NUMB WITHOUT YOU | Draco Malfoy

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There was no need to look back behind me as I ran into the woods. I knew that Camille was hot on my trail. She was the foxhound, and I was the fox. I could only hope that I was being clever enough by drawing her away from the fight.

I nearly tripped on a root sticking out of the ground, but I had to keep going.

"You can't keep running forever, bitch!" Camille screamed.

A flash of green light whizzed past my head and hit a tree. I could hear the limbs crack and the smell of burning wood filled my nostrils.

I wouldn't look. I couldn't look. It would only slow me down.

I pushed through a close patch of trees to a clearing.

Fuck.

I was staring at the bank of a small lake. There was no where for me to go. I turned around to see Camille grinning triumphantly at me. She had me cornered.

"Stupefy!" I shouted.

"Expelliarmus." She shouted back. My wand flew out of my hands and she caught it mid-air. "You're pathetic."

"And you're a deranged lunatic." I sneered. I took a step backwards and felt the water splash around my feet. I just needed to distract her long enough for us to get the upper hand in the fight. Whatever it takes.

Camille's eyes narrowed and she pulled up the sleeve of her shirt to reveal her dark mark. "You really don't want to piss me off."

"Go ahead." I jeered, "Use the cruciatus curse on me again. I've gotten used to it." That was a lie. You never get used to it.

Camille raised a brow, "Oh, this I would like to see."

She touched her fingers to her mark and I felt the electric jolt inside me. I wanted to scream and collapse on the ground, but I stood my ground as the pain seeped its way into my bones.

Camille was angry at my resistance. She pressed harder onto her mark and the pain worsened. I could feel my legs beginning to give out beneath me and I was seeing red spots in my vision.

My nose tickled with the feeling of thick blood dripping out of it. Resisting the curse took an even worse toll on the body than just giving in to the torture. Hot tears streamed down my face as I let out my first scream in pain.

"There she is. Good girl." Camille cackled as I collapsed. She let go of her arm and I could feel myself begin to breathe again.

I curled up in the fetal position and let the cold water wash over me as the tide lapped at the bank. Camille kneeled down beside me and pulled me by my hair to force me to look back at her.

Camille frowned as she stared at me, observing my features. She appeared to be dissatisfied. "You really didn't have to make this so easy for me, Rory. I wanted a bit of a challenge."

I just stared at her. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of responding anymore. I was sacrificing myself to buy everyone more time. We just needed more time. I blinked slowly as I reminded myself this over and over.

Camille reached into her pocket and pulled out a knife. It was one of Bellatrix's personal blades. The very same one that just killed my mother. I stared at it before she pressed it to my neck.

"I could make this quick..." She mused as she drew the tiniest prick of blood from my skin before pulling the knife away. "But, I think I'd enjoy taking it nice and slow."

"Do your worst." I challenged her. Anything to buy more time.

Camille grabbed my wrist and jerked my arm forward. I could feel the blade heat up as it sliced the interior of my arm. I let out a loud scream as it easily tore through my flesh. Camille laughed as she kept carving my skin. My arm was her canvas as she playfully painted with my blood.