#venenatum

Chapter 22 "Rage & Revenge" excerpt:

“I gather you were given a head’s up by a certain Professor, then?” Draco asked in a bored tone as the bonds of Theo’s magic held him against the stone exterior of Nott Manor. He had been stunned and bound shortly after arriving, indicating his meeting with Snape had not been kept secret for long. Despite his situation, Draco felt oddly calm and collected. He could tell his ease was putting his friend on edge. Theo eyed Draco warily as he took a small step toward his restrained form.

                “It’s not very often that billowy fella deigns to Floo my home, looking a right mess, to warn me that a certain blondie is out for blood,” Theo replied uncertainly, “and when I say, ‘not very often’, I actually mean ‘never’. Seeing that git’s creepy face appear in my fireplace was punishment enough, let alone having that same ugly mug tell me that my oldest and dearest friend may be on his way to my home because he’s going to ‘kill them all’, and no one knows who counts as ‘them all’. Scary shit, I tell ya. . . almost makes a man question his choice in friends.”

Chapter 21, "The Unravelling" sneak peak:

                When Hermione had jolted awake an hour ago, the echo of her nightmare flashing behind her eyelids and her own screams still ringing in her ears, she had panicked and ran to the small bathroom just outside of her room. The overload of information had Hermione’s mind racing, threatening to tear it apart under the pressure at the sudden reintroduction of so many secret parts that had been so grossly ripped from her mind.

                Her mind.

                A mirthless laugh barked itself out of Hermione before she could stop it. The sadistic irony of her situation did not escape her; the Order had manipulated her mind in the same way she had changed and irrevocably altered her parents’ minds before sending them halfway across the world, hoping they would be safe away from her world. Despite the unshakable faith Hermione held for Harry and his ability to overcome all odds and win this war, there was the ever-present and unshakable feeling that she had to get her parents as far away from the fighting. . . far away from any possibility they would be hurt when the Order inevitably failed.

                Hermione closed her eyes tightly as she shook her head back and forth, trying to rid herself of the dark thoughts grasping at the peripherals of her consciousness. It was difficult not to dwell in darkness when she considered the odds stacked against the Order’s current position. How long had she been gone? Who was taking care of Harry? Was Ron –

                It caused a visceral, gut-wrenching reaction to even think of that red-headed prick. Hermione clenched her jaw and fought the wave of nausea and hatred that rolled through her. Resentment was not strong enough to describe what she felt for her former friend and classmate. No, Hermione loathed Ronald with every fiber of her magic and her being. After everything he had done to her, every wrong he had committed against her and Harry, Hermione wanted to see Ron squirm. . . see him suffer.

                Hermione wanted to watch Ronald Weasley die.

Find the story on AO3.

Chapter 24, "The Best Laid Plans", raw excerpt:

Present Day

Malfoy Manor, forty-eight hours earlier. . .

                Once Draco had finished writing the letter which laid bare his plans, he quickly re-read it before sealing it with the Malfoy Family crest. He would entrust it, as he did with the other vitally important matters in his life, to Mippy. She would deliver it to its intended recipient when the time came. As the wax began to harden on the parchment, Draco sat back and contemplated the eventful, yet short, life he had lived up until this point.

                Every moment and every memory of Draco’s life was tainted with darkness and fear, save for the few memories associated with his little dove. Hermione had been the one saving grace in Draco’s entire life. . . she always had been. Of course, Hermione was not without her faults, just like any normal witch or wizard. Yet, his little dove shone with a light so bright that it permeated into the lives of everyone around her. Draco knew that he was not the only one privileged enough to be touched by her brilliance. Even those he deemed to be unworthy had benefitted in some way from the positive force which was Hermione. The witch cast light and hope into the lives of everyone she came into contact with. Draco knew how blessed he was to have someone like that love and care for him.

Whelp, I'm trying to get back on the writing horse.

She's a bit bucky.

Chapter 20, "Embittered", sneak peak:

Being the killer of Albus Dumbledore had not offered the type of exaltation Draco had anticipated. Instead of the exemption from fighting which he had, naively, expected, Draco had been thrust right into the middle of the bloodiest and dirtiest battles since his sudden return from Hogwarts. The Dark Lord had deemed Darco to be his Secarius, his Butcher, and was eager to send him out to instill fear into the hearts and minds of the Order members who stood against him. His fellow Death Eaters admired him with blatant jealousy after the announcement had been made made. Draco was the most feared and dangerous Death Eater currently serving the Dark Lord, and he was barely eighteen years old.

Occlumency was how Draco was able to do things which he had never dreamt he would be capable of doing otherwise. Blocking out the worst of his deeds allowed Draco to focus on what was important. The methods of attack and interrogation Draco employed were ruthless as he systematically killed his way through members of the Order, one by one, on each mission he was tasked with. Every scream, every cry for mercy had been shut out and suppressed while Draco ripped through the minds and bodies of those unfortunate enough to meet the end of his wand. Whenever the Secarius was at work, it was said that there would be no mind left undone and hardly a soul left alive.

To his fellow Death Eaters, Draco was the most lethal servant among them, and thus the most favoured one of the Dark Lord.

To Draco, the carnage and relentless use of Legilimency and Occlumency were simply part of his personal mission to find his little dove.

Chapter 21, "The Unravelling", new sneak peak:

Hermione

                The hour was one at which no sane person would, or should, be awake.

                Ripped into consciousness at the climax of a nightmare, Hermione found herself unable to fathom her situation as she gulped at the air hungrily. She was in a luxurious bed with a handsome blonde man sleeping next to her. Anxiety crashed into her like an avalanche of rock as her vision narrowed and became blurry. Nausea rumbled deep in her stomach as Hermione carefully climbed out of the bed and quickly made her way to the nearest bathroom. She needed to be alone. . . be away from the stranger in the bed. She needed to sort through and organise the overload of memories returned to her in a single session.

                Hermione had lied to Mal-, Draco, before, when she said she wanted to talk about what happened to her. She could barely make sense of any of it, herself.

                Of course, she felt more herself than she had in years. Now, Hermione finally understood why she had stayed with the Order much longer than she ever would have freely. She had been forced to stay; coerced into loyalty for a group which had otherwise crumbled and died years ago. Everything they had done to her, returned to her mind with (almost) perfect clarity. Now she understood why the disgust for what Draco had done to her that night on the Astronomy Tower had been so hard to shake. . . why Hermione had held onto the revulsion for such a long time. She had refused to try and understand any reasoning for it other than Draco hadn’t wanted her. She had been forced to hate anything associated with the Dark Side. She was forced to feel disdain and loathing for anyone who was not firmly on the side of the “Light”.

                Hermione wanted nothing more than to be free from the influence of the Order, of Ron, of every damned person who was involved or knew of what had happened to her. She wanted nothing more than to feel light and free, ready to confront whatever might be left of. . . whatever had transpired between herself and Draco when they were in school. Hermione knew he had pushed her away for a reason, and she wanted to discover what that reason was. There were so many things Hermione wanted from him, though. . .       

                Waking up next to the man Hermione had been conditioned to hate, yet wanted so desperately and more than anything else in the world, was just too much for one woman to handle at that very moment.

                The door of the bathroom closed softly behind her as Hermione turned on the small light in the middle of the room. Turning toward the small vanity, her mind became a cacophony of loud voices and frightening images. There was only one thing Hermione could think to do as she tried to fight against the onslaught of disturbing memories threatening to tear her reality to pieces. She would focus on the incessant, yet somewhat hypnotic, leak of the tap in the small bathroom sink.

Drip. . . drip. . . drip. . .

                “. . . warm up my bed tonight. . .”