Hey all...so I actually had this fic started and then, ahem..let it die (sorry to the mods..my bad! *hides*)...and I want to post it again and see if I get anywhere with it this time because I do really like the story, it just takes a lot of time to add to because I add full chapters at a time...

anyway....this is a Herm./Draco fic but it's 10 years out of hogwarts and there's actually no magic really in it..it's kinda dark (hence the rating) but there is a smattering of romance..promise!

I'll just post the first chapter then and see how you get along with it..lol




The Sting of a Broken Man

Chapter one: Battered and Bruised

Broken. That’s how Draco Malfoy felt as he sat in his cold, dark jail cell and watched the stars out of the high window, dressed in metal bars. How had he gotten here? Screaming; he remembered screaming. And a blinding pain. And…and blood.

On a quiet Sunday morning, Draco Malfoy is sitting at his kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the morning paper. He’s still wearing his blue stripped pajamas and there are tired circles under his eyes. He checks his watch and sees he has an hour to get ready, so he puts his paper down and walks back into the bedroom.

He reaches the side of the bed where a mass of blonde curls covers a pale face. The girl lying on the bed is snoring – loudly.

Draco pushes her shoulder lightly and bends down to brush away her hair and kiss her forehead.

“Honey, it’s time to get up. Church in an hour,” he whispers in her ear. He knows they’ll be late but he pulls the covers off of her slim body in an effort to get her up all the same. She pulls them back around her and he sighs, knowing that it’s no use.

He heads to the bathroom where he starts the hot water and grabs his shampoo off of the counter.

Draco pulls the door open to their church and they walk inside. The Draco Malfoy who is walking into the church is not the same Draco Malfoy who walked out of the front gates at Hogwarts some 10 years ago. He’s wearing a crisp black suit and his shiny black shoes click-clack as he walks to a pew at the back; the service has already begun. The woman now sitting next to him in the pink sun-dress is his wife, Camila, and they are expecting their first child in a few months. He runs a very successful, self-built law firm and things are good. Very good.

As Draco walks out of the church he squints in the bright sunlight and recognizes a familiar face. Leaving Camila with a friend, he makes his way over to the tall dark-haired man.

“Jared, how are you?” he asks as he reaches his friend. He extends his hand for Jared to shake, which he does.

“Pretty good, and you? How’s things with the missus?” Jared replies. Dark glasses mask his eyes and he, too, is wearing a suit. He smiles as they both look over at Camila.

“Good, good. What about you, found the right girl yet?” Draco responds, turning back to face Jared. He shakes his head.

“Nah. Just can’t seem to tie a girl down, really. Broke up with Mindy last week. You know, she and I want different things and we just couldn’t agree so, we decided it was time to move on.” He clears his throat and changes the subject. “Everything good with the baby? No problems there?” he asks.

“No problems. Doctors say everything’s fine and Camila is moving along perfectly to plan. Look, nice talking but I gotta go. Give me a call later, we’ll have drinks.” Draco waves as he begins to walk back toward Camila.

“Draco!” he hears Jared yell from behind him.

He turns to look. “Yeah?”

“She’s a special one; don’t you let her get away,” Jared says. He’s smiling, but Draco was sure that if he hadn’t been hiding his eyes behind those glasses, he would’ve seen some sadness in them. Even the self-proclaimed bachelors know a good thing when they see it.

He nods back and then meets Camila at his car, kissing her on the cheek before opening the passenger side door for her. As he bends his head and slinks into the driver’s seat, he sees a white-blonde head of hair disappear into the trees behind the tall, white building.

A grinding, scraping sound fills his ears and Draco looks up to see the sole opening in his cell door open up. As he watches, a grungy metal tin with some orange creation that looks semi-liquid, semi-solid is placed on the floor by a big weather-beaten hand. There’s a burn on the man’s thumb. Draco stares at “food” for a minute, his mind blank and his eyes opaque and glossy. The constantly dim light filters from the high ceiling and bounces off his platinum hair. Finally, he pushes himself up off the floor and walks slowly to where the bowl is sitting. Picking it up, he sniffs and his nose involuntarily wrinkles.

Draco pushes open the flap in his door and looks out through it. He can see the light green linoleum staring back at him, smell the scent of the guard’s cheap cigarettes mixed with the awful stench of the dozen other trapped souls nearby. He sighs and pushes the tin bowl out through the hole and drops it on the floor before making his way back to his corner and dropping down on the freezing cold floor. He isn’t eating tonight.

