Draco
He didn't know how long it took them to stop running, and it didn't really matter. The grip around his upper arm was released and he was nearly flung to the ground. He stayed there.
Eventually, he raised his head to look at the wall opposite to him, a blank stare in his eyes. What had he done?
He couldn't slow his breathing. It was as though some defence system had been tripped in his body; that his body thought that allowing a smaller amount of oxygen into his lungs would lead to his unconsciousness and eventual death.
Then again, he felt as though that was probably the case.
What had he done? He'd always believed that the Death Eaters were the elite. They didn't have a confused outlook on life; they were the ones who could gain everything they'd a right to. They didn't stand by and let others take their own like any fool weakling would.
A sharp, retching noise broke from his throat. Pacing footsteps paused in their trail across the wooden floorboards. He didn't care.
No, he'd been wrong. What life was this, when it was your duty to blast aside an old man whose only crime was standing for the safety of other people?
He swallowed. If he hadn't been slow… if he had taken the chance offered him…
"Draco?"
He looked up, and as his pale eyes met fathomless black he felt a sudden surge of hatred. If this man hadn't stepped forward, hadn't accomplished the task that should never have been set…
And he felt fear. Those black eyes held comprehension. A thin lip curled, and the elder man turned away, his midnight robes swirling about his heels.
Ice trickled down his spine. His thoughts weren't his own any more. The man he had trusted, trusted without realising that he even did so, had proven that very night that he wasn't a man to be trusted lightly. And that man could read his misgivings.
He felt a whimper rise into his throat. If his teacher knew, the Dark Lord would also know. Would know any hatred, any misgivings, and attempts to turn away.
He had to keep going like this, had to be loyal, even to enjoy the tasks he was set. Draco faced the only path he could see, and shivered.