Pride and Pretenses. (Dramione)

Chapter 30

With a sickening lurch, Hermione found herself in what she recognized as the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor.
This can't be happening.
If she had any doubts before, this certainly wiped them all out. Draco really did hate her. The thought made her want to cry, not out of fear, but frustration about her sheer stupidity. As if someone like him could actually be interested in her! Their relationship, Sophie, Narcissa – it was all part of his task, an elaborate plot to deliver her to Voldemort.
"Ah, Ms. Granger, we meet again."
Speak of the devil.
The DeathEater who held her captive roughly pushed Hermione forward. Voldemort reached a bony finger under her chin. Hermione tried hard not to flinch, glaring at the snake-like figure in front of her.
"My, my, my, such spirit," Voldemort hissed. "Not to worry, we'll break it soon enough." He laughed. "You remember our last encounter, don't you Mudblood? Did you enjoy it? Did you enjoy seeing the life drain from your boyfriend's eyes? Such a shame. He was such a good-looking boy. Don't know why he wasted it on the likes of you." Hermione's eyes flashed angrily. Voldemort continued. "But you always did want the ones you can't have; the ones who are too good for you. A little birdie told me you have quite the crush on the young Malfoy." Voldemort paused watching Hermione. "Yes, you may be blocking your mind from me Mudblood but I can see it all over your face." He laughed. "Did you honestly believe he would want you?" The DeathEaters laughed with him. "No," Voldemort continued. "Draco was merely following orders...my orders. Speaking of which, where is he? Step forward Draco."
With a deep breath, Draco willed his mask to stay on and walked out from behind the crowd to stand in front of Voldemort.
"Well done," Voldemort said. "You will be rewarded for your service."
"Thank you my Lord," Draco replied, giving a deep bow. He did his best to avoid Hermione's eyes, knowing that one look would cause his resolve to break. Keeping Voldemort's trust was the only way to save her now.
Voldemort turned his attention back to the crowd and Draco stepped back. "Now that we have the mudblood here, Potter will surely come and we can finally finish what we started!"
The crowd cheered.
"But I don't see why we have to wait for Potter to have some fun," Voldemort continued. "Crucio!" He shouted, pointing his wand at Hermione. Hermione fell from her captor's grasp, writhing in pain on the floor. Draco had to give everything to stop himself from throwing his body on top of hers to protect her from the curse. His knuckles went white as he clenched his fists by his side.
After moment, Voldemort lifted the spell. "Well, this is no fun, I want to hear her scream!" He laughed evilly, lifting the silencing spell from Hermione. Soon, the sounds of her heavy breathing filled the room.
Hermione looked up from the floor. "You're wrong," she said to Voldemort. "Harry will never come for me. Thanks to your servant," she sneered, looking over at Draco. "Harry hates me."
Voldemort laughed darkly. "We'll see mudblood," he replied. "Potter has always been the...emotional type. No doubt he already has his broom in his hand. In the meantime, why don't we make you more useful, hmm? Whether or not he hates you now, you no doubt know what he and Dumbledore are planning with their precious Order."
Hermione remained silent, glaring up at Voldemort.
"No?" Voldemort asked. "Pity. Crucio!"
Hermione gasped as the agonizing pain of the curse took hold of her once more. Still, she refused to make a sound.
"Come now, Ms. Granger," Voldemort said as he lifted the curse. "You know how this game works. You give me an answer and I'll give you a reprieve. What are they planning?"
"I don't know."
"Crucio!"
After a few moments, Voldemort stopped once more. "I commend your strength Ms. Granger but really, it's unnecessary. If, as you say, Potter hates you, then there's no point in protecting him, is there?" Voldemort continued, his voice sickly sweet. "All you have to do is say a few words and I can make the pain stop."
"They don't tell me anything."
"Crucio!"
Hermione couldn't take it anymore. Her body could only handle so much. She screamed as her nerves felt like they were on fire and she was being sliced into pieces at the same time. Tears streamed down her face as she tried desperately to escape the pain.