Draco steps out of the store juggling his three bags of groceries and his cell phone, into which he is talking. He reaches his car and asks the person to hold on a sec. He pops the trunk and loads his purchases in before slamming it shut again and raising his cell phone back up to his ear.

“Okay,” he says as he unlocks the door and climbs in. “6.30 at the movies? Right, yep, now don’t be late this time, you slowpoke.” He laughs loudly at something the other person on the line has said and pulls out of his parking space. “Right, love you, see you tonight. Bye” He flips his phone shut and throws it on the empty passenger seat.

That night he stands outside of the local movie house, waiting for Camila. He checks his watch and notes that she is 15 minutes late already. As he looks up, he sees her walking towards him.

He walks to meet her. “Wow, I thought you weren’t coming,” he jokes and holds her hand.

“Are we really late?” she asks, a worried look on her face.



“No, I lied. Movie starts at seven. See, this way we can actually get places on time,” he replies, grinning. She hits him playfully.



“Sneaky,” she says.



“Well, I’m a sneaky kind of guy,” he grins and they walk inside.



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“Honey, I’m going to the bathroom, I’ll be right back. Tell me if I miss anything,” Camila whispers to Draco 30 minutes into the film.

“Okay, sweetie,” he replies, not actually looking away from the large screen.

He feels her brush against his arm as she rises and exits through the door with the lit red sign at the back of the theater.

10 minutes later Draco looks over but Camila is still not back. He shrugs it off, figuring it’s just pregnancy stuff and continues to watch the movie. But in another 10 minutes, she still isn’t back and Draco is getting worried. He decides to go see what’s wrong.

He reaches the bathroom and looks to see if anyone is around before knocking on the women’s door. He enters slowly and looks around.

“Honey?” he asks shyly. “You okay?”

A toilet flushes and a second later a large woman walks out of her stall. She eyes him suspiciously.

“Oh, very sorry. I’m looking for my wife. Would you happen to know if there anyone else in here?” he asks, timidly.

She looks him up and down again, and then walks to the sink and washes her hands.

“Yeah, okay..thanks” he says under his breathe.

The large woman dries her hands and leaves shaking her head and muttering something about “perverts…own bathroom..” The door swings shut behind her and bangs loudly. Draco checks for feet in the stalls but doesn’t see any. He decides to go back to the movie and see if he and Camila somehow missed each other.

She’s not there when he gets back to his seat so he grabs his coat and heads back out. He runs to the man behind the ticket counter.

“Hi, did you see a tall blonde woman wearing jeans and a green shirt walk out a few minutes ago?” he asks, slightly frantic by now. The guy appears to be in his late teens; he chews his gum a few times before shaking his head a silent no. His eyes have a droop to them and there’s a gap in his front teeth.

“Are you sure?” Draco asks. The guy nods and raises a finger to scratch his oily nose.

“Thanks,” Draco says before running out the doors. He sees his car in the parking lot. The spot a few spaces down where Camila parked her car, is empty. Draco reaches into his coat pocket and grabs his phone. He dials Camila’s number and waits as it rings a few times.

Hey, you’ve reached Camila’s cell, I’m not here- he hears her message machine recite in his ear.



“****it!” he screams as he runs to his car and jumps in.



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“Rooock a-bye baby, on the tree top..”

Draco can hear the words floating into his cell, quiet and soft. He hears the guard get up from his chair and walk over to the cell where the tune, a slight humming now, appears to be coming from.

“…When the bough breaks the cradle will fall..”

He roughly hears the guard say something to the inmate and the hall goes quiet again. The guard walks back to his desk and Draco hears the scrape of the chair being moved back into place.

He sighs and closes his eyes. A few minutes of silence go by.
“..and down will come baby, cradle and all.”


Ok...first chappie..a little awkward because i tried starting it in the present tense and it's too long to go back and change...it'll change in the next chapter, which will be up as soon as I see how this one's recieved!

hope you liked it (and if you're confused, you should be! lol..it's v confusing, ask quetsions, please and hopefully between the next couple of chappies and my answers to your Q's, you'll start to get it...)

