Title: The Love of My Lord
Rating: PG
Pairing: General… None
Summary: Draco is finally going to become an official Death Eater and attends the ceremony. But when Lord Voldemort reveals a secret, Draco's outlook on someone may change drastically.
Warnings: Horrible, ehrm… plot
Length: 2,770 words O.o A little long.
Disclaimer: I am not, by any means, the owners of the Harry Potter characters. I merely play with them for my own amusement. xD
AN: Review, please.

Draco stood in his large bedroom in front of his mirror. He blended in very well with his black bedspread and silky drapes in his infamous Death Eater's robes. There were only a few lit candles in his room that night, making the room darker than usual.

Draco slowly lifted his hands up to his shoulders, grasped the hood hanging down over his upper-back and lifted it up over his silvery-blond head. His face was completely expressionless and showed no emotion, despite the actual amount that was twisting around inside of him. His hands slowly dropped to his sides.

His piercing gray eyes were no longer visible in the shadow of his hood. Only a sharp nose and grim line for a mouth could be seen. Draco continued to stare at his reflection in the mirror, his face still vacant of expression.

"Draco." Lucius said in a quiet voice from the doorway. He too was wearing the notorious Death Eaters' robes and an emotionless expression. Like his son, Lucius' eyes were hidden in the shadow of his hood.

Draco turned towards Lucius. He had not heard his father come in, but that was not unusual; as of recently, Draco was often lost in his thoughts.

Seventeen years of following in his father's footsteps have led up to this night. It was the summer before Draco's final year at Hogwarts and he had finally been invited by the Dark Lord to a Death Eaters meeting. Only a select few other seventh years from his house were allowed to attend.

Crabbe and Goyle would be there, of course, with their own fathers. Pansy too, he supposed, and Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini without a doubt would be coming as well.

Tonight Draco would receive the mark of the Death Eater on his arm, placed on his pale skin by the Dark Lord himself. From then on, he would be an official follower of Voldemort.

Draco stared at the hooded Lucius for a moment longer before walking towards the door where his father stood.

Neither Malfoy spoke another word to each other that night. The two had gone over the preparations that morning in Lucius' private study (meaning Lucius rattled off a long chain of creative death threats if Draco screwed anything up), where Draco was seldom permitted to enter. Draco knew what was expected of him; he was no longer a child and understood the importance of the ceremony. Everything he had ever done in his life was preparing him for this one night. Draco would make sure that nothing went wrong.

Draco and Lucius walked down the long, cold corridors of the Malfoy manor, Draco always one step behind his father.

When they reached the end of the dark hallway leading to a long, winding staircase that went down to the ground floor, Narcissa was standing there waiting for them. No one uttered a sound. Narcissa merely bowed her head in acknowledgement as they passed and started to descend down the stone staircase.

They reached the bottom and entered the main dining room containing the large fireplace. As Lucius walked up to it, Draco stood at his left.

Draco heard Lucius give an almost inaudible sharp intake of breath. He glanced over to the side and out of his peripheral vision Draco could see that Lucius wanted nothing more than to grasp the mark on his arm (anything to lessen the pain, he supposed). But of course, Lucius was always in total control and resisted. Draco silently mused over the fact that by the next meeting, Draco would also be feeling that pain. He then turned his gaze back to the stone fireplace.

Lucius had never actually explained the significance of leaving at the main fireplace, but then again, Lucius was never one for explaining and Draco was never one to question him.

Draco looked at the silver clock sitting on the mantle and saw that it was thirty seconds to midnight.

In less than a minute he'd apparate to a hidden location somewhere underground. The location of the meetings changed constantly (this time it was under some random factory in Romania) so it was harder for Dumbledore and whatever puny army he had to keep track of Lord Voldemort's whereabouts.

The first stroke of twelve broke Draco from his thoughts. Draco stiffened a little, stood up a little straighter and held his shoulders a little farther back as the third and fourth stroke echoed throughout the large room.

Draco's insides churned. He could hear his heartbeat pounding noisily in his ears along with the final chime of the clock.

With a quick a loud "crack", the dining room was empty.

The Malfoys apparated instantly in a dark tunnel with a musty smell. Draco fought off a grimace as the scent entered his nose.

Torches lit the way down the narrow tunnel to a wooden door. As Lucius and Draco began walking to the door Draco could hear more people apparating behind him and some wizards and witches even popped in right in front of them.