Draco couldn't handle it. He felt like he was stabbed every time Voldemort cursed Hermione. As the DeathEaters cheered around him, he wanted nothing more than to push them all aside and take Hermione far away from here. Watching her writhe in pain and hearing her scream was the worst possible torture for him. And it was all his fault.
Think Draco! Think! Damn it, he had to do something!
Hermione's screams stopped.
"I don't take well to lies, mudblood," Voldemort hissed. "I know Potter tells you everything. Tell. Me. What. They're. Planning."
"I'd rather die."
"Crucio!"
Draco was ready this time. As the DeathEaters cheered once more, he concentrated with all of his might on casting a non-verbal Stupefy,knocking Hermione out cold.
"What a shame," Voldemort muttered when he thought Hermione fainted. "Oh well," he said in a brighter tone. "We shall continue when she wakes. Bring her to the dungeons."
"I'm surprised she even lasted this long," Bellatrix cackled.
"Yes, well, I don't know about the rest of you but I'm exhausted," Voldemort said. "Too much entertainment for one night," he said with a sinister smile. "What say we all retire for the night?"
With that, everyone made their way out of the entrance hall.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Harry was awakened by a sharp pain in his forehead. Voldemort.
Suddenly, a bright light zoomed towards him, illuminating the dorm room.
"Fawkes!" Harry exclaimed when the phoenix landed on his shoulder. "What's going on?"
Fawkes tilted his head, signalling Harry to follow him. The phoenix flew out of the room, Harry following close behind.
"What's happening Professor?" Harry asked once he entered Dumbledore's office.
"Harry – "
"What the hell is he doing here?!" Harry yelled, when he noticed another person in the room. "He's a DeathEater! He – "
"I know," Dumbledore replied stunning Harry into silence. He didn't expect Dumbledore to believe him just like that. "I know much more than just your word Harry," Dumbledore added guessing what was on the boy's mind. "Now, I need you to sit down and promise me that you will listen."
"I'm listen – "
"Harry." Dumbledore looked gravely into Harry's eyes. There was no twinkle in them now.
Dumbledore's seriousness made Harry sit in front of Dumbledore's desk, glaring at Draco beside him.
Once Harry was seated, Dumbledore continued. "Ms. Granger has been captured by Voldemort."
That set Harry off again. "What did you do to her?!" he screamed, his wand aimed at Draco's chest. Draco didn't even flinch. Harry pulled Draco up by his shirt. "If something happens to her I swear I – "
"Let him go Harry," Dumbledore said calmly. He knew it was going to be difficult but he hoped the boy wouldn't be impossible.
With a glare, Harry reluctantly let Draco go. Draco just sat back down, a forlorn expression on his face.
"We will tell you everything but you have to listen. It is of the utmost importance, for Hermione's sake, that you pay attention to everything we say and not let your emotions or your judgements get the better of you. Knowledge is power Harry. You cannot hope to defeat Voldemort and save Ms. Granger without knowing all the facts."
oOoOoOoOoOo
"Ennervate."
Hermione woke up dazed and disoriented. The cold, hard floor beneath her quickly reminded her of her predicament. She was about to scream when a hand clamped over her mouth.
"Sshh," a soft voice warned.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw a flash of blonde hair. She turned around to find herself face to face with Narcissa. When their eyes met, Narcissa let go of her mouth and Hermione immediately backed away from her, much to her dismay.
"What do you want?" Hermione asked. Though she was whispering, Narcissa didn't miss the hostile undertone in her voice.
"I'm here to help you," Narcissa replied, reaching to comfort the young girl. Hermione flinched and moved further away."
"Don't touch me," Hermione said. "You and your family make me sick. To think I trusted you!"
Narcissa looked at her sadly. Hermione looked so broken. There were bruises on her face and around her wrists and she could barely hold herself up from exhaustion. Narcissa couldn't bear the thought of the incredible girl in front of her being in so much pain. She had grown to love the girl who gave her son his life back. Hermione was pretty much another daughter to her. Now, Hermione hated them, felt betrayed by them – and rightly so – but it still hurt to see.
