Resist It
Amira had worried that things would be awkward between the two of them the next day, but Draco acted as if nothing had changed. For Amira, everything had changed. Now, another person knew what had happened to her. Her friend, her only friend, knew all of the disgusting and horrible things that she had gone through. Somehow, he still wanted to be friends with her. Amira didn't understand it, but she had been too tired to argue yesterday.
She was wary about the amount of trust she was showing him. She’d never had someone show her kindness before, and she knew that it could be a trick. She was on the lookout for it, but Amira thought that Draco was being genuine. Or at least she hoped.
Today, when she'd joined him in the library, he'd announced that they needed to do something new.
"The Dark Lord commanded you to teach me," he said, "We need to get started on that."
"Ok," she said shyly, "I don't really know how to teach you."
"Ok," he said. "First, I've got to figure out wandless magic."
"Yes, I guess that's the starting place," she said.
"So what should I do?" he asked, looking at her eagerly. She thought about it.
"Well, I just extend my hand," she said and demonstrated. He copied her. "And then..."
She tried to find the words to articulate how she used magic. "Well, I don't know how to use a wand, so I don't know how to explain the difference."
"Just try your best," he pushed. She could feel his urgency. She had missed dinner last night, and wondered if the Dark Lord had said something about it.
"I guess, just find where your magic is, and pull from it, and send it out of your hand into whatever you want to do," she tried. She knew it was weak. For his credit, Draco did try. He looked very concentrated. His brow furrowed and his jaw was taut. He had a very sharp jawline, Amira observed. It fit very nicely with the rest of his features.
"I don't feel anything, how do I find my magic?" he asked. To Amira, it was easy. It ran through her veins.
"Um," she said, "Maybe use your wand to do... a lumos or something... and then trace it back and see where the pull is coming from."
"Good thinking," he said and pulled out his wand. He did a good and strong lumos. Amira watched him intently. "I feel something."
"Good!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's warm," he said and then canceled the spell. Then he frowned. "But it's gone now."
He cast the spell on and off for a few minutes. Amira wanted to help more but she didn't know what to say.
"It's there, and strong when the spell is going, and I can trace it all of the way back to my core if I concentrate," he finally said, "But as soon as I stop, it's gone again, and I can't replicate it."
Then the library door swung open. Narcissa walked in.
"Mother?" Draco asked.
"The Dark Lord wants the two of you," she said.
"We don't have lessons for another few hours," Draco said in confusion.
"He doesn't want lessons," she said. Her voice was tight and Amira wondered what the problem was. "He wants to mark you."
Silence boomed through the room.
Draco spoke first, "Isn't there normally a ceremony? At night?"
His voice was quiet and steady, but betrayed his feelings of apprehension.
"Yes," she said, "He would prefer to get this done quickly, and keep it a secret."
Amira could tell that the Malfoy Lady was extremely against it, but she was powerless to stop it.
"Alright," Draco said. His face was paler than usual. "We should go."
The three of them filed out of the room. They were silent and serious as they went downstairs to the Dark Lord's study. When they entered, Amira resisted flinching at how cold and painful the magic there was. It was always unbearable to be in this small of a room with the Dark Lord.
The seats in front of his desk were empty, and the Dark Lord ushered Draco and Amira to take them. Lucius, Narcissa, and Bellatrix were lined up on the walls.
"You will be marked now," the Dark Lord said without fanfare, "It is too risky to wait any longer. We will be forgoing the ceremony of the first kill, we will do that at a later date when both of your allegiances to me are made more public."
Amira felt Draco let out a slight breath beside her. She hadn't even known that killing was required to take the mark.
"Draco will go first," the Dark Lord said, and stood, "Come."
Draco stood and met him at the side of the desk. The Dark Lord grasped his forearm and pushed up his sleeve. He placed the tip of his wand to the pale skin. Draco took a breath. Amira watched nervously.
