Blood Vengeance

Chapter 9

Malfoy's gait was shallow as Harry followed him to Quality Quidditch Supplies. He saw no indication of pain in his face, but his jaw was clenched, and his muscles were tight. He was trying to hide how much he was shaking. Malfoy's pride and poise were something to see. He didn't have that aura of superiority anymore, though. No, but there was a dignity about him. Self-respect that Harry found... mesmerising. Even after war and losing nearly everything, his head was up.

A woman spat on the ground as he walked by, and Malfoy didn't even acknowledge her. Not exactly the arrogant kid he knew before. Of course, Malfoy's wand limitations kept him from hexing back, but he had always answered most attacks with his wit when they went to school. Malfoy had rarely directly challenged anyone. But he didn't do that as an adult either. Resigned to his current predicament, he was.

But then Harry watched as he slowed as he approached the shop. Preserved in the Pensieve, the memory's surroundings were clearer than Malfoy, or anyone really, could have remembered it. That was the advantage of them, but it was a drawback as well. Some things you don't want to remember. Things like this.

Harry walked DEK approach, slight out of Malfoy's peripheral vision, and stopped, clearly waiting for Malfoy to turn toward Eeylops. Harry stared at DEK, realizing that the kid knew Malfoy's routine. This wasn't a chance encounter. It was calculated. Harry looked back to Malfoy, his expression pained as he ogled the new state-of-the-art Firebolt. Harry could see the longing and disappointment in his eyes.

His head lowered slightly, and he turned to leave, his soul seemingly crushed and defeated. Harry almost missed the moment that DEK moved to attack. Malfoy walked only a few feet where the alley next to the quidditch store, when DEK made his move. Harry saw the syringe in his hand and had to fight the urge to try to knock it out of his hand, as it was only a memory. Malfoy was looking around, but DEK shoved the needle into his back, right through his robes.

Malfoy had just turned to attack, presumably, when his legs nearly went out and DEK grabbed him, pulling him into Apparation. Harry followed, as that was where the memory vial took him. Malfoy was dropped unceremoniously to the floor in the same abandoned house that Harry had been in an hour ago. He was face up and not moving. Definitely a paralytic, Harry decided and noted that Malfoy's eyes and chest continued to move.

DEK didn't cast any spells. Harry grimaced, as that should have been the first thing an attacker should do. Making sure the area was safe, but perhaps DEK had already set up the wards. He was trembling, Harry noted, but in a different way than Malfoy had been. Shaking with a mixture of rage and excitement. He stared down at Mal-Draco and laughed, almost manically. Harry never thought that DEK was sane, but seeing him this unhinged, confirmed his psychosis even more.

"Do you know who I am, Death Eater?" he said, his voice low and laced with malice. "I'm your judge... jury... and executioner. It's judgment day."

Draco, no shit, rolled his eyes, and practically sighed. Harry's jaw nearly dropped. Draco seemed so resigned to his fate that he didn't even care, even knowing that torture and death awaited him.

DEK, obvious to Malfoy's indifference, continued, "But first, confession time. You're going to tell me everything you did... and everything you know about your friends. Where they live, what they did, and how to find them. Even your mum!"

Draco looked at him and glared. Harry could tell he was saying, "Go fuck yourself," in his head.

Even DEK could tell, and he hissed, "You're not going to be so confident for long, Death Eater."

DEK bent down and dragged Malfoy to the center of the room, again, without magic. Then he cut off his clothes, exposing Draco, who didn't like that part one bit. Harry could now see the fear in his eyes, but his gaze was distant. Harry assumed that Draco wasn't thinking about what was coming, but what had happened. Harry glowered, but watched DEK as he hummed and awed over his captive's predicament and what he was going to do. Straight sociopath. He wanted to feel Malfoy's horror and distress, though Harry already knew that Malfoy didn't give it to him.

When DEK had done stripping him, DEK surveyed his work, eyeing up his prey. Harry imagined that his previous victims had been nearly hyperventilating at this point, and DEK was obviously power tripping off the high from it. Not this time. Even the psychopath could see that Malfoy was as calm and unnerved as though it were any other normal routine task. He was almost bored by it, and DEK was not liking it.

