Draco Malfoy, Broken

Chapter 8 - Battle of Hogwarts

Battle of Hogwarts - 4 months ago

Draco had been roused out of bed by a grumpy Slughorn. "Everyone upstairs! We need to go to the Great Hall."

He had felt the burn... the lasting burn of his Mark not that long ago. It still throbbed in uncontrollable spasms. Why Voldemort's followers willingly let themselves take a Protean Charm, Draco would never know. Potter was here. He felt it. He might have had some doubts, but now that Slughorn was shouting through their house to get up, it was certain.

Draco stiffly got out of bed. He was still recovering from his excessively long and painful Easter Break. After Potter escaped, Voldemort arrived and struck them all down with Cruciatus Curses. Thankfully, no one knew of his involvement, but he did not escape the mass punishment. It was weeks before he was allowed to return to school. He had to take his mother's wand... there was no way that she would let him go to school unprotected. Lucius had taken the wand that Potter had left behind and Bellatrix had taken Granger's. Draco felt some sort of amusement in that fact.

Goyle and Crabbe were up and dressed before him.

"Are you ready, yet?" Crabbe growled. Their patience with him was thin. The Carrows' opinions of him had rubbed off on them. He hated the two vicious Death Eaters and they knew how close he was to being killed off.

"Nearly," he mumbled.

He was underweight and weak from Voldemort's curses. He needed them to protect him. He was damn near hexed every day from the Carrows or one of Neville's Army. He smiled thinking of how insane the thought would have been, even last year, that Neville 'the Squib' Longbottom had a gang... and they listened to him. Of course, Ginny and Luna had helped him at first, but he was running it, now. The Carrows had failed to capture him before he disappeared into the Room of Hidden Things. Draco might have offered a few pointers in how to get in there, but the Carrows could go fuck themselves on each other's wands.

"Come on," Goyle grunted, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him out the door. He hadn't laced his boots, yet.

"I'm coming!" Draco spat indignantly.

"Something's not right..." Crabbe muttered. "Did he call us?"

Draco tried not to smile. Neither Crabbe nor Goyle had Marks, though they were coming. The Carrows kept promising them. They had to rely on Draco to tell them news.

"No," he said, but Goyle grabbed his arm and he yelped.

"It's still warm! Alecto said it would stay warm!" Goyle said and grabbed Draco by the front of his shirt, lifting him off the ground. "You lied to us!"

"Coward! You're taking the chicken's way out!" Crabbe said, pulling out his wand.

"No... I... he wants us to stay here. They are coming here is what I meant! We have to stay here," Draco said, lying through his teeth, hoping they'd believe him.

"I don't know," Crabbe said looking at Goyle. It was weird that they were thinking.

They heard loud clanking and footsteps. The statues were coming to life and walking toward the entrance hall.

"See? The attack is here!" Draco said, thanking his good luck.

"Right," Goyle said, lowering him to the ground.

"What does he want us to do?" Crabbe said, clearly unaware how limited communication over the Mark was. He could only feel his master's whims.

"Just that the attack is forming and don't leave," Draco said, trying to sound confident.