Draco Malfoy had a look of sheer accomplishment on his face. The Death Eaters had gotten word that a key member of the Order had been captured. This one's mine Draco thought triumphantly. He had been rising in the ranks of the Death Eaters and was now considered one of the Dark Lord's closest. After his father's Ministry mistake and consequent Azkaban imprisonment, Draco had had to work hard to recover the Malfoy name. His mother had gone on an indefinite vacation to her cousin's in Romania to try to put space between herself and any more of the Dark Lord's influence. Draco still wrote to her weekly to see how she was doing, but had the nagging feeling that she only wrote to him to make sure that he was still alive.
There was a knock at the door and a servant of his entered. "Did I get the job?" Draco asked, expectant but also ready for disappointment. The old decrepit lady smiled and nodded her head. Draco slammed his fist on the table in satisfaction. "Yes!" He exhaled all the built up anxiety surrounding the situation. Draco was ready to take on this assignment. "The message says that the captive will be here within the next few minutes. They'll be using the parlor fireplace." Draco nodded and gave a wave of his hand as dismissal towards the servant.
Draco stood up and headed out towards the parlor that the servant had indicated. Already waiting there was an elegant looking gray owl waiting on the open windowsill. Clutched in the owl's beak was a black letter with a red seal that had a snake imprint. Draco took the letter from the owl and reached his hand out to feel the soft feathers on his nape. The owl looked at him with his wide, questioning eyes before stretching his wings to take off.
Draco broke the seal and was met with the untidy scrawl of the Dark Lord's.
Malfoy,
I gave you this assignment for two reasons
1.I see it fit that you should be given more responsibility.
2.The unfortunate girl was a student in your year, and you might know her weaknesses.
The note was short and to the point. Draco pulled out his want and muttered "incendio," watching the end of the letter catch fire. He let the ashes fall to the ground.
Who could it be? Draco thought, searching his mind for faces that he once knew. He wasn't sure exactly how many people had joined the order after graduating. Draco remembered that school had hung on even after Dumbledore had died. It was a shadow of what it was, but it still ran under democracy of teachers that equally represented both sides of the war. Heat was felt on Draco's right side as he turned to face the visitors in the fireplace. There were two backs that were struggling with someone in front of them. The girl was kicking and fighting tooth and nail to try to release herself. One of the Death Eaters became impatient and pulled out his wand. He said something that Draco didn't catch and the girl instantly stopped struggling and fell onto the floor. When both of the men turned towards Draco and moved out of the way, he couldn't help his face distorting into utter shock. Lying sprawled on the ground was Hermione Granger, her long, brown hair sprawled over his parlor floor.