𝑀𝒶 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑒

𝒯𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓎-𝑜𝓃𝑒

"CRUCIO!"

Draco screamed and writhed on the floor

"PLEASE! STOP!" His mother begged

"He failed me" Voldemort hissed "he let the boy-who-lived escape, and for that he will be punished"

Another wave of unbearable pain ran through his veins

He felt his mind slipping but the ring was the only thing keeping him sane

It was just curse after curse, at some point his aunt had started sending some of her own

"S-Stop! P-Please!" He begged, he tasted the blood in his mouth, he may have bitten his tongue but he wasn't completely sure

"Pathetic"

Another Cruciatus Curse, more painful than the last flooded his veins

Draco shot out of bed and gasped painfully, his bare torso glistening with sweat as he struggled for air, he looked around frantically to see where where he was, once he noticed he was only in his room he hunched forward and covered his face

There was a loud crack of thunder outside and a flash of bright light entered the room, he flinched from the sound, before he used to love the stormy nights, now he despised them

He got out of bed and grabbed a shirt before leaving his room, he made his way to the common room and saw that he wasn't alone

"Granger?" He asked hoarsely

Hermione jumped slightly and turned to him

"Hi" she whispered

He sat down across from her, rubbing his eyes sleepily

"Rough night?" Hermione asked him

"Isn't it always?" Draco mumbled

They stayed silent, they watched the lighting reflect on the Black Lake

"How long have you been up?" Draco asked

He watched when Hermione shrugged

"A few hours"

They went silent, neither was in the mood to talk, they just wanted to alone together, the rain was pounding on the window and the thunder was loud, they didn't know how long they stayed together

Another loud crack shook the window, both Hermione and Draco flinched

"If you want...I could teach you how to play chess" Hermione whispered

"I know how to play Wizards chess"

Hermione quickly shook her head with a small smile on her face

"No, I meant muggle chess, it's less barbaric" she smiled softly

There was nothing else for them to do so Draco shrugged before nodding

Hermione summoned her board and taught him how to play, at first he would order the pieces to move but after many reminders from Hermione he quickly learned that he was supposed to move the pieces

Quickly Draco picked up the pace and began analyzing her movements, it seemed that she was also analyzing him

They were engrossed in the game that when a wisp of white passed through them they jumped

"Hermione! There's a problem! Come quickly!"

Hermione took off running and Draco quickly followed, they reached the headmistress's office and Hermione frantically knocked, a second later the headmistress opened the door