Finally, Draco and his father reached the door. As they stepped inside, they entered an extremely large room illuminated by candles. Draco thought that the size of the room could've rivaled that of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. It was filled with Death Eaters, all hooded and whispering quietly. While some Death Eaters continued to enter from the wooden door, some apparated directly into the room.

Draco and Lucius finally separated when Lucius suddenly turned and walked towards a group huddled in the corner near the front of the room. They all bowed their heads in acknowledgement as he walked towards them and he in turn bowed his head before joining in the whispered conversation the others were having before his interruption.

Draco continued to walk through the mass of Death Eaters searching for some of his fellow Slytherins.

He found them where they were supposed to be, near a corner on the opposite side of the room where Lucius and he had separated. The students bowed their heads as he walked towards them. He bowed his head in response, having that strange feeling of déjà vu.

Lifting his head, Draco vaguely wondered if Death Eater's necks ever got sore.

"When did you get here?" Draco whispered to the hooded figure to his right. It was Pansy.

"I apparated in with my father about thirty seconds before you walked over." She lifted her face up a little higher so her eyes became visible. Everyone else did the same.

"Zabini and I came in about two minutes before you," Theodore Nott told him.

"We saw you and your father walk in." Blaise whispered.

Crabbe and Goyle didn't respond. They seemed to be in the middle of some staring contest.

"Guys," Pansy whispered, annoyed. "Cut that out, he'll be coming soon." Crabbe and Goyle continued. Just as Draco was about to scold them as well, it suddenly grew quiet.

Draco and the others turned towards the wall opposite of them.

A large mass of Death Eaters were moving towards the sides to reveal a very large staircase made of stone with two wooden doors at the top with silver handles. Draco mentally slapped himself for not noticing it before. How observant, he thought bitterly. Out in battle his lack of observance could cost a pretty galleon. Even cost him his own life...

Draco gave himself another mental shake before focusing on the large staircase. Lack of focus could cost him his life as well, in battle or in front of his lord.

He heard Pansy give the slightest gasp of excitement as the doors opened in unison.

Out stepped the Dark Lord himself, clad in his very own black robes and his hood residing on the top of his baldhead. His skin was as deathly pale as ever and his eyes were still the demonic blood red, with two black cat-like slits running down each.

Everyone made a move to get down and kneel but Lord Voldemort held up his right hand to signal them to stop. This was very unusual, seeing as he loved being reminded of the power he held over them. When he spoke, his voice was cold and filled with cruelty.

"Enough of this," he said, as the Death Eaters started standing up again. "We have little time tonight and it cannot be wasted on too many formalities." Lord Voldemort started walking down the staircase. "I am positive that you all know that the Azkaban jailbreak was successful." Voldemort paused on the stairs and turned to look at certain groups huddled together. "I welcome back those who had been locked away for the past year or two." Voldemort said, his voice still colder than ice. Draco turned to see Lucius bowing his head (again) when Voldemort looked his way. "At the end of the night," the Dark Lord continued. "Wormtail will inform you of recent events and your new responsibilities. While the dementors will be enjoying their rewards in Egypt, the pathetic fools at the Ministry will have new guards to annoy us."

Lord Voldemort had reached the bottom of the staircase now. The Death Eaters had formed a circle around him and Draco could see Wormtail to Voldemort's left. He even saw Wormtail's hideous silver hand.

"But to more important matters," Voldemort's icy voice echoed throughout the room. "we have special guests tonight," Voldemort looked directly at the Hogwarts students in the back.

Draco felt a sharp and unpleasant chill crawl down his spine as he felt Voldemort's stare upon himself. His father's warnings filled his mind as he and the others began walking toward the circle.

They walked in a single file line with Draco in the lead and created a line out in front of their Lord when they reached the circle. Then in unison, they kneeled down and waited for further instruction.

"By the end of tonight," Voldemort called out. "Each one of these students before me will wear my mark!" His voice echoed off the walls and the Death Eaters raised their wands and shouted celebratory remarks in response. They settled down quickly because Voldemort had more to say. He took a step closer tot the staircase and looked up at the closed doors.

"But when I said we had 'special guests'," He continued "I wasn't referring to just the Hogwarts students."

The silence that followed this was an awkward one. The Death Eaters hadn't expected this.

"The person you're about to meet has been more loyal to me than any of you could fathom. They make each and every one of you look like members of the Light side."

Draco could tell that there were many Death Eaters out in the crowd who would have loved to object to this statement, but fortunately resisted.

"This person has been working undercover for me for the past six years, keeping track of none other than Harry Potter."

A stunned silence rushed throughout the crowds of Death Eaters.