"Do you pledge yourself my servant?" the Dark Lord asked him.
"Yes my lord," Draco answered. Amira was endlessly impressed with his ability to play the act of an eager young Death Eater.
"Your life is mine," the Dark Lord said. His wand began glowing a sickly green. Darkness spread out from the tip. Amira could see Draco squeezing his fist and clenching his jaw. He grunted after a moment. Sweat dripped down his face and neck. The Dark Lord looked on greedily, apparently pleased by his obvious pain.
Finally it was over, and the Dark Lord released his arm. Draco let out a heavy breath and swayed but stayed standing.
"Your son is strong," the Dark Lord said to Lucius. Lucius nodded proudly.
"I knew he wouldn't scream," Bellatrix cooed with pride. Draco retook his seat with a little less grace than he normally carried. He was holding his wrist casually, which let Amira know that it was still hurting quite badly.
"Amira," the Dark Lord purred. Amira wanted to run. Instead, she stood and walked to him.
"Do you pledge yourself my servant?" the Dark Lord asked her. She looked at him but didn't speak. She would not say yes. He had her, but it was not by choice, and they both knew it. He had never expected an act from her, and she wasn't going to start now. He smiled crazily.
"You are mine dear," he said as his wand started to glow. White hot fire radiated through her arm and Amira bit her tongue. She didn't look down, and instead met his red eyes as the pain raced up her arm. The Dark Lord glanced down and his smile dropped. Amira glanced down to see that none of the black ink was sticking on her arm. It was sliding off, and dissipating.
"Don't block me," he growled.
"I'm not," she defended. She was just as confused. He pressed his wand harder, and she dug her nails into her arm to refrain from crying out. Blackness threatened her vision as the pain intensified. The ink swirled around her arm and scattered, as if could not find somewhere to stick.
The Dark Lord grew tired of it after a moment, and spoke a string of latin. This time the pain was so intense that Amira let out a cry before she completely blacked out.
She came to on the floor of the Dark Lord's study. The Dark Lord was pacing behind his desk and Narcissa was kneeling by her head. Lucius and Bellatrix were engaged in a heated conversation, and Draco was looking between all three groups of people. Amira looked up at Narcissa.
"What happened?" she whispered.
"I'm not sure," Narcissa admitted. While they were talking, the rest of the room looked over. Amira thought she saw relief on Draco's face when he noticed she was awake. Narcissa helped her sit up and then shakily stand.
"You did not accept my mark," the Dark Lord hissed at her. For the first time since their original conversation, Amira felt terrified of the man with red eyes in front of her.
"I wasn't trying to reject it," she answered, voice shaking, "I don't know why it didn't stick."
"She's not dedicated enough," Bellatrix growled.
"That's never stopped people before," Lucius argued, "We've marked many people who fought it more obviously than her."
"Silence!" the Dark Lord demanded. He looked deranged. He came around the table and grabbed her left arm, hard. A small sound of pain escaped her mouth before she could stop it. Narcissa gasped behind her when her skin was revealed again. It was black and blue and purple and red. Not in the shape of a mark. Not in the shape of anything. Amira had never seen anything like it. The bruising looked like it was going down to her bone. The Dark Lord scoffed and then grabbed her chin. He looked into her eyes, and attempted to plunge into her mind.
He hit the wall that was up. He didn't give up. He pushed. He hammered away at it. She felt him try everything possible to get inside of her mind. And it hurt. It hurt so bad but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't move, she couldn't escape, she couldn't push him out. She couldn’t let him in, and she tried, but it wasn’t in her control. He couldn't get in, and he wouldn't give up. She just had to sit there and take it.
After what seemed like an eternity, he yanked himself out of her mind. She gasped and fell forward as soon as let go of her. She was sweaty, and her body was shaking. Tears were on her face. None of that really registered with her. She gagged and wretched. Her mind was fuzzy and clouded with immense pain. Magic began rushing around her. There were too many people in the room. His painfully cold magic was slicing her head and skin open like a knife. She couldn't make sense of any of it. She couldn't even think. She closed her eyes.
