Bonded by Evil [COMPLETED STORY]

chapter twenty nine

Last day at Malfoy Manor
Alora Slater POV

Today was the last day at the Manor, there was one more meeting before Draco and I had to head back to Hogwarts. I had never been so excited to go back to school, this week was hell. Bellatrix had used the Cruciatus Curse on me two more times because I refused to kill a bunch of people. I shouldn't have to kill a person to prove my loyalty, it will never make sense to me.

The table was silent except for the occasional shuffle. The Dark Lord would be here any moment, the sight of him made me sick. I fiddled with my hands nervously under the table, just waiting to be reprimanded again. I was not off to an exceptional start.

Suddenly, the familiar yet still terrifying cloud of black smoke appeared right behind the chair at the head of the table. The pale, snake-like man took his seat and we all greeted him quickly and quietly. He waved a bony hand and everyone at the table fell completely silent once again.

   "Our two young ones are heading back to school tomorrow, we won't be formally meeting again until summer. Draco, update us, please."

   "It should be ready soon, my Lord. I will spend all of my free time on it."

   "That's what I wanted to hear. And... Alora, I think we need to have a conversation about what you'll be doing."

   "Of course."

   "You have a very... specific... skill set, a way with words. Your information from the Ministry proved useful despite many preconceptions... it's a shame Yaxley was so impatient."

   "I understand."

   "You will be leaving Hogwarts more frequently from now on. Whenever a task comes up, you'll be joining whoever is taking charge. I would see this as an honour, not many are in such high demand. I assume it's because of your blatant ignorance which is mistaken for confidence."

   "It is an honour, my Lord."

"I advise you... practice... in your spare time."

"I will."

"I'll let Severus know, since he'll be the one escorting you wherever you need to be."

Once He moved on to something else, I tuned out the rest of the meeting and sat frozen in my seat. How was I going to come up with a good reason why I had to leave so often? All of my friends would certainly figure it out, they weren't stupid. They were put in Slytherin for a reason, they'll know something is off in no time. Cunning bastards.

   The bigger question was: why was I in high demand, and who wanted to work with me? I would have thought that everyone would want to avoid me... unless they all wanted to hurt me. That must be it, they all know I refuse to kill and disobedience means they can torture me.

Finally, we were dismissed and I got out of there as fast as possible. I just wanted to go back to school, hopefully nothing would happen until summer. How was I supposed to come up with enough excuses when I've never had to leave before? I would get so behind in classes, hopefully these wouldn't be weekly things.

   I practically ran down the corridor to the guest room I was staying in. My things were already packed and Professor Snape was coming to pick up Draco and I in a few hours... when classes would be over. Just a few more hours until I could get back to normal, or at least as normal as possible. I closed the door firmly behind me and slid down to the floor against it.
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   There was a hard knock on the door while I was reading my Potions textbook, Snape would kill me if I fell behind in any of my classes. I had a lot of free time this week, so I managed to even get ahead in my classes. I closed the book and opened the door to find Draco standing in the doorway.

   "Professor Snape is downstairs waiting for us, are you ready?"

   "Oh, yeah."

   I stuffed my textbook into the bag that was laying on the floor next to the bed and slung it over my shoulder. Draco lead me down the stairs and his parents were waiting with Snape by the front door.

   "Thank you again for letting my stay here all week," I said to his mother and father.

   They nodded and his mother smiled at me before Snape stepped forward and spoke up.

   "We need to get you two back, let's go."

   Draco and I each grabbed one of his arms and instantly we were back in Hogsmeade. It was so nice to see this place again, it wasn't busy but there were a few people mingling about. Snape grabbed both of our necks and shoved us forward towards the exit of the village. I walked quickly as to not piss off Snape any further.

After a five or so minute walk we reached the castle grounds. As I was about to walk to the door, someone grabbed my arm and spun me around quickly. It was Snape, he also was holding Draco by the wrist... so it wasn't just me he was mad at.

"The two of you will go directly to the common room, nowhere else. Do not let anyone know the real reason you were gone, do you understand?"

"Like I would want anyone to know," I mumbled under my breath.

"I'm glad to see the discipline is working on your attitude, Slater," Snape scoffed.

"Sorry," I winced as he grabbed my arm harder.

"I'll make sure she doesn't say anything, Professor," Draco said calmly.

"The hell you will, stay away from me."

I ripped my arm from Snape's grasp and pulled the castle door open. The corridor was basically empty, just a few young Gryffindors were lingering about. I kept my head down and sped to the common room, I just wanted to see my bed. Hopefully Pansy and Daphne weren't exceptionally annoying tonight. I heard Draco walking behind me, trying to keep up.

"Pure blood."