A/N: Hello everyone! I just want to take the time to say that I hope you like this story and to please R&R! It really helps a lot if I know that you hate it or love it.

I own nothing, only my original character and the plot. I hope you enjoy!

"Once you're in, you can't get out."

He had been hearing that one sentence since he knew what it meant. His father had said it over and over again, sometimes accompanying the words with a sharp slap to the face. When the words came from his mother, they were a stark contrast. Her voice was soft and her hands were gentle, stroking his hair and trying to soothe him when he got into one of his panics. It came from his aunt, a harsh, cruel, crazy woman who would purr in his ear, the words slithering through his mind like a silver snake.

Needless to say, Draco Malfoy lead a life quite out of the norm. To someone who hardly knew him, it would look like he had it all: a big house, power, wealth, and even popularity in Hogwarts. Well, that reason was because he was enemies with Harry Potter. Ha! They all thought that his rivalry with Harry Potter was his biggest problem in his life. Oh, if they only knew...

When the Dark Lord returned, Draco's life had been flipped upside down. While everyone was busy being so skeptical and not believing Potter, he had known it was true from the moment Potter had screamed it over the Hufflepuff's dead body at the Triwizard Tournament. His blood had frozen in his veins as he stared down at the scene. He had wondered if his father had been there, and he wondered what had gone on there. His father had not been happy when he had returned home from Hogwarts. The house was filled with a steely silence for a time. Draco had not been sure what to think.

And then things had gotten even more complicated. Over the next year, his father had urged him to stop worrying over trivial things at Hogwarts and look to his future. What was he going to do? Well, Draco knew he had no choice in the matter. Eventually, he would join his father and become a Death Eater, a loyal servant to the Dark Lord. He hadn't known what that entailed until it was too late.

Oh yes, it was much too late... Draco Malfoy was more than just a lost cause. He was trapped, trapped inside the life that had been chosen for him before he was even born. If he dared to back out now, it would end in his own demise, without question. He hadn't known how literal that one phrase was... Once you got in, there really was no getting out.

That was unfortunate, because Draco did want out. He wanted to never have to see the Dark Lord's face again, never have to hear that cold, cruel voice that was haunting his nightmares. It was especially bad, since the Dark Lord was not happy with many of his followers, and he had taken to making Malfoy Manor his headquarters. The man frequently went into mad rages, which was bad. He had muggles or muggleborns tortured right in their dining room. He could hear their screams and pleads. He could still see their eyes, wide with terror and pain...

"Draco, get up!" Gray eyes flew open and Draco sat up abruptly as his door banged open. His father stood in the doorway, looking flustered and angry. Had he done something wrong? He had to think back to yesterday, but nothing came.

"What is wrong, father?" He asked, biting back a yawn and pushing blond bangs from his eyes, looking completely and utterly bored. With his father, it was better to act like he didn't care. His father considered feelings to be a weakness and had pounded that into his son for such a long time that Draco started noticing that he had closed up on his feelings as well. It was not a revelation that pleased him, but what could he do? Saving his own skin came first every time, and if that meant being numb to feelings, he'd do it. His pale skin was, as of yet, quite unmarred, and he would much rather keep it that way.

Was it vain? Of course it was. He was a Malfoy. To be a Malfoy was to be vain and put oneself above all others, except when it came to the Dark Lord.

"The Dark Lord is calling a meeting. Get ready and get downstairs immediately," Lucius slammed the door shut as he left, and Draco jumped a bit at the sound. It must be important, he thought as he pushed the sheets off of his body and stood up. With a groan, for he really hadn't wanted to get up, he padded over to his bathroom and started the process of getting himself ready for what was to come. The only blessing he could count at the moment was that a new year at Hogwarts would be started, and though he would never admit such things to anyone, he would be glad to get away from his home and from Voldemort.

Once he was dressed and presentable, he made his way downstairs, breathing slowly and deeply with each step. Draco did this exercise each time he had to face the Dark Lord. It made him calm, able to keep emotionless and eliminate any trace of fear on his face. His father had berated him when he showed fear, accompanying the harsh words with a stern hand. It made him learn, and he was almost thankful for it.

"Draco, dearest, move a little faster," purred a sinister voice behind him. Draco stopped and whirled to come face to face with his aunt, Bellatrix. "I said move faster, not stop completely." Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and pushed him to the side, moving around him and continuing down the stairs with a faster pace. Draco shook his head and blinked. His aunt was... Well, in simple words, she was crazy. He had never liked it when she spoke to him that way. She always sounded like she'd very much like to kill him if he didn't do her will in five seconds.

"You may want to get your son checked, Lucius. I'm afraid he's getting slower and slower as the days go by." Bellatrix's voice came from the foot of the stairs, and Draco sped up his pace to see her standing in front of his father. His blood boiled a bit at her words, but he didn't have time to defend himself, for his father grabbed his arm and wrenched him out of the stairwell.

"You've made us late," he growled as he dragged Draco behind him to the usual place. Bellatrix chuckled lowly behind them, soft enough for Draco to hear. He ignored her and breathed deeply as his arm was let go and they walked quickly into the darkened room. Voldemort was at the head of the long table, with empty chairs waiting for them near him. Draco followed his father and took a seat as far away from the Dark Lord as possible, while still being nonchalant about it.

"You are late." Cold, cruel, and high, that voice was enough to send a brave man quivering with chills. Draco tried to cover up his own by shrugging into his coat a bit more, as if he were cold.

"I apologize, my lord." Draco looked up to his father, waiting for him to mention something about his son had held them up, but the comment never came. Everyone was there, and the table was almost full, except for three chairs across from him, his father, and his mother, who had already been waiting there. Who hadn't shown up?

"We are just waiting for our guests to show up. They should arrive soon," Voldemort said while Nagini slithered around his shoulders. Draco swallowed. Either that meant there was going to be another muggle family tortured, or some people were about to become as trapped as he already was.