A sense of dread invaded him as he disapparated out of Hogwarts; he barely noticed the pain in his neck from where Snape was gripping tightly. What had happened was a blur to him, murky as pond water. He only knew one thing: he had failed in his task. He felt sure that he would be subjected to torturous punishment, and was hardly looking forward to it as he was looking forward to his death sentence.

"Get moving, Draco! Stop standing there like a dazed rabbit; my hand's getting tired from all these dragging! For goodness sake! And put on your mask!" Snape snarled.

Numbly he stuffed the mask on has head and began to move, paces behind Snape. Snape had to stop frequently so that he could catch up, and he could tell from his expression that he was annoyed, but at the same time…worried?

"You do know that the Dark Lord punishes whoever who fails him?"

His ability to talk was still there, he discovered, as he barked out a retort, "I would have killed him had you not interfered. I was doing perfectly alright until you bashed in and got rid of that old fool for me!"

Snape snorted. "Yeah, and how were you going to do that when you stood there, wand trembling in your hand?"

"Never you mind! Shut up! And after all, it was I who got that fool standing there like a stupid duck for you to kill!"

He knew his rage was but a façade, a façade to cloak over his fear. He knew he wasn't a kid anymore, so why was it that all he wanted now was to be in his mother's embrace, listening to her soothing voice that all was but a dream?

Except it was not a dream; it was a nightmare – and one that he was not going to wake up from.

He could feel his death eater's scar heating up; the Dark Lord knew that Albus Dumbledore, the only wizard that might have matched him up in powers, had died. As he tramped behind Snape reluctantly, he wondered whether Dumbledore's death would keep the Dark Lord happy enough to give him a lighter punishment. "Yeah, I wish."

"Excuse me?" Snape looked back, one brow lifted in annoyance.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

There was no need to say anything about how he felt as they got nearer. Well, at least my life's meaningful after annoying the hell out of Potter a few million times, he thought bitterly. He wondered if he had the opportunity to go to Heaven. Maybe he would become a devil in Hell. A handsome one at that, he thought conceitedly, smirking and flipping his hair to the side.

In front of him, Severus Snape smirked too. Draco had been too distracted to perform Occlumency on his thoughts. He had caught that last bit about the handsome devil. Can anyone be as self-centered as him?

The muddy grass plains stained and wet their robes. The night was dark, and the plains were only lit up by a single ray of light from the wand held in Snape's arm. In the distance, an owl hooted.

Without speaking, Snape and Draco stopped still. They had arrived.

A/N: Do review! I appreciate all reviews, and thank you all sincerely! I will try to review back as fast and as best as possible. (: