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Pride and Morality	By : misleadingeyes Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 18131 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. That glory goes to the great J K Rowling. I'm just borrowing them for a bit. No profit is being made from these works. This is for enjoyment purposes only.

Chapter List
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Professor Snape and Malfoy walked inside the manor with Hermione trailing two steps behind, her head down and her hood up as instructed. Her heart raced with fear, for herself, for her parents, and, if she was honest, a little exhilaration at the idea of meeting the Dark Lord. Her excitement confused her; she shouldn't feel this way. She should be terrified! She was, to a degree, but the recent darkness that she felt inside made her feel almost powerful. As if this was where she was always meant to end up. Of course her rational mind knew that wasn't true. She was a Mudblood, unworthy to even be in his presence. And yet, here she was, wearing one of their robes, summoned as if she were welcome within their ranks. It was a heady combination, the fear and excitement.
"Ah, Miss Granger. Welcome to Malfoy Manor. We've been most anxious for your arrival." The familiar voice of Lucius Malfoy penetrated her thoughts and she glanced up, allowing her hood to fall and reveal her face to a man she'd hated from the moment she'd met him. The darkness within her urged her to hex him, curse him until there was nothing left but a pile of ash, but she pushed it down, down into the deepest parts of her soul and pasted on a polite smile.
"I'm honored to be here, sir.” Though her voice sounded strong and sure, she felt anything but honored or confident. The gravity of her situation was starting to settle in and her hands trembled slightly in fear. She placed them behind her back so no one would see her obvious fear, but the motion did not go unnoticed by Professor Snape. "You have a beautiful home, Mr. Malfoy."
"Thank you, Miss Granger. Come, the Dark Lord is waiting for us." Hermione found it strange that he was being so polite, but she assumed it was because he had been instructed to make her feel welcome. A ploy to make her comfortable before they tortured and killed her, most likely. The thought sent a shiver up her spine as they passed through the double doors to the dining room where everyone was gathered.
Her parents were being held on the far side of the room, one by Belatrix Lestrange and the other by Antonin Dolohov; two of the most feared Death Eaters known to Wizard kind. She stepped forward slowly, her eyes scanning the room, taking in the faces of each wizard, committing them to memory for later. "Hermione Granger." Voldemort spoke her name slowly, like a caress that made her skin crawl. She would never show her fear though. Not ever. Hermione fixed her eyes upon the snake-like man at the head of the table and refused to look away. "I am so delighted that you chose to join us." Her eyes flickered pointedly towards her parents then back to him. "Although I'm sure you wouldn't be here if we hadn't given you the proper....incentive. Please, sit." And he gestured to the seat to his left. A seat that had once belonged to Lucius Malfoy and his scowl at the slight did not escape her notice. Warily, she made her way over to the chair and sat, her back ramrod straight, one hand fingering her wand under the table. Of course, Voldemort took notice of this and smiled his slimy, snake smile. "There's no need for that, dear. We've not brought you here to harm you."
"Then what have you brought me here for? You've kidnapped my parents and demanded me as their ransom, and are now, as we speak, having your most viscous minions holding them captive. Can you really blame me for being prepared for the worst?" She asked brazenly, keeping direct eye contact with Voldemort.
"No, I suppose I can not. Usually, one in a situation such as yours would be too frightened to speak so boldly, but I can appreciate your directness." Hermione was taken aback by his compliment, as backhanded as it may have been. Her brows furrowed in confusion, wondering not for the first time, what she was doing here. "I've brought you here because rumor has it that you are the brightest witch of your age. I'm quite curious to see if that's true, despite your unfortunate blood status." He said this quietly, with a note of actual sounding regret before turning to where her parents were being held, flicking one bony-fingered hand lazily in command. "Belatrix, if you will." And she watched in horror as her mother was thrown to the floor.
"Crucio!" Belatrix exclaimed and her mother's screams echoed throughout the room, reverberating in Hermione's heart and bringing tears to her eyes. It was torture, watching her mother writhing in agony on the floor, screaming, begging for it to stop. The darkness within Hermione boiled to the surface once more just as Belatrix released her from the curse. A sardonic smile graced the madwoman's features as she took in Hermione's tear stained face and she aimed her wand once again. "Crucio!"
