Chapter One

"You have betrayed me, Lucius." The Dark Lord's voice rang throughout the silent hall, his wand, The Elder Wand, pointing down at the older blonde wizard, who himself was laying on the ground, sweating and panting from the exhaustion that the cruciatious curse had put him through. "Your wife thought she could get away with betraying me, too. Because of her, I almost lost this war. But… I made quick work to fix that, as I'm sure you can recall."

Lucius Malfoy glanced over at his wife's body, lying twisted on the ground. Dead. He let out a sob as the images of her death that happened only minutes before came crawling back to him. Using all his strength, his tried his best to rise to his knees and bow before his master, beg for his life, but failed miserably. He was too weak. "My Lord-."

"You deserve to die. Your entire family deserves to die." With a flick of Voldemort's wand, Lucius rose off the ground slowly, only stopping when he was upright in front of Voldemort, his feet dangling inches off the ground. "I'm going to wipe the name Malfoy off the face of this muggle infested planet forever." Voldemort sneered.

"No." Lucius outwardly sobbed this time, his eyes locking on his only son who was being restrained, both arms held behind his back by two different men. The young boy's face was covered in tears, his clothes ragged and torn in places, his eyes not able to leave the corpse of his mother. "Please, My Lord. I'll do anything. Not my son. Please, he's just a boy."

Voldemort laughed, which caused all the other Death Eaters in the room to follow suit, striking fear into the hearts of the remaining Malfoy's. "Your son is of age, Lucius. He has failed me multiple times. He couldn't even complete the first task given to him. Because of him, Severus, one of my most faithful servants, unlike you, stepped in and did the deed. And that… ultimately led to his death."

"My Lord, please, don't forget about the cabinet. My son, Draco, he fixed the Vanishing Cabinet for you, My Lord. Without that loyalty, your victory over Dumbledore never would have been won." The fear was more obvious than ever on Lucius' face. "And he came back to you willingly after your victory, My Lord, please."

"After your instruction, Lucius!" Voldemort yelled angrily.

"Please, My Lord-."

"I've had enough of your incessant begging." A flick of Voldemort's wand was what caused Lucius' neck to snap, his now lifeless body falling and hitting the ground with a hard thud. Voldemort then turned his attention to Draco Malfoy, who was trying his hardest to get his hands free from the men holding him, now being lowered to his knees. Draco was crying hysterically, his eyes on his fathers lifeless body. HIs entire family had just been killed right in front of his eyes… and he was next. Voldemort reached him, wand at his side as he stared down at the young boy who refused to make eye contact with him. The Dark Lord reached his hand down, grabbing Draco's face roughly and forcing him to look into his snake like eyes. Draco instantly stopped crying, but Voldemort could feel him shaking at his touch. "Do you want to die, young Mister Malfoy?"

"No, My Lord." Draco's voice cracked as he spoke.

"Your parents were fools to betray me, but you… even I have to admit that Lucius had a point. You have remained loyal to me so far. And I see… potential in you as one of my youngest servants." He released Draco's face, standing up properly and now looking at the Death Eater's holding him. "Release the boy." Without a seconds pause, Draco could feel his arms again. They hit the ground as he fell forward onto his hands and knees, his eyes slowly looking back over at his mother again. "Mister Malfoy, you are going to dispose of your parents bodies. If you cannot, then you will be joining them."

Draco shook at the thought of having to look his dead parents in the eyes, but answered willingly knowing that it was better than death. "…Yes, My Lord."

Voldemort turned to the two men who were previously holding him. "You'll follow and watch him. If he's not capable of doing this simple task… kill him. If he does finish, take him to the dungeons." Voldemort smirked as he looked down upon the young Malfoy again. "I have plans for our young Mister Malfoy."

Draco awoke, sitting up in his bed with a jolt, his heart racing and sweat covering his entire body. When he realized where he was and that he was only having a nightmare, he fell back down into his bed, pushing back the hair that was sticking to his head thanks to his cold sweat. He took a couple deep breaths, his hands now covering his eyes as he tried to relax his pounding heart. That nightmare, out of all the others, was the one that visited him the most. It had come less when he learned how to control them, but sometimes it snuck up on him, forcing him to relive the night his entire life ended.