"Death Eater! Are you trying to mock me? You're going to die screaming, begging me to stop!"

Draco's grey eyes flickered over to him, in challenge. "Game on," they said.

DEK kicked him and knelt and punched his body. Harry winced as the thuds cracked bones and bruised his rather thin body. Harry was trying not to stare at Malfoy, too much, as this was a violation of his privacy. It was DEK he was after, but it was hard not to look. He had a great body that DEK wasted no time in hitting. DEK wore himself out and stopped to grab his throat.

"I'm going to break you. We have all the time in the world, Death Eater. I can keep you alive for days."

Harry doubted that, if the state Draco was in when he showed up was any indication. But DEK then spread his arms and legs apart. Harry's stomach churned, knowing what was coming. DEK pulled off a bag that Harry hadn't really noticed he was carrying. His eyes, in horror, watched as DEK, barely an adult, pulled out four stakes and a mallet. Harry shivered, knowing what was coming, but noted that DEK hadn't left the bag at the scene. He had brought it with him, which seemed odd, if DEK set up the place before.

DEK kicked Draco again and held up the metal stake for him to see, trying to get his high that Draco was, so far, denying him. DEK knelt and flipped his hand over, palm up. Harry shook as the tip of the metal stake was placed upon the delicate skin of Malfoy's hand. DEK looked into Draco's eyes that slightly widened, as though bracing for the promised pain.

"You're going to break. You're telling to tell me everything. Who are your friends? What did they do? Who supported Voldemort? Who escaped justice? You're going to tell me, Death Eater. But first... let's get you staked down."

Draco sucked in a breath and braced himself, as did Harry, when DEK raised the hammer and brought it down hard on the stake. Malfoy groaned painfully as the stake easily sank through his skin, bone and muscle to the floor. Blood sprayed and spread from his hand. The paralytic wouldn't let Draco open his mouth, so he couldn't scream or even answer. DEK laughed and laughed when he hit the stake again, sending vibrations through Malfoy's destroyed hand, and sinking the pole in deeper. DEK even waited a few seconds until he hit it, again. He used the bare minimum of force, dragging out the process.

DEK just savored every muffled scream and pain as he finally drove it in deep enough for his liking. Then he went to his other hand, repeating his unanswerable questions, teasing Draco with the metal pole and chuckling like a madman. Eventually, he slowly pounded it in, too, drawing it out as long as possible, before moving it to his legs. Malfoy's screams grew quieter after each hit, and he, again, had a sort of resigned look in his eyes, as DEK hammered the last one in, literally through his ankle.

DEK stood up victorious, and Harry had to resist the urge to vomit. The whole experience was going to give him nightmares. He thought maybe he should take a breather and leave, but then DEK stood over him. Harry focused on his suspect as he spat, "You deserve this, Death Eater! You destroyed my life. You killed my parents! I will hunt every last one of you down and kill you like the rabid mongrels you are."

Draco didn't even look at him.

"We got a little longer before you can talk. Let's get you ready to answer," DEK purred and finally pulled out his wand.

Harry, his wand identification courses paying off, saw it was maple. He had to guess it was 10 to 11 inches, most likely dragon heartstring core. Not much for Ollivander to go on, but Harry would ask for a list of potential owners. Luckily, the old man's memory, unlike his paper records, was infallible. But Harry had to watch as DEK hit Draco with an hour of Cruciatus Curses until the paralytic wore off. Malfoy screamed through his clenched jaw until his mouth unfroze.

"Finally... now we can talk how many of your friends evaded justice, Death Eater? Tell me!" DEK growled.

Draco looked right at him and then yawned. Harry's jaw dropped. DEK, however, was enraged, and Cruicoed him again a few more times for good measure.

"Don't play with me, Death Eater!" he roared and continued to ask questions and torture him.

