"Draco, dear, hurry up," Narcissa Malfoy whispered to her son. Her voice had a hint of panic in it. She pulled on Draco's arm. She was terrified, unable to stop thinking about what happens to those who delay the Dark Lord.
Still, though his mother insistently tugged, Draco stood still. He was far strong enough to resist Narcissa's feeble tries, and instead he stared blankly ahead. He squinted his eyes through the haze of gathering darkness. He could just see the endless tunnel of smoke that billowed from a stone chimney in the distance. The chimney was that of Borgin and Burke's, a shady shop located in an even shadier place. Draco and his mother were headed to Knockturn Alley, and they had no time to lose.
"Draco…" Narcissa moaned urgently, "The Dark Lord instructed us to be there by sundown. We have little time. We need to go…" Draco blinked.
"You think I don't know that, Mother?" he snapped disdainfully, "You think I don't know what the Dark Lord is capable of?" Narcissa laughed uneasily.
"Of course, of course," she said, her voice high-pitched, "That's why we have to hurry, darling." She reached up her small, frail hands to touch her son's face, but Draco jerked away with a scowl. Narcissa slowly retracted her shaking hands. She let out a small whimper.
"I wish…" she hissed passionately, teeth clenched, "I wish, more than anything, you didn't have to do this, Draco." She spoke to his back, which was turned resolutely away from her. The look in his eyes was hard. Her son's coldness made Narcissa only more distraught. She reached desperately for Draco's arm, and he retreated from her grasp like she had flames for fingers. But Narcissa grabbed again with both arms, and held tight, struggling against her son's resistance. She pulled his arm to her chest and hugged it, burrowing her face in the fabric of his coat. He was wearing a dark suit jacket over a short-sleeved black t-shirt, but he had rolled up the sleeves of the jacket, displaying prominently his forearms. The sight of them, clean and untarnished, made Narcissa burst into tears.
Narcissa choked and gasped, tears streaming down her chalk-white face. She didn't bother to wipe them off. Each salty drop ran down to her chin and dripped onto the collar of her robe, turning the black fabric blacker. Draco listened to his mother's sobs. Knowing his face was out of view, he allowed his tough mask to crack, just a little. If you looked, you could see the anguish in his deep gray eyes, gray as storm-clouds. Narcissa took a sharp breath and cried out to her son:
"I'll…I'll never forgive myself for letting this happen to you."
Draco frowned.
"Don't be ridiculous," he hissed, "It isn't your fault. " He hesitated a second before saying, "It isn't anyone's fault but mine. I want this…I chose this." Narcissa gripped Draco's arm still more tightly, seeking his eyes, but he kept them guarded.
"Look at me," Narcissa begged, "Look at me, Draco…please."
Slowly, reluctantly, Draco turned his head and faced his mother's concerned gaze. Once their eyes had met, Narcissa took the opportunity to grab Draco's face between her hands, bring it towards her, and hold it there, firmly but lovingly. She made a mental check of his appearance: the ugly circles beneath his eyes, the beads of sweat on his forehead, his ghostly skin and flushed cheeks. She saw the red rings around his eyes. Color flooded Draco's face at his mother's appraisal, and he glanced away from her, ashamed at what he saw as weakness.
Narcissa only smiled sadly. She took Draco's chin in her palm and gently forced his eyes back to her.
"No one chooses this life, Draco," she said quietly, "No one ever wants this."
"I have to do this, Mother," he responded, his jaw clenched, "For Father, for the – for the…cause."
"Do you think your father wants this for you? Darling, we love you, more than anything else in the world. We just want you to be safe." Though her voice was steady, tears rolled down her face. Draco reached out his own hand to gently wipe them away. His voice cracked:
"I'll- I'll be okay, Mum, I promise," he said softly, "This is my destiny."
Narcissa's eyes clouded, and she frowned. She sighed, "And how I wish it wasn't."
Suddenly, Narcissa's face contorted. She gasped, and squeezed her eyes shut tight, causing more tears to leak from the corners.
"Mum, mother, what's wrong?" Draco insisted. Narcissa's hands flew from her son's face to her left sleeve. She frantically pushed it up, revealing her Mark, a snake protruding from the mouth of a skull. Usually red and faint, it now burned jet-black. It pulsated and rolled over Narcissa's skin, almost like a living, breathing creature.
"The Dark Lord!" Narcissa gasped through the pain, "He's angry. We have to be there, now!" Draco's eyes widened, but before he could do or say or even think much of anything, his mother grabbed his arm.
Hello! I hope you all enjoyed that. This story has been an idea in my head for quite some time and I've been working on and off on it for a while. I'm fairly proud of how it turned out. I'm going to publish it in 3 parts because it ended up being pretty long. Please read and review! Thanks! I love you all!