He knew what he had to do to go back to sleep. He needed his potion. He hated taking it, hated the fact that anything could make him vulnerable. He had learned over the past year that becoming vulnerable was never a good thing. It allowed people to take advantage of you, and when people took advantage of you in this day and age, more than likely you'd end up dead.

Draco sat up again and threw his legs over his bed, running his hands through his hair before getting to his feet. He glanced at the grandfather clock perched in the corner of the room. It was almost three in the morning. He'd only take half of the potion so he could wake up in a couple hours just in case. He walked into his bathroom, opening up his medicine cabinet and grabbing the crystal blue vial, filled to the top with liquid. He pulled the stopper off the top, but before he could down it, he heard a knock on his door.

He stopped, turning to look at the door. Who would be knocking at three A.M.? He placed the vial on the counter, slowly making his way towards the door, grabbing his wand from his bedside table before gripping the door handle. He turned it, yanking it open, his wand gripped tightly in his right hand.

He quickly loosened his grip when he realized it was only his house elf. "Blinkey, what are you doing here? It's three in the morning."

"Blinkey is sorry, Master. Blinkey is delivering a message for The Dark Lord."

Draco glanced out into the hall, making sure nobody was watching, before responding. "What's The Dark Lords message?"

"He wants to see Master in the drawing room right away, sir."Blinkey nervously played with the front of the pillowcase she was wearing as she spoke. "Blinkey heard The Dark Lord talking about The Order being spotted, sir."

Draco quickly opened his door, ushering his house elf inside, taking one last look around the hall before shutting it behind him. Placing a quick silencing charm on his room, he bent down, getting on Blinkeys level. "He's sending me to lead the Snatchers into battle, isn't he?" Blinkey stared at Draco for a few silent seconds before nodding her head. "It's time then, Blinkey. You remember the plan?"

Blinkey nodded again. "Yes, Master. But Blinkey still doesn't like the plan."

"I know, it's not ideal, but I have to do this."

"Master-."

"Once I have them convinced of who I truly am, I'll call you. Give me about a week tops. I don't think they'll kill me, they're too good for that, but convincing them could be challenging. Once I'm in, I'm going to need you here to relay information to me."

"Blinkey doesn't want Master to get hurt, sir."

Draco smiled slightly at the elf's comment. Blinkey had been the Malfoy's elf since his third year at Hogwarts when they lost Dobby. They had been cruel to Blinkey, just the same as they had to Dobby, but after Voldemort murdered Draco's parents before him, Blinkey was all he had left. After the weeks and weeks of torture he was put through by Voldemort and the Death Eaters, all trying to break him, Blinkey had been there. She healed all his wounds and brought his water and food when he wasn't allowed to have any. The small house elf was Draco's only friend, and he could honestly say he cared for her. If it hadn't been for her… Voldemort might have broken him. But he didn't. At least to Draco's knowledge. As far as Voldemort was concerned, Draco was his most loyal servant.

His number one Death Eater. His right hand man.

And Draco was playing him like a fiddle. Voldemort was unintentionally teaching Draco everything he would need to know to one day defeat him. He had become an expert at occlumency, so much so that he could even block out The Dark Lord. And that was ultimately Voldmort's goal. He needed someone to pass along his knowledge, someone who would be strong enough to hold said knowledge and never give them up whether that be willingly through torture, or someone getting the information by performing occlumency or the imperious curse on him.

The weeks being tortured and trained had made Draco stronger than even the Dark Lord thought possible. And because of that, Draco was able to hold his loyalty a secret.

Voldemort was unknowing passing all his most precious information to the one person in his ranks that would betray him to The Order.

"Blinkey, you remember what I told you to do if someone suspects you of having an ulterior motive, right?"

Blinkey stared up at her master with her bright yellow eyes, not wanting to answer him. "…Serve as Ms. Pansy Parkinson's house elf until Master can be reached again."

Draco sighed. "Right. Now, Blinkey, I need you to go and resume your normal activities, alright? Nothing has changed. Understood?"

"Yes, Master." And with that, she exited the room, while unwillingly, but she had no choice. She was a house elf, and had to do whatever Draco said. Draco, however, would never wish any harm to Blinkey. He owed her too much, and so swore he'd make sure she came to no harm during this insane plan he had.

