The Dark & the Middle

Chapter 19

Draco returned to the Manor a second before his bedroom door flew open. The bookshelf was still pushed away to reveal the house elf tunnel and Draco was certain he looked a bit of a mess, but the only thing he really seemed to register was the fact that his father looked absolutely livid. He didn't bother fixing his hair or trying to subtly move the bookshelf back in place. It wouldn't help and the bookshelf had been the first place his father looked when he had entered the room.

"Greyback said he heard you," his father said, staring at the open tunnel. "I swore you weren't that stupid but clearly I was wrong." The bookshelf slammed back into place as his father raised his wand at it and Draco refused to flinch. "I thought you were smarter than that, Draco," he hissed at him. "Do you care to explain yourself or are my assumptions correct?"

"What are your assumptions?" Draco asked. He doubted his father suspected him of bringing Granger or anyone else into the Manor, but he wanted to know for sure.

"You've always been ambitious, but when the Dark Lord forbids you from attending a meeting, you do not disobey!" his father yelled. He stepped further into Draco's room but Draco did not move. Stepping close enough Draco could feel his breath, his father hissed, "Greyback thinks you should be given to him, but you've been my son for long enough I know how to deal with you. I told him I would do it, but do you know what he told me?"

Draco kept his gaze straight ahead, not looking at his father and focusing on keeping his heart from beating out of his chest. He struggled to keep his breathing steady and wondered if he always swallowed so loudly.

"He says you brought someone with you," his father whispered angrily. "Someone he didn't know by scent and someone stupid enough to trip in the tunnel. Tell me this now, Draco, or I'll hand you to the Dark Lord myself: Who did you bring with you?"

"Blaise," Draco whispered after a pause. He kept his eyes on the door behind his father and willed himself not to look up at him. If he looked at his father, he worried that somehow he'd know it had been Granger and not Blaise in that tunnel with him.

His father hummed and took a single step back. Without warning, he grabbed Draco's face and forced him to meet his eyes. Draco barely had time to prepare before he felt a searing knife cut through his mind.

He'd always been a skilled Occlumens thanks to both Severus's and his mother's teachings, but for a second he struggled to fight his father. The searing through his mind only got worse and Draco hastened to think of Blaise. It had been years since he'd introduced Blaise to the house elf tunnels, but his father was angry and would not notice how young Blaise looked. He fell for the trick and after burning through memories of Draco and Blaise in the tunnels, he released his hold on Draco and withdrew from his mind.

"You're a foolish boy, Draco," he snarled. Without any remorse, he turned his wand on Draco and snarled angrily, "Crucio."

Draco gasped and his eyes went wide as the curse hit him in the chest. His knees wobbled as his body burned from the inside out and he felt his body shake. Stifling a cry of pain, he dropped to his knees and panted heavily. His head pounded from the earlier Legilimency assault and the sensation was only multiplied by the anger in the cruciatus curse that coursed through him. It didn't take long before he couldn't keep himself upright even on his knees and he fell forward, hardly able to catch himself with his hands as his body continued to convulse and he cried out in pain. This only seemed to make his father more upset as the pain increased to the point that Draco found himself dropping fully to the ground and rolling onto his back.

A shock of pain shot from his ribs to his hip but he wasn't sure if it was part of the crucio or not. He couldn't even think to check as his back arched off the ground and he felt fire in every part of his body. He clutched at the carpet for something to hold onto but came up empty handed and ended up digging his fingernails into his palms. His hands spasmed and his fingers twitched and somehow through the haze of pain, he registered Hermione's warning about the cruciatus curse. She'd be livid if she found out about this, he knew it.