Sorry guys! This is definitely a WORK IN PROGRESS! My first fanfic, so it may take some time. R+R please!

"Forgive me father for I have sinned," whispered the pale boy to the dark. He winced as he rolled over to his side, the cold stone floor searing his exposed skin like fire. He didn't know how long he had been there. The room was always dark, with the only light coming from the wands of the men who came in—it was the only arrangement where he ever craved the empty blackness of the room.

He heard a door creak followed by a cold drawl just like his own. He looked up to see the silhouette of a man in billowing robes, his long blond hair glowing like a halo from the light in the hall, "Get up. It's time to prove you're still worth keeping," But before Draco could respond, his father had walked back out and shut the door.

The disaster at Hogwarts when he hesitated to kill Dumbledore was a bigger mistake than Draco had thought. Although he succeeded in getting the Death Eaters inside the castle, his one weak moment was enough to cancel out whatever victories he made. His father refused to look at him when they sought refuge at the manor. In fact, he almost killed him, looking at him with the same disgusted expression he usually saved for Harry Potter. Narcissa had to hold him back, grabbing onto his arm and begging for her son's life, until he slapped her away. he spit on Draco and ordered him to be sent to the dungeons where he was tortured until that fateful day when his second chance to please the Dark Lord came.

The war had already begun while Draco was wasting away. Voldemort got angrier day after day, frustrated by the persistence of the Order. The entire wizarding world had split into factions; the Ministry had lost much of its credibility after having tried to deny the growing power or even the possibility of Voldemort's return. Battle lines were drawn as his old followers found their way back to him, and Dumbledore sympathesizers rallied behind Potter. For the most part, it was a behind-the-scenes war; both sides worked on gaining intelligence to find the opponent's weakest point. While Harry took it upon in himself to scour the world for the remaining horcruxes, Lucis Malfoy was in charge of finding the home base of the Order---this is where Draco came in.

Draco bolted up from the ground where he had fallen, his chest heaving. His eyes stung because they weren't used to the light, despite the fact that the soft glow of dawn could barely convince the rest of the world to wake up. The cold air bit into him as his tattered robes flapped in the wind. He was grabbing a hold of his arm, squeezing it in hopes that the pain would go away, as he remembered how he arrived in the Forbidden Forest.

He had just been taken to Lucius' office.. Looking around the room, Draco could see other Death Eaters seated on plush green armchairs, two of which had clawed feet straining underneath the weight of who was most likely Crabbe and Goyle Sr. All the chairs were pushed against the wall, leaving an empty space in the middle, where Draco stood. Slowly, from the shadows, his father walked up to him.

"Nice of you to join us."

"Well, since you've all been so hospitable, I couldn't help myself," Draco drawled back before he caught himself.

Lucius sneered at his son, his hand swinging back, ready to strike, and Draco recoiled at the gesture. Lucius laughed a cold, high laugh, and slowly lowered his arm to his side, "You're pathetic. Maybe another week in the dungeon will remind you of your place," Lucius raised his wand and conjured a cold, metal chair with shackles on the arm rests.

"Sit"

Draco followed obediently, too scared to anger his father any more.

"You must be wondering why we decided to be kind enough to allow you back here, insolent fool that you are," to this, the Death Eaters nodded and murmured in agreement, clearly showing disdain for their once Golden Boy. Lucius addressed the room instead of Draco, holding back a laugh as though he couldn't even believe what he was saying, "It seems your little…incident might actually be used to our advantage," said Lucius.

The boy's heart began to beat faster, thinking that things were finally turning around, that his father was finally willing to forgive him, "Father I'll---"

"crucio!"

Draco's muscles tensed and he began to spasm in the chair. Lucius waited until Draco could no longer keep his teeth from chattering till he lifted the spell, "nobody told you to open your mouth, boy"

Draco began to shiver, defeated. He had no smirk to give, no biting reply. He hated himself for making his father this angry and was willing to do anything to get back under his good graces. His time in the dungeon didn't matter; it was penance for his mistake.

Lucius turned around and paced the room, finally stopping at his desk to pick up a rosary with emerald gems linked together with intricate silver details, "its actually pitiful that despite everything that has happened to them, those stupid children who call themselves the Order still continue to hold on to Dumbledore's—" he searched for the word for a moment, eyeing the rosary, "Ah yes, his faith."

He turned around and addressed the room once more, "We who know better would call it ignorance. Naiveté. It's a wonder they have survived this long with it. Though, I believe, it is this same childish foolery that will prove advantageous to our cause,"

At this, he turned around, grabbed a fistful of Draco's blond hair and jerked his head up to face him. He leaned forward and whispered in Draco's ear the plans they had for him. When he was finished, he looked his son in the eye and saw an emotion that was hard to place. Draco had widened his steel gray eyes in what could have been awe or fear. Suddenly, Draco felt a sharp pain on his arm, and he screamed as Lucius made a deep cut down his forearm and through the Dark Mark. The pain was too much to bear as the Mark began to burn. "Don't fail me again, Draco" But before he could say anything, Lucius thrust the rosary into Draco's hand, and immediately, Draco felt his navel being pulled towards it as the whole room spun into darkness, and his whole body was sucked away by the portkey.

Draco looked around and saw the rosary still beside him. With little strength, he hid it behind the bushes and took note of how he could find it again. Slowly, he crawled through the underbrush, finally coming out of the forest and into the field. The last thing he saw before he collapsed was a once-beautiful castle that now had broken window panes, charred walls, and an eerie silence that made you catch your breath: Hogwarts.

"I won't fail you, Father" whispered the pale boy as he fell.