Sighing, he turned to his closet, throwing on the clothes he had prepared for whenever this night came, followed by his pre-packed bag, an undetectable extension charm cast on it, stowing it away inside his cloak where Voldemort wouldn't be able to see it. He took one last look at himself in the mirror before heading down towards the drawing room.

After all the months of prepping, it was finally time. Tonight was the night he'd correct all his mistakes and make things right again, even if it killed him.

"Ahh, Draco, good to see you've woken."

The Dark Lord stood in the center of the drawing room, his wand was drawn and was pointing at a man who was lying on the ground below his feet, breathing heavily and moaning, tears covering his face. It was obvious he was in pain. But Draco ignored him, instead getting down on one knee and bowing before his Master. "Good morning, My Lord. You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes. Rise now, Draco." Draco instantly listened, like an obedient soldier, standing with his hands at his sides. "I have good news. We have captured a member of The Order." Voldemort gestured towards man at his feet, and with a sense of relief, Draco realized that he didn't knew him. He must have come to join their side after the battle where Potter died. "He has informed us, unwillingly, of a small group of Potters supporters hiding out near the coast of Cornwall. I want you to take some of the Snatchers that are awaiting your orders, and bring back everybody you can. And I want them alive. This war is getting rather… annoying. I want my full victory."

"Of course, My Lord. I'll bring you your victory." Draco bowed again, making to turn, when Voldemort called out to him again, making Draco stop and turn to face him.

Voldemort smirked, pointing his wand at the man lying on the ground. "He is now useless to us. Would you like the honors?"

Draco knew this wasn't a question, it was a command. He had been asked this multiple times and whenever it was asked of him, he had to do it. It seemed like he had a choice, but truthfully he didn't.

So he approached the man he didn't know, withdrawing his wand and pointing it at the stranger as he pleaded for his life. "No! Please! Have mercy! I've done what you asked!"

Draco bit the inside of his cheek, feeling the urge like he always did to turn his wand on Voldemort, but instead flicked his wrist, hoping his face wouldn't show the resistance he felt as the green light shone through out of room, leaving the innocent man lifeless at his feet.

Voldemort nodded as Draco looked up at him, and he knew he was excused. He bowed once more before making his exit for what would hopefully be the last time in his childhood home.

Hermione Granger came rushing up the stairs from the basement of Shell Cottage as she heard banging coming from the entranceway to the home, a stampede of feet all rushing and stomping louder than normal. She had her wand pulled out and gripped tightly at her side as she rounded the corner, ready to defend what had been their safe house for almost a year now.

She, however, immediately lowered her wand as she recognized the group entering. Ron and Seamus were the first to come through the door, followed closely by Charlie and Bill, both who were heaving someone behind them by his arms.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, rushing to their aid, ready to do whatever she needed.

"We were ambushed." Ron said breathlessly, grabbing one of the chairs from the dining room table and carrying it down the hall towards the room that Dean and Seamus shared.

That was when Hermione realized…. "Where's Dean?" One look at Seamus told her everything she needed to know. "He's not-?"

"Might as well be. They grabbed him. Apparated with him before we could do anything." Ron spoke as he came back into the room. "But we'll get our just. We got one of them." Hermione looked over towards the unconscious man that Bill and Charlie were now carrying down the hall, and there was no mistaken who it was. Only one person had blonde hair like that. "Bill, we can tie him up in here and then lock him in. Seamus can sleep in my room."

"Ron?" Hermione followed after the group, watching as they tied up the blonde, his entire body sagging forward as his arms were restrained behind him. "Is that…?"

"Malfoy, yeah." Ron was actually smiling. "We got him, Hermione. This can be the answer to winning the war. He's You-Know-Who's number one man. He knows all his secrets."

"Just because he knows all his secrets doesn't mean he's going to tell us. You knocking him unconscious did nothing but bring him into our safe house. Now he's going to know the location and we'll have to leave!"

"He doesn't know." Bill said as he secured the robes around Draco's wrist with wand. "He was unconscious before we even apparated. All he'll know is that he's locked in a room."

"And when he wakes up and we get all the information we need from him? What then? What are you going to do? Kill him? I won't allow that. We, The Order, don't kill to get what we want."

"Hermione-."

"And just how did you even manage to get him unconscious? He's not Voldemort's number one man for nothing. Don't you think he would have known how to block a simple spell?"

