A/N I'm taking attendance, comment 'Here' to be marked present;)
  Next chapter at 100 votes and 100 comments! ;)
  — TWs for violence, graphic injury, blood and abuse.

FOUR HOURS PRIOR,

  THERE SHE WAS. He grit his teeth, unable to tear his eyes away from her — so feral and untamed, shockingly striking but also devastating, in a way. Her cherry-red hair wild with wind and a foreign man's hand around her throat — right as he slipped the burlap sack over her head.

Every fibre of his being erupted in flames, the bitter rage pooling from his chest, racing up his sternum only to be to halted at his lips. He couldn't protect her, at least, not right now. These were Navy's ordered — this was what it would take for her to survive, so for now, he would endure it.

Draco was just grateful that the silencing charm meant that he couldn't hear her cries. Because that would've been the final strike to tear him apart at the seams.

Her wand was snatched from her palm and thrown to the floor as she struggled, flailing like a wounded animal, wild and entirely afraid. She fought. She thrashed. She kicked. She screamed. And beside her the Weasley boy lay motionless, his face a bloodied mess.

The man pressed his finger's into Seven's neck, just like Draco had shown him, a hold meant not to maim — only disable. And the few seconds it took for Seven to stop struggling felt like an eternity, every aching moment thundering through Draco's veins like hellfire.

As soon as he saw her body start to fall he swooped in, shoving Navy's soldier aside, " — Give her to me."
The man gave an annoyed grunt but handed over the unconscious woman. At once Draco lifted her, cradling her tightly against his chest as if she were little more than a rag-doll.

Her hair blew into his face, the fiery strands splaying soft against his skin and showering him with her honeysuckle scent. It made his skin crawl. Draco grit his teeth, fighting against the urge to get this girl as far away from him as possible.

He wanted no harm to come to her — but that didn't mean he wanted anything to do with her. In a way, when she'd left him it had been like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders — he didn't have to fight it anymore. But at the same time, that weight had been replaced by an equally repulsive force. He hated being away from her. He hated being near her. His very existence had become a never-ending nightmare, and all because of this girl.

— And he hated her for it.

Draco stared down at her unconscious form, grateful that she was entirely covered in a thick black cloak. She smelled just like he had remembered her to, — just like she had that night on the balcony, just like she had before.

One of Navy's men yelled something, and all of a sudden the soldiers surrounded the Weasley boy, hands ensnaring his wrists and arms like shackles, dragging him towards the entrance to Navy's compound. The mouth of the dragon's lair.

When suddenly all at once, several things happened...

Seven awoke, abruptly jolting to life — or maybe she'd never even been unconscious at all. And secondly, Draco fell to his knees; a dagger impaled into his chest.

The next moments had been a blur of red blood and redder vision. All Draco knew was that he had come to his feet and done something terrible to the girl he'd sworn never to hurt again.

• • •

She was crying out to him. Calling the salvation she thought that only he could offer her. But she was wrong. For he was not a saint but instead a sinner. He was the one to bring her here, to ruin her, to cast her hellish and leave her to the dogs.

There was something about her, especially seeing her in this way, it broke something inside Draco. Her eyes, he realised through his agony, — it was her fucking eyes.

Navy's men couldn't tear their eyes off the girl. All hungry. All waiting. All starved and ready to tear her apart at a moments notice, the only thing stopping them was him. They were Navy's men, but they also answered to Draco, and he'd never been more grateful for that than in this moment.

  "Draco... Please,"

  The sight of her made him sick to his stomach. The thought that he — he had been the one to draw that blood from her lips, that splattered to the floor as she spoke, begging for him.

  She had no idea he had been the one to hurt her so. Even the violent shade of purple that crept into her left cheek, blooming into the promise of a wicked bruise — caused by his hand.

  He couldn't help it, or so he told himself. He hadn't meant to, or so he hoped.

  Truth by told the moment her silver found a home beneath his skin Draco had snapped, lost touch with reality, became something he hoped never to be but had found himself becoming all too many times. A monster.

  "Enough! On your feet." Snapped Avery, one of Navy's leading men, dragging the beaten girl to her feet. She couldn't even stand properly, her legs too weak as her face contorted in pain and Avery barked, "Fucking stand up!"

  Tears caused her eyes to take on a glassy sheen, but Seven did not cry — no, she was far too tough for that. Draco's jaw ticked, forcing out the acrid between gritted teeth like a bitter taste. A warning. " — Avery."

  "You — ," Avery pointed a finger at Draco. " — Stay out of this. She's going to the ring," He snarled, " — They both are."

  "Fucking Look at her Avery — does she really look in any fit state to fight right now? She can't even stand." It took everything within him to stay composed. To remain austere, emotionless. Unreadable.

  "Navy's orders." Avery snapped back, begining to pull Seven backwards again. "I don't make the rules Draco, you of all people should know that."

— And he did. Navy was a cruel mistress, one with an unusual fondness of visual demonstrations — just as Seven was soon to find. "Then let me speak to her."

  "Don't push your luck — just be grateful we're not making them fight each other the way you and your boy had to. At least this way they both have a chance."

  Draco's fist curled, fast losing the fight to control himself. The sight of Seven, beaten until she was scarcely awake and in the arms of another man, was enough to send Draco over the edge. "Then give her to me." The words fled his lips before he could stop them, and the moment they had he'd already begun to regret them, remembering the promise of a lifetime he'd made to someone many years ago. And Seven was certainly not that someone, he told himself he could never love a girl like her. She was everything he would never have wanted. Yet still the words kept pouring from his tongue. "I'll take her myself."

  Avery faltered, uncertain how to react. He was silent, thinking over a response before he finally said, "Fine."

  Then he let go of her, deliberately shoving Seven towards Draco so that he had to catch her to stop her from falling. The girl's skin seared against his.
  And though he tried to ignore it, to ignore her, a hissing breath worked it's way free from between her lips as he effortlessly picked her up, awakening something deep inside him.

  He held her to him like a child. Draco held his breath, refusing to let any part of her in. But it didn't help, still she encapsulated him, the mere sight of her was enough to bring him to his knees — but combined with her touch... Seven had the potential to be something more than lethal.

  She curled into him; finally relaxing in all the ways Draco wished she wouldn't. She should fear him. Things would be far easier if she could hate him in the same way he hated her. But Seven was also weak, try as she might she could never hate him, which is exactly what made her so dangerous.

  For she was the only one capable of tearing him apart, and in turn, he too would become her undoing.

  They would be one another's destruction. It was inevitable, only Seven was too foolish to know it yet.

  Draco let his anger towards the girl build, manifesting into a great beast that tore at him from the inside out, raking fiery claws down his eyes and throat until when he spoke, his voice came out hoarse. "What are you doing here Seven?" His chest felt tight but he told himself it was his the dagger wound. The one that would never heal for more reasons than he'd ever like to admit. " — You should've stayed away."

  "I tried." Her words fell away the moment they were spoken, falling into nothingness at their feet.

  Draco pressed his eyes closed. Trying to shut the world out, his frustration manifesting itself in his tightening grip on her thighs. He wondered if he'd leave marks there too, and in some sick way the thought delighted him. He shouldn't want to hurt her like this, and yet he did — even coming to yearn for it. Which was exactly why she had to stay away. "Evidently not hard enough."

  "What did you expect me to do?" Seven sounded small, like a child frightened of the night. "I didn't know were else to go..." Her voice broke, taking with it the wicked organ in Draco's chest when she said, "...You weren't there."

***
QOTD- drop some song recommendations for future fallout chapters!
— also have you heard about the official HDLS books releasing October 31st?