I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. J.K. Rowling does.
This is the first of hopefully many chapters. Please rate and review! :)
Bright flames danced and crackled in the large fireplace at Malfoy Manner, flooding the huge drawing room with a flickering light. Sitting in his favorite leather armchair in front of the hearth, Draco Malfoy was staring into them, completely lost in thought. Tonight was the night that the Dark Lord would come and personally inform Draco of his secret assignment. The flames illuminated Draco's pale skin, making him stand out like a ghost in the darkness.
A chorus of chimes suddenly rang out into the silence as the antique grandfather clock against the nearest wall struck eleven, jarring Draco from his entrancement. He looked around him to see his mother, her platinum blonde hair glowing in the firelight, making her way briskly to his chair.
"He will be here any minute Draco dear," she said softly. There was a hint of anxiety in her voice that Draco found irritating. Why was she so hesitant to let him follow in his father's footsteps? He had wanted to prove his allegiance to the Dark Lord and to his family ever since he learned of his return over a year ago. But his mother had always been insistent on keeping him either at school or at home, sheltered from the action like some helpless infant. This time, however, the Dark Lord had insisted on bestowing this secret task onto Draco, and there was nothing she could do about it. Draco was thrilled for the chance to prove his worth and redeem the Malfoy name, tarnished by the fiasco at the Ministry a couple months earlier which had landed his father a cell in Azkaban.
Narcissa Malfoy put her arms around her son and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his cheek, but Draco pulled away.
"I'm not a child, Mother," he growled, standing up from his armchair and straightening his robes. "I don't need your coddling and worrying over me anymore. The Dark Lord has a job for me to do, and I will do it. I will avenge Father and redeem our good name, mark my words."
Draco's mother clutched the back of the chair and bit her lip, her eyes glistening with hurt tears.
"Really Cissy, you must compose yourself," the dark figure of Bellatrix Lestrange glided out of the darkness and lightly gripped her nephew's shoulder with a slender, black-nailed hand. "Draco has been given a grand opportunity that any Death Eater would trade their wand for. Be proud! Your son will no doubt be performing a great service for the Dark Lord." She spoke his name almost reverently. "And Draco is right. All of Lucius's mistakes will be forgiven if he succeeds in the Dark Lord's plan."
At this Narcissa rounded on her sister with fire in her eyes. "Don't you dare talk about my husband that way!" she hissed. "Lucius has demonstrated nothing but loyalty to the Dark Lord since his return. And he is no more to blame than any of the rest of you for your collective defeat at the hands of the Order of the Phoenix."
The corners of Bellatrix's mouth turned up in a crooked smile, exposing a few of her slowly yellowing teeth. The light from the fire intensified the contrast between her pale face and heavily lidded eyes and dark, twisted locks of hair. She looked almost vampiric.
"Don't be angry with me Cissy," she simpered in a falsely sweet voice that made Draco's skin crawl. "I'm on your side. I hate to see dishonor brought to my dear sister. But have faith in your son," she tightened her grip on Draco's shoulder. "Let him prove his worth to the Dark Lord, and everything will be set right again."
The two sisters exchanged one last look, the dark, haughty eyes of Bellatrix boring into Narcissa's pale blue ones, once again reflecting the overwhelming fear for her son she felt inside. At that moment the sound of a lofty musical score, as if played from a grand pipe organ, reverberated through the entire house, signaling that some witch or wizard had just breeched the front gates.
Bellatrix rushed to the front door, leaving the mother and son standing motionless like two specters in the dancing firelight. Excitement was coursing through Draco like he had never known before, and he felt his pounding heart rate steadily increase as his aunt opened the door and stepped aside to admit the cloaked figure of Lord Voldemort into their drawing room.
He walked swiftly through the large room with an air of such grace that it was hard to tell if his feet were even touching the floor and made his way directly to Draco and his mother with Bellatrix groveling in his wake, practically drooling in admiration. His snake-like eyes locked with Draco's and his lips spread into a wide, pointy-toothed smile.
"Good evening Draco, Narcissa," he addressed them in a cold, high-pitched voice, nodding slowly to each in turn. "Thank you for welcoming me into your home." Narcissa stiffened but managed a weak smile. Draco remained fixed to the floor. His fervor had been mounting to the point he thought he might burst, but now, with the darkest and most dangerous wizard the world had ever known standing mere feet from him, waves of fear and intimidation began to course through his body. Bellatrix was the one who spoke next.