At this comment, Bill and Charlie both stared down at Malfoy, then each other, then back to Hermione. "That's what has us a little confused as well." Charlie spoke up. "It was almost like he… let us capture him."

"He let you? Why would he let you?"

"It doesn't matter right now." Bill said. "I'll stand guard just in case he wakes up. Everyone else should get some sleep. And heal yourself."

"Don't you think we should wake him up now, Bill?" Charlie asked, glancing at his brother. "The sooner we get answers from him, the better chance we have of saving Dean. Maybe they'll even trade."

Bill scoffed. "They're not going to trade. They don't care about Malfoy. He's replaceable to them. Trust me."

"But-."

"Enough." Bill said sternly. "We all need our rest. Well make better decisions in the morning." He then turned and looked at Hermione. "We have veritaserum, right?"

"Why?"

"Because when he wakes up, we're going to need a way to get answers from him."

"But you can't use that on him. It's illegal. And he's just-."

"He's just what?" Bill snapped.

"Yeah, Hermione." Ron cut in. "He's what?"

Hermione stared at the two Weasley's before looking at the sleeping form of the boy she had known, had tormented her throughout all her years at Hogwarts, slumped over in the chair, completely oblivious to what would happen to him in the morning. "I'm not defending him, if that's what you mean."

"Then what are you doing?" Ron crossed his arms over his chest.

"Honestly, think about it. He's just like us. You can't guarantee that this is what he wants, this war. He was forced into it just like us." She sighed deeply. "Remember what Harry said? He wasn't going to kill Dumbledore. He was lowering his wand. And he didn't turn us in when we were being held in Malfoy Manor."

"Yeah, and he didn't exactly stop his aunt from torturing you, either."

"Well, no, but-."

"Come on, Hermione." Ron let out a sigh as he grabbed Hermione upper arm, starting to lead her from the room. "Why don't you sleep in the room with me and Seamus tonight? I'll sleep on the floor and you can have my bed."

"Why?" Hermione snapped. "So you can keep an eye on me?"

"Hermione-."

She yanked her arm from his grip. "I have to watch the potions."

"No, you don't. The potions will be fine."

"Not if your brother wants veritaserum ready by the morning." She snapped, now walking towards the door, only stopping in the door frame to give her last word. "And for the record, I won't be a part of that." She pointed at Draco. "I'll make the potion… but as for administering it and asking him whatever you think will give you the answers you want, you can count me out." And then stormed from the room, heading down the hall towards the stairs that led to the basement where all her potion making had been taking place since they first arrived.

"Hermione!"

She heard Ron call after her, followed quickly by Bills voice traveling down the hall, speaking this time to Ron. "Let her go. She's right. We need that potion for the morning."

"But-."

"Drop it, Ron." He snapped, following by a silence that filled the house, the only noises were the sounds of feet moving across the floor boards and an occasional groan coming from the Slytherin tied up to a kitchen chair, knocked unconscious. They spoke of him like a rodent, not knowing that he would be the answer to everything.

He would be their savior.

Draco let out a small groan as he slowly lifted his slouching head. The pain in his neck and arms was something he hadn't felt in months, not since Voldemort was still torturing him, restraining until he complied with whatever was required of him. As Draco lifted his head, he looked down at the chair holding him. His arms were tied tightly behind him, as well as his legs, which were secured to the front of the chair, and one tug on them told him what he already knew. They were magically charmed to stay tied. No brute strength was going to loosen them. But he didn't know what he expected. These people weren't the only last of survivors of the Order for nothing. They were smart, and Draco was definitely at a disadvantage.

"Don't even try it, Malfoy." He looked up suddenly at the sound of the voice, the bright sunlight blinding him for a second as he blinked to focus on the man talking to him. "They won't break."

It didn't take long for the bright red Weasley hair to come into focus, and Draco, while he never actually met him, knew immediately who it was. "Bill Weasley." Draco said simply. He only knew because of how much older he looked. He knew the two oldest Weasley kids were still alive, and seeing as this ginger wasn't marked with the scars of Greyback's claws, it was an easy guess. "Nice to finally meet. Have you been watching me all night? Doesn't give your theory in these ropes much proof, now does it?"

Bill couldn't help but scoff, shaking his head at their capture. "You're cocky for someone who's been taken captive by the enemy."