But Hermione was prepared this time, and she was quicker. She launched from her chair and immediately threw up a shield, surrounding her mother with it and the curse struck, dissipating as the white light absorbed the stream of red meant for her mother. She held the shield, not daring to lower it until she saw Voldemort give a nod of his head from the corner of her eye and Belatrix lowered her wand and backed away. "Very nice, Hermione. I've never seen someone cast a shield that could block an Unforgivable before. A novelty and quite the treat for me." He eyed her curiously. "What else can you do?"
"I...I just reacted. I didn't know I could do that." She lied, hoping to convince him that she had only acted on instinct rather than her vast knowledge of spells and curses. Merlin knows she'd read enough books on them to have mastered even the most complicated of spells, including the shield she'd just performed.
"Hermione....I had hoped you would have been honest with me. I do so despise liars." He stood from his own chair and stepped over to her. She immediately took a few steps back. "I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way. Belatrix, Dolohov, you know what to do." And in an instant, both her parents screams filled the room. The darkness swelled in her once more, filling her with a rage that she'd never felt before. Her magic sparked around her, swirling, stirring the air around her and she raised her wand, stunning both Belatrix and Dolohov in two quick flicks of her wrist. Another flourish of her wand had them both shackled to the wall behind them, the bindings preventing them from even the smallest movement.
"CRUCIO DUOS!” she screamed, and both Belatrix and Dolohov's cries of agony filled the room. The darkness consumed her in that moment and she found herself enjoying the surge of dark, seductive power she felt rushing through her blood. Hermione was enjoying the lure of darkness. She held the spell a moment longer than necessary before releasing them, her breaths ragged from the exertion of so much magic at once. She fell to her knees at her parents' sides, checking them for broken bones and crying as their bodies were rocked with residual spasms left over from the curse. Luckily, nothing was broken and they seemed in fairly good condition. The young girl sighed audibly in relief. Voldemort's sinister laugh brought her out of her thoughts and her head snapped up from her parents.
"Well done, Hermione! I would never have thought a Mudblood would be capable of such extraordinary magic! Dare I say, you would make a fine addition to my ranks, Mudblood or not."
"And I would never have thought you'd even consider someone with filthy blood worthy enough to enter your ranks. Isn't the eradication of Mudbloods like myself your ultimate goal? I thought blood purity was of the utmost importance to you, despite the fact that you, yourself, are a half-blood." Hermione sneered, the darkness still stirring in her veins making her bolder than would be wise.
Her mention of Voldemort's own blood status visibly angered him, though he reigned it in with a simple twitch of his head and the narrowing of his eyes at her. "Blood purity is important, but even I have to admit that magic such as yours is comparable only to my own. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of the opportunity in front of me. Rest assured, Miss Granger, I am no fool. Your knowledge and power would be most beneficial to me and you will join my ranks.” His words rang out with the air of confident authority. "Or your parents will die."
It seemed she was backed into a corner. Either become the first Muggleborn Death Eater or allow her parents to die. It was a no-brainer for her. She would join, but she wouldn't do so on his terms alone. "I'll join," she began, standing up from her place on the floor and squaring her shoulders. "But only if you release my parents and guarantee their safety. I'll obliviate them so they have no memory of me or this night. And if I'm going to be a Death Eater, I'd like to be treated like one. No more calling me a Mudblood. Anyone that does shall receive the same treatment they did." And she pointed with her wand at the two Death Eaters still shackled to the wall.
"I DO NOT NEGOTIATE!” Voldemort’s voice echoed around the room and the air frizzled with his fury. "YOU WILL JOIN MY RANKS AND THERE WILL BE NO CONCESSIONS! JOIN OR DIE. THOSE ARE YOUR CHOICES."
"Then you may as well kill us all now. I will not join unless I know my parents are safe from harm. From you or the Order or anyone else. What's the lives of a couple of Muggles spared compared to the knowledge and power you want so desperately that you would even consider a Mudblood for your army?” If it was do or die, she had nothing to lose. So Hermione chose to push, taunt even, hoping that Voldemort wanted her badly enough to concede to her demands. Surprisingly, she was right.
