Restricted | Draco Malfoy

87

I sat in one of the small chairs that faced the large desk in the study. I was taking deep breaths, fear rushing through my body as I waited for the Dark Lord to speak first. He sat behind the desk and stared at me with narrow eyes, reading my facial expressions as I looked back at him.

I was worried that if I avoided eye contact I would end up in bigger trouble than it seemed I was already in. He didn't break his gaze from mine, either. We just sat in silence for what felt like forever.

"So," he finally whispered, his voice making my skin crawl, "the princess finally gets the prince." He chuckled, picking up a quill from the desk and pulling it through his fingers. I gulped slowly, unsure how to answer him.

"Do you think that all of this has ended for you two? That it just gets to be simple now?" He asked me, glancing up at my eyes every once in a while. I still didn't know what he wanted to hear, so I slowly shook my head 'no.'

"What did you think of Bella?" He asked me, placing the quill back down in front of him. "I love her work ethic. Always willing to do whatever I need her to." He sighed. I still didn't speak, worried my voice wouldn't even come out if I tried. He let out a sigh, giving up on the small talk.

"Can you do me a favor?" He asked me. Now I knew I needed to speak up. I took a deep breath once again.

"Yes, my Lord." I replied, my eyes still locked in to his.

"First, I need you to quit distracting Draco so much. It seems like anytime I need him to do something, the processes get... delayed. Do you understand?" He asked me. "You influence his mind. Make him feel like what he's doing is wrong. Does that mean you think all of this is wrong?" He asked me, standing from the chair carefully. I started shaking my head rapidly, afraid to give another answer.

"No, I agree with you. I just love him. And he's all I think about. I'm sorry, my Lord. I won't do it anymore if that's what you want." I defended quickly without even thinking, trying to plead my case. He walked around the desk and stopped in front of me.

"You love him?" He snickered. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Why in the blood hell did I tell him that? Why would I say that? "Well, isn't that sweet. So I guess the offer of you doing anything for him still stands then?" He asked me, walking closer to my seat. Nagini appear out from behind the desk, following him at his side.

"I have a question." I said quietly, looking him in the eye once again. He nodded his head, waiting for me to ask. "If I can make sure Draco goes through with the tasks you give him and stops delaying the processes, will you let us be?" I asked him calmly, just wanting to know the answer.

"You two are some of my most promising followers." He stated, stepping in front of me. He put his finger under my chin and lifted it slowly to look into his eyes further. "I don't care what you feel for one another." He told me. "But if you can't act like adults about it and put business before pleasure," he moved his hand to my neck quickly, squeezing it so I couldn't breathe. "Then we start to have a problem."

I started gasping, trying to pull in as much air as I could. It didn't matter how much I tried, my air way was completely blocked, causing my eyes to start fluttering shut.

"I think Draco has gone soft because of you." He said, throwing me back into the back rest of my chair as he released my neck. I took in a sudden breath, trying to control my erratic breathing. My eyes remained shut, trying to regain some sort of consciousness.

"What do I need to do to whip him back into shape?" He asked me, causing me to slowly open my eyes. I didn't answer, too weak to get my body to do anything in response. "It seems to me that without Lucius to punish him, Draco doesn't fear any consequences or repercussions anymore." He pondered.