"I wish I could explain everything but now is not the time," Narcissa said, pleading with her eyes.
"Why should I believe you?" Hermione shot back. She could feel tears start to burn behind her eyes. She didn't want to cry, she didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing her breakdown. But seeing Narcissa like this, it hurt. She looked like she genuinely cared for her and Hermione wanted nothing more than to throw herself in the woman's arms. She was so scared. But her son was the reason Hermione was here in the first place. This was probably just another way to get into her head.
"There's nothing I can do to make you believe me," Narcissa said sadly. "But I want you to know that we didn't mean for this to happen. I would never willingly put you in harm's way. Draco – "
Hermione winced at the sound of his name. Narcissa continued.
"Draco is sick with worry for you. If he could do it by himself, if he only had the power to bring down – " Narcissa shook her head, seemingly remembering where she was.
"Well if you're so worried, why not help me get out of here?" Hermione knew she sounded petulant but she needed to know where they stood.
Narcissa shook her head once more. "I can't help you with that."
Hermione's face fell.
"I'm so sorry," Narcissa said. "I would gladly get you out of here but the Dark Lord has locked onto your magical signature. After last time, he didn't want to take any chances. If you so much as move to a different room he'll know, much less if you attempt to escape. I'm afraid your only hope now is for Harry Potter to come and save us all."
"Why are you here then?"
"Oh," Narcissa exclaimed, remembering her purpose. "I came to bring you some food." She pulled out some bread with cheese and a water bottle.
Hermione looked at the food warily.
"The Dark Lord will not let up until he gets what he wants," Narcissa stated. "You will need your strength to buy you some time."
"Please Hermione," Narcissa pleaded when Hermione refused to move. "I know you'll never forgive yourself if you gave the Dark Lord the information he wants simply because you were too weak to fight him off. For your sake, I'm not going to let that happen. If you're not going to do it for yourself, then please do it for Harry."
Narcissa was right. The thought of Harry made Hermione slowly reach for the food. As soon as she put a piece of bread to her mouth, Hermione realized how hungry and weak she was. As she ate with shaking hands, Hermione looked up to find Narcissa watching her with tears flowing down her beautiful, but heartbroken face. When their eyes met, an understanding passed between them. The bread dropped to the floor as Hermione collapsed into Narcissa's waiting arms.
"It's alright," Narcissa soothed, holding the shaking girl in her arms. "It's going to be alright. Everything will be alright."
oOoOoOoOoOo
"Why should I believe him?" Harry asked once Dumbledore had finished explaining everything. "With all due respect Professor, how do we know he's not feeding us lies for Voldemort? For all we know, even his so-called sister is made up. You're telling me that Lucius Malfoy has a daughter he doesn't know about? He could've transfigured a hinkypunk!"
Dumbledore winced when he looked over at Draco. "Harry, Draco is telling the truth. I could even bring Sophie in here to show you – "
"No." Draco's firm voice stopped Dumbledore and caused both of them to look at him. Draco had been silent throughout the whole ordeal so Harry was shocked to hear his voice.
"Draco," Dumbledore began.
"No," Draco insisted once more. He turned to Harry. "You can say whatever you want about me Potter but I will not let you drag my sister into this." He looked over at Dumbledore. "I'm sorry Professor, but I will not subject my sister to this runaround. Hermione is in trouble and I don't have time to sit here and debate my character. I thought you could help me, that Potter was the key or something ridiculous like that. Clearly, I was wrong." Draco stood up and walked towards the door. Just before leaving, Draco turned back to Dumbledore. "Professor, when the time comes, I trust that you'll tell Hermione everything." After a moment he added, "And Potter, I don't know why, but she loves you with all her heart. She only ever thought of what's best for you. You're a jerk for treating her the way you did."
Harry stood there stunned. As Draco stepped out the door, Harry finally found his voice.
"Malfoy, wait!"