She heard a door slamming, and some of the iciness left. She still felt suffocated. She barely noticed the absence of most of the other magical presences.
Suddenly, she was aware of a familiar magical presence. The only one left was comforting to her. She reached out, eyes still closed. Her hands closed around silk fabric and she felt herself being maneuvered downward. Someone brushed her hair away from her face. They were holding her close to their body. Instead of being afraid, she felt warm. She felt safe. The pain and confusion was slowly receding. She felt cold and pushed herself closer to the warmth.
"Shh, shh, it's okay," she heard. The person rocked her back and forth slowly. Her body ached, and she whimpered quietly. "I know sweetheart, I know."
She turned her face into their chest and tried to escape the pain and cold and hurt.
The door opened again and the person holding her stiffened. She flinched from the noise and pushed closer to her safety. The pain and confusion flared up again. They smoothed her hair again. There was some quiet and calm talking. When the person holding her spoke, there was a rumbling against her ear. It felt safe. She began to relax.
"I understand," he said.
"Be careful Draco."
The footsteps left them again.
"Okay darling, we have to go," he said quietly. Amira didn't want to move, though she was cold here. She felt that she honestly couldn't move. Her head was throbbing and the magic around her was so overwhelming that she didn't dare open her eyes. The man ran another hand through her hair. He sighed after a moment.
Amira clutched him frightfully as she felt them rising. The man adjusted his hands to support her legs. He was walking quickly, and it hurt her head. She whimpered again. It felt like there was a knife stabbing her head.
"Shh baby, I know," he whispered to her. He was walking up some stairs, she thought. It was so cold here, and his warmth wasn't enough. She began to shake. She heard a door open and close. The man tried to place her on a soft surface, but she clung to him desperately. He was the only thing she knew. She didn't know where she was. And she hurt so bad. The overall sense of pain was focusing into a few different spots. It didn't make it better. Her arm ached fiercely, and her head felt like it was being cleaved open. Her thoughts were still in disarray and she couldn't deal with unfamiliar magic on top of it all.
"Okay," he murmured. She felt him shift so that he was sitting on the soft thing too. Then, there was a blanket covering most of her, which helped with the coldness. Her grip on him relaxed as she felt more sure he was going to stay. "I'm here."
She slowly allowed her body to spread out from the tight ball that it had been locked in. If she hadn't been in such a pained daze, the position would have been extremely cozy. She warmed and stopped shaking eventually.
"Good girl," the man whispered. He was still stroking her hair. Amira was too tired, and couldn't stay awake any longer.
She woke not much later with a clear head. She still had a killer headache and her arm was extremely sore. But she could think. She opened her eyes. She was in her room, under the warm covers. And her pillow was moving up and down slowly. She sat up quickly and turned to see that she had been cuddled up on Draco's chest. Draco was sleeping peacefully. It was still light outside, but she could tell it was evening.
She only remembered a fuzzy haze of pain after the Dark Lord had tried to enter her mind. She didn’t remember being transported back up here, or getting into bed. All she had was memories of pain and the slight inkling that somewhat had given her comfort and safety.
Draco looked more relaxed then she'd ever seen him in his sleep. He was almost angelic. She took the moment to just look at his beautiful face. Her eyes traveled down his arm, and her stomach turned when she saw his new tattoo peeking out of his sleeve. It was ringed with red and it was swollen.
She looked down at her own arm. It was also darkly covered, but hers had bruises. Dark, almost deep black bruises that spread out from there.
She felt absolutely exhausted still, which was a common feeling for her these days. She longed to lay back down on his chest where she had been and go back to sleep, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. They were only friends. He wouldn't want her to do that. She wasn't sure why he had even allowed it.