~Jes xo



Chapter Two: Murders and Jail Fights
Chapter Three: Lawyers and Surprise Guests
Chapter Four: Decisions and Care Packages
Chapter Five: Dreams and Pleas of Innocence
Chapter Six: Surprise Visits and Guilty Kisses
Chapter Seven: tedious trials and Hollywood endings
Chapter Seven: tedious trials and Hollywood endings (P2)

cool fic,post more soon

ohhhh great!!!! i love it!! You are a fantastic writer. keep it up and PAMS!!!

hey all! thanks for your quick comments! i just got it up yesterday and already readers! yayness! lol

here's the next chapter, should clear some stuff up...the beginning is wee bit graphic tho, so if you get sick easily, maybe you skip it...it'll be talked about later!

Chapter two: Murders and Jail Fights

“Camilla!” he screamed through the door as he fumbled with his keys. He jammed one in the slot but it didn’t fit. Turning the knob anyway, he was surprised to see that the door was open. He pushed it open and hurried into the apartment.

The smell of cooked ham and potatoes filled the room and he hurried towards the kitchen. He stopped suddenly as he reached the doorway.

“Camilla!” he cried, rushing over to where she lay on the cold, tiled floor. He turned her over and convulsed at what he saw. Camilla’s body was limp but her eyes were open. There were several gashes on her forehead and cheeks; blood had dried on the floor around her and there were red patches across her chest. Red scratch marks covered her shoulders and neck.

Draco cried as he rocked her body back and forth, his chest heaving as he tried to keep breathing. His keys fell to the floor and landed next to one of her earrings which had apparently been ripped from her ear in the struggle.

Camilla’s skirt was around her ankles and Draco began to pull it back up her legs in an effort to fix the situation.

“One thing at a time,” he told himself out loud. “Soon this will all be better…”

The sound of sirens filled the air as Draco kissed Camilla’s bloody cheeks. He sobbed into her ripped blouse and muttered in her ear.

“Wake up, please wake up…Camilla, you have to wake up...this isn’t happening. Not to me...” His voice drifted off as he heard banging on the door.

“Police department!” someone yelled from what seemed like forever away. “We’re coming in!”

Draco awoke on the hard, cold stone floor with a start. He could see dawn creeping in through the tiny barred window so many feet above him and sat up. Somewhere in the distance he heard a bird chirping in a reminder that the rest of the world was still living outside of the walls of his cell.

He shivered in his scanty prison clothes and rubbed his hands over his face. As he slapped himself on the cheek to make himself wake up, the grinding metal on stone sound drifted to his ears.

He swore to himself as the guard opened his door.

“Good-morning Mr. Malfoy, the boys are ready for you,” the man grinned, revealing several silver fillings and a missing tooth. Draco pushed himself off the floor and followed the large black man down the hall without objecting.

High-security inmates at the Cambridge County Jail were allowed out of their cells twice a day. The first was at 6.00 in the morning to get a lukewarm breakfast consisting of a mushy brown substance they called oatmeal and, if they were lucky, some spoiled cottage cheese or yogurt. The second wasn’t until late at night so the men could use the toilet. Every two weeks they went in groups to use the communal shower.

Draco was lucky enough to not have attended a shower party yet during his stay.

After breakfast they got 10 minutes of free time to socialize with the other criminals on their ward. Time like that could only lead to trouble.

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Draco stepped away from the line with his tray and headed towards his usual table at the back. In the corner was a dismal pile of books and magazines for the few inmates who could read and wanted to. Draco scanned the titles and picked up a copy of Marshall’s Guide to Trees and Shrubs and sat down to eat. He had read the thick book several times in the few days he had been at the prison but it was far better than his other choices. Jason, a scrawny, nervous-looking inmate sat at the other end of the table holding an atlas of British Isles and was staring intently at an enlarged map of Cornwall.

Draco noticed that he was holding the book upside down.

As Draco turned the page of his book, he heard Jason emit a shrill squeak from down the table.

“Shut up, Jay, it’s just a mouse,” he said, without looking up from his book. Jason was the only person Draco talked to in the prison.

A second later he heard a thump and looked up to see his friend on the floor. A tall, muscled man with a bald head and a tattoo of a naked woman on his arm was standing over him, his cronies flanking him behind his back.

Draco felt a many memories whistling back from so long ago and pushed them away as he stood up. He was a mere five-foot eight inches to this at least six and a half foot man, but he faced him with a set jaw. He scanned the two men behind him; the one on the left was pretty strong and his mangled hair hung to his shoulders. He shot a seething glare at Draco. The other was small, maybe shorter than Draco with cropped brown hair. He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to look menacing but the sight almost made Draco laugh out loud.