Not one person breathed it seemed while the Dark Lord stood, his lanky, snake-like skin glistening in the glow of the room as he stared at the young girl, his arms crossed in what seemed to her as mild amusement before he spoke in a quiet, dangerously lilting voice. "Obliviate them. Now. Leave no trace of you in their minds. I will know if you have failed or try to deceive me." He watched intently as Hermione’s arm rose. She took in a steadying breath and aimed her wand.
"I'm sorry,” she whispered, the despair radiating from her in almost tangible waves, “ so, so sorry... I love you." She said that part low enough for only them to hear before flicking her wand at each one in turn, performing the spell perfectly. She then placed a deep sleeping charm on them both and turned back to the Dark Lord while Professor Snape apparated away with her parents in tow. "Thank you....My Lord.” Hermione stumbled over the last part, unfamiliar with addressing him in such a manner, but hoping to convey her commitment to their arrangement. "You've been most gracious in sparing my parents. I will not forget your generosity." The words tasted like acid in her mouth but they had to be said. He had to be appeased because she knew that despite how much he wanted her on his side, she was just as replaceable as the next.
"Do not disappoint me, Hermione. I have high expectations of you. But for now, you will be initiated. All, Death Eaters must bear my mark." His sinister smile was back and he eyed her carefully.
"But, My Lord, if Harry or the others see it..." But he cut her off.
"I have it on good authority that your friends have abandoned you and those who haven't yet, will soon. Come. Your destiny awaits."
They stepped into a beautiful parlor, decorated in an old world, sixteenth century style that made the room seem surreal and inviting. Draco Malfoy was sitting on the loveseat, Professor Snape in one of the armchairs and Lucius Malfoy in the other. As the only open seat left was to the left of Draco on the loveseat, she made her way over and sat, the small seat leaving so little room between the two that she could feel the heat of his body radiating off him and warming her. It was rather comforting actually.
Lucius stood and started to approach when Professor Snape quickly took his place. Lucius sat back down, allowing Snape to have the honors, which relieved Hermione immensely. Although she didn't exactly trust Snape, she certainly didn't trust Lucius and did not want him near her if at all possible. Snape knelt down in front of where she was sitting and took her left arm in his hand. "This is going to hurt." Snape said simply, in that bored tone of his, though she thought for a fleeting second that she saw a flash of sympathy in his eyes. He took out his wand and pressed it directly to the skin on inside of her left forearm and began the incantation. It started as a slow burn but then intensified until it felt like her entire arm was ablaze. Without thinking, she reached out with her free hand and grabbed onto the only thing within reach, Draco's arm. Her vision blurred, tears forming in her eyes and faintly she heard someone screaming, perhaps it was her, she didn't know. Her arm hurt so badly that she wanted to cut it off just to stop the pain, she wanted to die, the pain was so intense. Just when she thought she couldn't bear one second more, she felt Draco's arm wrap around her shoulders and his hand grasping hers in silent comfort. And then everything went black.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Once again, a great big THANK YOU to my wonderful beta, Lorett. If not for her I may have just gone crazy over this chapter. I wasn't quite sure about this one. The entire scene just seemed iffy to me, but she made a few changes and assured me that it was great and I trust her judgement more than anything so Thank You, my dear. I couldn't do any of this without you.
lexiatel: I'm so glad you think I have Draco's personality down to a T. I've read so many fics that make him soft and fluffy and I don't want this story to be one of those fics. I like Draco in all his egotistical, entitled, dickish glory and I want to keep him that way. That's not to say that he won't have a small soft spot for Hermione later on (hint-hint) but that would be reserved for her only and he'll still be in all his Slytherin glory.
Talented_Mrs_Lupin: Yes, this will absolutely be a dark!Hermione fic. I love the idea of Hermione turning to the dark side and I don't think there are enough dark!Hermione fics out there so I decided to make one myself. I hope you enjoy! I don't think there will be much Lupin in this story though. Maybe a small bit but I'll save him for another story just for you if you like.
Everyone else: KEEP READING AND REVIEWING! Your reviews are what keep me going so fast! Keep it up guys and I promise to give you the best story I can! Love you all and enjoy the story as it unfolds.
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Pride and Morality