"And what enemy would that be? You?"

"The Order." Bill snapped.

"The Order isn't my enemy." Draco said simply, trying his best to readjust himself in the chair, taking some of the strain off his shoulders and legs.

"Of course we are. You're a Death Eater!"

"Am I? I hadn't noticed."

Fueled by anger towards the sarcastic boy, Bill pulled out his wand an gave it a quick flick, sending the cruciatious curse flying towards Draco. Draco let out a groan from the initial pain that only came to him due to the surprise curse, curling his body inward and clenching his teeth together, his breath held in his lungs, no longer making any sounds while the feeling of being stabbed by a thousand knives ran all over his skin. It stopped after a few seconds, and panting to catch his breath, Draco looked up at the Weasley, almost daring him to do it again. The curse had been put on him dozens of times before, and Draco knew how to fight it. If they thought that they'd get something out of him by a simple unforgivable curse, they better think again. "I can do that again. Or… you can talk."

"Strange… I thought I was talking."The curse ran through him again, and Draco expecting it this time, barred his teeth and took it, his fist clenching at his sides. When it stopped, lasting a few more seconds this time, Draco stared down at his feet, breathing heavily. "I can do this all day, Weasley.

"We have other ways of getting you to talk, you know."

"I told you… I am talking."

"Talk about your side, the Death Eaters! We want information!" Bill took a couple steps closer to Malfoy.

"Why should I?" Draco finally looked back up at him. "What's in it for me?" Of course… he would tell them everything, but at this rate, Bill wasn't even going to get information on where the Death Eaters took their shits if he kept torturing him like this. Right now… the Order didn't appear much better than Voldemort.

"You're life." Bill said through his teeth.

Draco laughed at him. "You're not going to kill me. I'm the first one you've captured since this started. If you killed me, you'd be right back where you started before Potter even died. Capturing me was the farthest you've gotten in almost a year." 'And I even allowed you too.'

"You're You-Know-Who's number one man."

"That's true, unfortunately."

"You know everything about him. And we'll get it from you, whether you want us to or not."

There was a sudden knock on the door before it was pushed open a crack. "Bill?" A feminine voice flowed into the room before the bushy main of brown curls that Draco hadn't seen since the night of his parents death, pushed open the door, her eyes on Weasley and a clear potion bottle in her hand. "It's ready for you."

Bill gave Hermione a small smile, reaching out and taking the vial from her before turning to examine it, holding it up in the light. "Thanks, Hermione." He mumbled.

It was then that the silver eyes met the brown, Hermione and Draco stared at each other, Draco face blank, unreadable, while Hermione's held resentment and sadness. She blinked more times than Draco could count as they stared at one another, her entire face frowning as she looked at the robes restraining him.

Draco didn't need to use occlumency to know that she didn't agree with how he was being treated. He could read her like the books she loved so much.

"Hermione?" Bills voice cut through the tension building between Hermione and Draco's staring, and she quickly looked over at him, shaking her head slightly to get back her concentration. "You've been up all night. Why don't you get some sleep?"

She nodded her head, taking one last look at Draco before starting to recede from the room. "That's has to sit for another two days, Bill. Or it won't work." Then exited the room without another word.

Draco stared at the vacant closed door before turning back to glaring at the older Gryffindor in the room.

"Know what this is, Malfoy?"

Draco immediately recognized it. Hell, he's drank it more times than he could remember, the Dark Lord trying to get him to build up a resistance to it. "Veritaserum." He mumbled. "You can let that strengthen for days. It won't work on me regardless. I'm immune."

Bill scoffed. "Likely excuse."

"Fine. Waste it." Draco spat, turning to look out the small window in the corner.

"You've got two days to think you're situation over, Malfoy. If you don't, I'll be shoving this down your throat." He pocketed the potion in his cloak. "I think you'll be fine without food and water until then. In fact, I think we'll let the potion quench your thirst." And then turned, heading for the door.

Draco waited until his hand was on the doorknob, having it already halfway open and committed to being out, before he spoke. "Hey, Weasley? Miss your wife? Fluer was her name… wasn't it?"Draco could see his fist clenching around the door handle, and was honestly surprised when he didn't take the bait, instead marching out the door and slamming it so hard behind him that a book fell from the shelf behind Draco.

Well… this would be a long 48 hours.