She jumped when he shifted and rolled onto his side to face her. He didn't open his eyes, but he mumbled, "Come're."
His one arm was extended, and there was a clear space for her. In a moment of insanity, and need for comfort, Amira laid down and nestled into the spot at his collarbone. He rested his other arm around her waist and pulled her close. Her heart beat nervously for a moment, but not out of fear. She was nervous because she was laying with a very attractive Draco Malfoy. He wasn't even really awake, which was the only reason that she was able to relax back into his arms.
It didn't take long until she fell asleep again.
When Draco woke, the room was dark. He looked down and saw that he was cradling Amira in his arms. They fit together perfectly. He wondered why had woken, he was so comfortable. He couldn't believe he was this lucky. The circumstances that had led them to this situation were almost worth it. Almost. Nothing in the world could make up for the pain that he had witnessed Amira go through. When she had fallen to the floor, he had wanted to leap to her aid, but he knew better.
When the Dark Lord had tried to break into her mind, he'd had dangerous thoughts of committing serious treason in order to stop him. Amira had been seizing and writhing in her seat, and crying silent tears. She couldn't help it. Draco had wanted to scream at the Dark Lord to stop.
When the Dark Lord had given up, and stormed out of the room with the others, it hadn't even been a thought. He had immediately wrapped her in his arms, and she had gone easily. She'd clung to him as she cried and twitched from the pain. He hadn't even let go of her when his mother had come back into the room to inform him that she needed to be out of the Dark Lord's study before he came back. He didn't care what she thought of his actions, all that mattered was Amira. He hadn’t missed her knowing look, and her veiled warning, but it wasn’t important to him, especially not when Amira was in so much pain.
It was a risk to carry her back to the room in broad daylight. They'd made it without being spotted, he hoped.
She'd clung to him when they got back to her room. He had planned on getting her settled and leaving, but she hadn't let him. He was also in pain, and against his better judgment, he had allowed her to pull him down. It was almost heavenly. It was so nice that he'd fallen asleep shortly after her.
His arm burned, and he realized what had woken him. The Dark Lord was calling him. He gently untangled himself from Amira, and gave her one last look before going downstairs.
"Draco," the Dark Lord hissed. Draco was surprised that he was standing in the entrance hall instead of in his study or the dining room.
"I'm sorry my lord, I was not awake when you called," he admitted.
"I know," the Dark Lord said, "This will be short."
He reached in his robes and produced two shiny black bracelets. Draco was relieved that the Dark Lord did not seem as furious as he had before.
"Put these on Amira tomorrow, they will act as her Dark Mark for now," he said, "It is a temporary fix, but it will let me know where she is, and I will be able to call for her. She will not be able to remove them, and I will know if she tries."
Draco nodded and took them.
"Now that you are my servant, I will assign you your official tasks," the Dark Lord continued, "Your mother is Amira's caretaker, but for now, you are going to continue to watch over her and her training until you go back to Hogwarts. Continue to do what you have done."
"Yes my lord," Draco nodded.
"We will meet frequently to discuss this," the Dark Lord said, "I need you to start thinking about your next task however."
Draco waited with bated breath.
"You will kill Albus Dumbledore this school year."
Draco felt like a bomb had gone off. Albus Dumbledore. One of the most powerful wizards of all time.
"You will wait until after the Yule, but you should start planning," the Dark Lord said, "I do not wish the old goat to die before he learns of the girl, and sees what his bloodline has become."
Draco couldn't speak.
"If you fail, well, that will be the end for the Malfoys," the Dark Lord said cryptically. Draco didn't need to think hard to figure out what he meant. They were dead, if Draco didn't somehow manage to kill Albus Dumbledore. So it was basically a death sentence.
"Yes my lord, I will not fail you," Draco forced himself to say.
"Good," the Dark Lord said. He swept away without another word.
Draco was left standing alone in the hall drowning in darkness and the gravity of his situation.