"It is truly an honor to have your presence among us my Lord. I know that my sister and I would—
"I came here for a specific reason," Lord Voldemort interrupted, causing Bellatrix to fall at once into a reverent silence. "Draco, my boy," his eyes bored into Draco's once again. "I have a very important assignment for you."
At once, Draco's excitement began to return, bubbling in his chest. His mouth tightened and became a proud smirk as his father's master continued.
"My return to power has not gone at all as I had hoped. The recent incident at the ministry was particularly embarrassing for me. It caused me to doubt the abilities of several of my most trusted and highly regarded Death Eaters. This saddens me, Draco, for your father was among those whom I counted on the most." A heavy silence befell the room. Voldemort allowed a slow glance toward the stony form of Narcissa and the raptly attentive face of Bellatrix before shifting his gaze back to Draco.
"But I will not continue to hold a grudge against your father's mistakes forever. I see lots of promise in you, Draco, and I am willing to leave everything in the past if you can succeed where he could not."
Another tense silence settled in around them. Lord Voldemort continued to stare at Draco, and an expression of hunger befell his snake-like face.
"Give me your arm, my son."
Draco's breath hitched, and his eyes widened in wonder and amazement. He had definitely not been expecting this. Huddled close together on his side, his mother and aunt wore similar expressions of shock on their pale faces. Draco hesitated for a moment then stepped slowly forward, rolling up the right sleeve of his robes and exposing a thin, stark-white forearm.
Voldemort took the wrist that was extended to him in one of his waxen, spidery hands, and with the other, he held his wand aloft and pointed down at the bare skin. His face transformed into an evil sneer as he began to hiss and spit under his breath.
Without warning Draco's forearm seared in pain as though someone had branded him with a red-hot iron. A blood-curling scream escaped his lips and echoed throughout the manner. He tried in vain to rip his arm free, but Voldemort's vice-like grip remained firm. Looking down at his burning arm, Draco beheld his once white skin now blackened, twisting and contorting in a shapeless mass. After a few seconds, the pain subsided, leaving behind a dull throbbing, and he could make out the etching of a black skull amidst the once-again translucent skin. Entranced, he continued to watch as the mouth of the skull opened and out protruded the inky black form of a snake, slithering and coiling all the way down to his bony wrist.
Draco was shaking and covered in cold sweat. He looked up at Voldemort's face, fixed back into its cruel smile as his arm was finally realeased from its long-fingered trap. There was already a bruise welling up there where that cold hand had been. He could hear his mother softly whimpering off to his side and his aunt's hushed admonishments to silence her.
"Now, Draco," Voldemort began, his voice icy, "you belong to me."
Narcissa's body shuddered as one more silent sob escaped her. Her sister abandoned her side to stand closer to her master, her eyes wild with excitement.
"What I ask of you is very simple," he continued in a slow hiss, "your dear aunt Bellatrix has told me all about the meddlesome young witches and wizards who accompanied Potter to the ministry." At this, Bellatrix's mouth broke into a wide, manic smile. The deranged woman was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"We must make an example of them. So that everyone will know what happens to those who dare defy me." Voldemort paused, a murderous light in his eyes. "You mentioned, did you not, Bellatrix, that one of Potter's companions was a mudblood?"
"Yes my master!" Bellatrix could not contain her joy at this acknowledgement. "The mudblood is Granger! Hermione Granger! Disgusting little bitch, she is. Looks like—
"Yes… Miss Granger," Voldemort went on, speaking only to Draco. Then he added in a hiss so low it was almost a whisper, "I want you to kill her Draco."
Draco stood there, stunned and staring up at his new master with his heart pounding in his throat. So it was murder… the Dark Lord wanted him to commit murder. He had thought that might be it, and had even tried to mentally prepare himself for that possibility…. But he never thought it would be one of his classmates… in his year… who he regularly interacted with. It was true he had always been an enemy of Granger's, had always gone out of his way to make life difficult for her…. But he had never considered actually doing serious harm to the girl, and now he was supposed to murder her….
The silence in the room was punctuated only by the manic cackling of Bellatrix and the steady crackling and popping of the fire. Draco and his mother were both lost for words, their faces blank and emotionless.
"Do not disappoint me Draco," the Dark Lord's voice was low and dangerous. "By the end of this term at Hogwarts, Hermione Granger must die."