove to me that you are not plotting with it,"  He said, stressing that word, making Draco want to slap him, "is to use the cruciatus."

"I-"  Draco evaluated his choices.  He could either torture Hermione, or give himself up.  He was leaning towards the latter when he realised that if he was killed by the Dark Lord, he wouldn't be able to take him down.  

I don't know how I'm going to forgive myself, He thought, as he said, "Crucio."  

The curse was weak, because Draco didn't mean it.  

Hermione screamed, because of her weak condition. 

Bill was frowning, because he thought Draco had some sort of relationship with Hermione, if not Romantic, then friendly.  

Astoria didn't flinch from the scream that echoed up to where we were, but I could sense that she was disturbed, because she lightly shut her eyes, for a minute. 

I was wondering who had cast the curse, because I needed to know everything.

And Draco was trying his hardest not to cry, because what he'd heard was the worst torture you could have put him through.

---

After a few minutes, Bill apparated away with Draco. 

I went to the basement to check on Hermione, who was crying. 

"Hey."  I said. 

"Harry." She said.  "You're Harry Potter.  I read about you in a book."

Harry nearly said, Well, where else would you expect to read about me?  On my forehead?, but he ignored his sassy side and said, "It's good you're remembering things.  It is going to make you really strong, and then we can destroy whoever wants to hurt you."

"Is Draco mad at me?"

"Why are you asking?"

"He came his with a ginger man, and then shot a light at me, which hurt.  I thought he loved me, why did he hurt me if he loved me?"  Her lower lip trembled. 

"Hey, don't cry.  That ginger man was evil, and he would've probably hurt you worse if Draco hadn't done that, and he would've taken you away, so Draco was protecting you."

"Promise?"

"Promise." 

---

"You and Granger are close?"  Astoria asked. 

"Yeah."

"Romantically?"

"No,  Hermione's like my sister!"  I said. 

"Okay, calm down.  It's jut that you two were a little too chummy."

"We weren't.  I'm like that with most of my friends.  Aren't you?"

Astoria was silent.

---

"Yessss." Voldemort said.  "Bring him in, and we'll see if he deserves to live.  Bring me Veritaserum."  

"Yes my Lord." Bill said. 

Voldemort smiled.  If Draco was a traitor, he'd have the pleasure of making another horcrux tonight.