Chapter One - The Mark
Draco couldn't sleep.
It was thundering something terrible outside and the air was stiflingly humid. He'd been trying to sleep for hours and hours…Pans had been out like a light after their busy day, but for some reason he was so restless…and to top it all, his left arm was throbbing.
He climbed out of bed and trudged to the window, where he pulled the curtain aside to let a sliver of moonlight cascade into the bedroom. He tugged up his left pyjama sleeve and thrust out his arm.
In the silvery light, he could make out a scar along the inside of his forearm. A skull with a snake coiling round it, head protruding from the ghostly grin.
Its over. He's gone.
Draco shuddered. Although physically the haunting tattoo was almost gone, inside his scars would never completely heal. The days of fear and hiding and death were gone, but he couldn't shake that horrible feeling that he was being watched…haunted…he had betrayed his master. He had married his girlfriend Pansy Parkinson two years after the Battle at Hogwarts and they had a son now, he was happier than he had ever been in his life.
His happiness was his betrayal.
When he had felt like this before, he'd talked to Pansy. She'd comforted him like she had done when they were teenagers, reassuring him that You-Know-Who was dead and gone and that he had nothing to fear until his son's magic started showing (goodness knows what would happen then). She could not pretend that she knew exactly what he was going through, but she understood him and stood by him - that was what mattered.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He turned to look back at the bed. All he could see of his wife was a shock of ebony hair, dark against the white pillow. He wished he could be as deeply sleeping as she was.
With a sigh, he pulled down his left sleeve again. He fanned himself with his hand, then turned back to open the window. He'd managed to force open the stubborn handle, but what he saw surprised him so much he dropped it. It hit the glass with a loud clang.
"No…" he breathed, edging backwards, unable to take his eyes off it in horror.
"Draco?" came her voice. He quickly swept the curtains closed again and spun to face her. He managed to persuade his features into nonchalance, tugging at his left sleeve.
"Sorry Pans, did I wake you up?"
She rubbed her eyes, smudging the leftover eyeliner a little and making them look even larger. Her mouth opened in a wide yawn, lips startlingly red against the pale backdrop of her skin. She frowned at him.
"What is it, Draco? You look like you've seen a ghost."
I have.
"Its nothing, love, just go back to sleep."
"Don't be an idiot. I can see there's something wrong. What is it?"
"Its nothing, honestly, everything's fine, I was just-"
Crack!
Lucius Malfoy apparated into the bedroom, his white blond hair a little haphazard, looking rather like he'd dressed in a hurry. Pansy squeaked in surprise.
"Draco, Pansy, are you safe? Where's Scorpius? Is he alright?" he asked, face drawn in uncharacteristic anxiety.
"Everything's fine, father." Draco said in what he hoped was a convincing tone. It wasn't.
"So it's not one of you? Thank Merlin, your mother was so concerned-"
"Father…you saw it too?"
"I did. It's bad news, Draco. The Notts have contacted me…apparently-"
Pansy knew a chance when she saw one. She climbed silently out of bed and crossed the room to the window, where she flung the green lace curtains apart.
She screamed