The front man advanced towards Draco, slowly. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Jason shoot up and run away, petrified sobs echoing through the room as he made a bee-line for the exit. The men let him go, turning their gaze back on Draco.

Finally, when he was so close to Draco that he could smell the smuggled cigarettes on his breathe, the tall man spoke in a gruff voice.

“I hear you’re the new guy on the block. Think you’re pretty tough.” He stated it but waited as if he expected a response. He sniffed.

“Just like I thought.” He set his steely gaze directly on Draco’s eyes; neither man blinked. “I been watching you. You don’t talk to no one ‘cept your squirmy little friend over there. Don’t worry, he lightens up when you get to know him,” he laughed huskily at his own demented joke. Draco let his eyes squint tighter but still, he didn’t talk.

He looked back at his boys before talking again.

“So you really are a quiet one, eh? I guess we’ll just have to fix that.” He smiled evily. “Why don’t you follow Boris and Steve to that little room over there. We got some business to attend to.” He turned and walked from the room. The two cronies watched him for a second, waiting for Draco to move. He remained where he was standing.

“C’mon now,” the one named Steve called to him. His grin revealed a severe lack of dental hygiene. “Don’t wanna keep the boss waiting.” He wheezed as he laughed and turned to the taller man. Boris raised his hand and brought down across Steve’s head with a loud Whack!

“Shut up, you idiot,” he said in a low rumble.

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The two men had Draco pinned to the floor. He had refused to follow them and wouldn’t give them an explanation. The little one had his hands pinned out to the side while the bigger one punched him repeatedly in the face. Draco felt a steady flow of blood beginning from his nose.

“Ah ha ha! This is fun; we haven’t got to do this in so long,” the little one practically giggled his excitement. Draco took advantage of the man’s momentary lapse and pulled his arms free from his grasp. From the floor he threw one perfect punch at the other man’s face and used his reaction time to push him away. Draco scrambled to his feet.

“****!” cried the large man, his muscles tensing as he felt his nose to see what the damage was. Draco could see a crowd of orange-clad men had assembled on the outer edges of the room. Draco saw a few of them holing up prize souvenirs they appeared to be using to bet on the men with.

To bet on my life with…

The guy who had left the room was back. He hung around the door with his arms folded across his chest as he watched the fight play out. A sneer played across his lips as he looked Draco’s body up and down. The guard at the door appeared as interested in the outcome of the fight as the prisoners were; he wasn’t about to do anything to stop it.

He turned back to see the men ready to come at him again. He had never fought in his life, but he knew he had to do something.

As the small man lunged at him, Draco simply stepped aside. Everyone watched as he flew to the floor and skidded a few feet. A loud crack resounded through the room as his nose hit the concrete. The crowd hooted and hollered their approval as he struggled to get up. Blood pooled on the floor around him and his uniform was stained bright red.

Boris shot a look at Draco before walking over to help his friend. The guard finally moved from his post in the corner and told Steve he was going to the infirmary to get that nose looked at. He radioed the other guards who appeared a minute later to bring the inmates back to their cells. Several men slapped Draco on the back as they held up their winnings greedily.

A nurse came in to get Steve and handed a wet cloth to Boris as she reached them

“Clean up your face with that, honey” she said in a sweet voice. She shot Draco a look as if she was daring him to ask where his cloth was. A guard took him by the arm and began to lead him out of the hall.

As he passed the third man at the door, he heard something whispered near his ear.

“I’ll be seeing you..”

Only once he was back locked up in his cell did he find out that he wouldn’t be allowed out for a month. He would be given one meal a day through the slot in his door. Draco didn’t complain when they gave him his punishment, just pinched his nose with his shirt in an effort to stem the flow of blood down his chin.

Notes:
Cambridge Country Jail is made up (as far as I know..lol) I live in the States and just decided they would live in Cambridge and then made up a prison from there...
Sorry for anyone who reads 'tomorrow is just over the horizon' about the Jason thing..I wrote this a long time ago and didn't even realize until after I went back to edit it and put it back up here! I wonder what it is about that name..lol
hehe, the book he reads is a shoutout to my family, lol..our surname is marshall and my dad loves trees and such..lol..again as far as i know, not a real book...my friends live in Cornwall so thats for them..lol

more soon, but i only have 4 chapters written so i want to start adding to it again v. soon...might be a little while until i post again!
~Jes xo

post more soon,

New reader here!!
PAMS!!

cool post.

-helen

Nice one.
PAMS!!

wkd post,post more soon.

-helen