Draco didn't break. Even when he stopped and switched to using screwdrivers and pliers... even when he cut off Draco's fingers with a knife... even when more of his bones were broken with the hammer... Draco never said anything. He screamed a bit for the pain, but nothing else. He just endured it, silently. Hours and hours went by, and Draco didn't break. Harry finally came up for air when the craving started. He didn't need that in his head before he went to sleep.

"You alright, Harry?" Ron asked as soon as Harry leaned back into his seat.

"Yeah... gimme a minute," he said and willed his stomach to settle. Ron handled him a drink. "Thanks. You were supposed to go home."

"I decided I wanted to make sure you're okay. I almost pulled you out a few times. You jolted and cringed enough times."

"It was... horrifying."

Ron nodded. "I'll bet."

"I wish you could have skipped going through that, Harry," Hermione's gentle voice said, and she apologized when he jerked in surprise. She was a bit... sneakier nowadays.

"I didn't know you were here, but yeah... I wish I didn't have to watch it either. I wish Draco hadn't had to go through it."

"Draco?" Hermione hedged.

Harry blushed. "After watching that... I feel remarkably closer to him."

She nodded, not at all condescendingly. She had only gotten worse after joining the Ministry's own cloak and dagger club.

Harry chose to move on. "Alright... I did see a few things worth noting. First, the kid is a bloody psycho, if we didn't know that already."

"Figured," Ron muttered.

"Laughing... getting a power high off the situation... fits, trembling, manic rage... yeah, he'll be one for mental competence by the time this is done."

"We can deal with it. A locked ward at the hospital is just as good as a cell in Azkaban. We need to get him off the streets," Ron said.

"Indeed," Hermione nodded.

"But he used a syringe with a paralytic to take Malfoy down. Quick one, too. Just a sec and he had no control."

"Hmm... do you want me to investigate it?" Hermione asked.

"I can't exactly request you... I mean, officially. You're not in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Like you didn't request me to escort Narcissa to and from the hospital?" she pressed.

Harry glowered. He really didn't need any of them getting in trouble for it. Even Hermione being in their case room was against the rules, but he was short-staffed.

"Fine... just ID the med. I got our Scotland yard rep coming tomorrow."

She nodded. "Okay. It shouldn't take too long. If you're not getting enough help from them, just let me know. I'll motivate them."

Harry smirked. Hermione did have the ability to scare people senseless now. "Thanks... but DEK didn't set up any wards when he Apparated in, too. Even if he did later... Malfoy screamed a lot. The wards had to have been up already."

"I didn't find any other jump points, Harry, but I can go expand the search."

"Also, I IDed his wand: maple 10 to 11 inches. I'll stop by Ollivander's in the morning."

"I can do that, Harry. Get some sleep."

"If only... I need to get on it. I only watched a few hours of that torture, and he might drop more clues. He said his parents were dead."

"That's what you thought."

"I also got the feeling that DEK knew what Malfoy was going to do in Diagon. Like it wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment snatch and grab."

"That means he's got an informant or he tailed him before," Ron said, grimacing.

"Exactly. We need to canvas Diagon."

"We're stretched thin, Harry. We're gonna have to pull coverage from Malfoy."

Harry stared at him. Hermione didn't react, so they probably talked about it while he was in the Pensieve.

"Hey, DEK's been avoiding wards and popular areas. I can't imagine that he'd risk a hospital visit on the off chance he'd find him. I think hospital security will be fine."

Harry sighed, but nodded. They needed to track DEK down. That was more important. Harry was still going to be there at night, where Draco would be the most vulnerable. He rubbed his eyes, exhausted.

"Harry, you need to sleep and eat something. You're running on fumes," Hermione said.

"Yeah, but I have to catch this guy, Hermione. Thank you for helping out, by the way."

She shrugged. "My department doesn't care what I do, and this guy is a killer. We need to stop him."

"Yeah. Thanks... Ron, will you tell Terry and Mike to handle Diagon tomorrow? And maybe start on the suspect list from the school records?"

"Sure. Go to sleep, Harry."

"Ya-huh. Make sure you lock it up before you leave."

Ron nodded and Harry headed out to the jump point, ready to see Malfoy, again.