"During the last six years, this person has been working for me at Hogwarts. Sending me his deepest fears, his weaknesses and strengths. They'd sacrifice themselves to help him fall into a trap of mine; feed him information to lure him to me.

"And tonight, they will finally reveal themself."

Draco started racking his mind for information. Who the hell could this guy be? He thought hard. It could have been that Creevey kid who was always taking pictures of Potter… he mentally slapped himself. Merlin, what was he thinking? He's a Gryffindor! Like a Gryffindor could pull off something like this.

Plus, Voldemort said six years… there was that blonde Ravenclaw he always saw Potter with the last couple of years… they called her "Loony" or something… no, that Lovegood girl had about just as much of a chance at being Lord Voldemort's most loyal follower as Creevey or Potter himself. And besides… she was in She-Weasley's year, wasn't she?

Then suddenly, it hit him. It came to him so hard that he almost physically slapped himself in the forehead at his own stupidity for not thinking of it before. What had he been thinking? Had he automatically assumed that it wouldn't be a Slytherin? Why did he automatically think he was a student?

Snape. Snape was the loyal spy.

Draco hadn't seen the professor at the meeting the entire night and the spy was obviously behind the doors at the top of the staircase… Voldemort glanced up at the doors every so often while he spoke.

Snape worked at Hogwarts and taught Potter along with himself. It wouldn't be too hard for him to spy on Potter. Yes, that's right. He thought. It's Snape, it's got to be.

But no, that couldn't be right. It had been discovered that Snape was really on the Light side working for Dumbledore as a double agent. Unless… he really was a Death Eater but was spying on the Light side? That was definitely a possibility. But Lord Voldemort had said that they were about to "meet" this spy… it was all so confusing Draco was getting a headache.

As Draco finally started thinking of another theory, Voldemort continued on, shattering all of Draco's assumptions.

"Then after tonight, she will continue to feed me information on Harry Potter during his final year at Hogwarts and during the war."

She?

Draco decided it wasn't Professor Snape anymore.

At least… he hoped it wasn't.

Was it a Slytherin after all? Was someone in Slytherin too obvious for Lord Voldemort's liking?

"After you leave tonight," He went on, his voice dangerously low and deathly serious. "No one, under any circumstances, may mention the identity of whom I'd like to call our 'secret weapon'. Failure to do so will result in consequences too horrible and painful than any of you can imagine. You'll receive a punishment more terrifyingly severe than even the kiss of a dementor. Take that as a warning, all of you." His glowing red eyes swept over the silent crowd. "Even the slightest utterance of her name or her position will not go unnoticed."

Draco absentmindedly wondered if Lord Voldemort was always rattling off such serious punishment threats, or if he simply reserved them for Draco and his fellow students. Why tonight, of all nights did he choose to reveal what was supposed to be the largest secret he could ever expose? Why the night that he and the others were supposed to be given the marks on their arms? Draco mentally slapped himself again. It was sickening, really, how unfocused he was. It was usually Crabbe and Goyle that held the lack of concentration, not Draco, who was usually in control. Here he's supposed to learn Lord Voldemort's large secret and he's thinking of Crabbe and Goyle.

This was sad.

"I'd like to introduce you," Voldemort said mischievously as he turned to the top of the stairs again. The doors were still closed and the silence in the room was so thick it was hard for Draco to breathe. Finally Voldemort finished. "to my daughter."

Draco thought the silence before was bad, but it was nothing compared to the silence now. At first no one thought they had heard correctly, but Lord Voldemort didn't seem to find anything wrong with what he had said. The Death Eaters were too taken aback to speak. They were astounded; they couldn't believe it.

Draco thought that if he hadn't still been kneeling, he would've fallen to the ground. He couldn't understand how the other Death Eaters still had enough leg strength to keep themselves from falling. Draco didn't even have an interest in scolding Pansy when he heard her quietly gasp again. Draco was surprised he hadn't gasped himself.

Draco did not like being unable to control himself; his father was always in control. If Lucius had self-control even after a year in Azkaban, then there wasn't any excuse as to why Draco couldn't control his reactions.

As the doors began to slowly open, Draco - yet again - vaguely wondered if his father was in control of his emotions now.

He wondered if this spy was someone he knew. He wondered who on Earth would dare create offspring with… er, his Lord. He wondered what this daughter looked like. Wondered why he wasn't scolding himself for not paying attention again. He wondered if those doors could take any longer to open.

Numerous Death Eaters gasped in astonishment. Had Draco even tried, he still wouldn't have been able to stop the name from escaping his lips…

"Granger?"