Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Draco Malfoy was sitting in his study. The desk was covered with an array of textbooks and parchment. He'd been trying to get a head start on his schoolwork, anything as an excuse to take his mind off the recent events. It was the school holidays, and usually, he would have been outside playing Quiddich with his friends, or even at the family beach house down along the coast. However, anyone who looked outside at the moment would not have suggested these activities. An unusual mist had laid itself down outside and the dark clouds that rolled overhead did not seem to be going anywhere.
His mother was in the parlor entertaining his Aunt Bellatrix. Lately she had always been upset, her usual glowing air had diminished. Her long blonde hair, always kept in pristine condition was hanging limp around her shoulders. She wore no makeup and frankly, looked nothing like the pure-blood royalty she really was.
Draco could hear her faint sobs from his desk. The Malfoy mansion was huge, but an eerie silence had fallen over the place since his father's departure and like his mother, the house had lost all the glamour and prestige it once held.
'D…don't know what I'll do without him…..' sobbed his mother.
'Get a grip Cissy!' Draco could hear the cold, icy voice of his Aunt ring down the hallway. 'He's not going to be in their forever, the Dementors don't even guard Azkaban anymore'
'B…but you know d…don't you? You know what it's like Bella! He's not going to survive it, he won't make it out of there, he's not as strong as you…' the sound of his mother's voice made Draco sigh. He put his head in his hands and felt his eyes well up, but the tears didn't come. Slytherins didn't cry and he had to be strong for his mother's sake. She had never been without his father for as far as he knew, the two had been together since their time at Hogwarts.
His father, Lucius Malfoy was a high ranking political figure in the wizarding world. He was very influential in the Ministry, for he visited the place nearly every day. He had been in Azkaban for a couple of weeks now, Draco didn't know much about Azkaban, except that it was in the middle of a treacherous ocean somewhere, usually guarded by Dementors. The Dementors in question, had escaped Azkaban about a year ago and now answered to a new leader, the great and all powerful Dark Lord Voldemort.
Lord Voldemort was actually the reason his father was in Azkaban. The Death eaters had been summoned to the ministry to deal with Harry Potter and the famous prophecy. Lord Voldemort needed to hear that prophecy in its entirety, but sadly it broke before Lord Voldemort could lay a hand on it. As a result, Lucius was captured and thrown into Azkaban. Draco had not seen him since. His aunt Bellatrix was there too, but she had escaped, luckily with a great defeat over her estranged cousin, Sirius Black who happened to be Harry Potter's godfather. She killed him and made a very narrow escape from the rest of the Order.
Draco gave up on his study and walked out into the parlor. Bellatrix had her arm around his mother. 'Ahh hello Draco,' she purred. Draco nodded in her direction; he then looked at his mother.
'Mother stop crying, it's not going to get any of us anywhere right now' said Draco. She took a deep breath and began to calm down.
'Exactly Cissy, Draco's right, he's going to be back at Hogwarts soon and then what will you do? You can't just sit around here all day moping, its not the proper thing to do.' As she said this Bellatrix stood up as if she was about to leave. However the three of them froze as they heard the usual hissing sound that usually prompted the Dark Lords appearance. Bellatrix began to look excited, his mother scared out of her wits.
The Dark Lord apparated right in the middle of the parlor, his snake Nagini close by his side. The three of them automatically fell to their knees and waited for the Dark Lord to speak. 'I need to speak to the boy' he hissed. Draco looked up with a large amount of apprehension. The Dark Lord must have noticed this because he said, 'don't look like that boy, that kind of cowardness is what got your father into so much strife.' Draco bowed his head and stood up, a white, bony hand lead him back into the study. At this point, Draco was extremely nervous. He had never been alone in the Dark Lords presence before.
'Have a seat, Draco' he felt a chair move under him. 'As you know the events at the ministry proved to be an absolute….fiasco' Draco didn't dare speak. He just waited for Voldemort to speak again. 'Since your stupid father has landed himself in Azkaban, I need to you to perform a task for me. If you shall succeed you will be honored above all others.' Draco saw a red gleam to his eyes as he said this. 'For many years now, I have been constantly threatened…'
'You mean by Harry Potter Lord?'
'NO you idiot! Harry potter is nothing to me, he is a weak imitation of his father and they will both ultimately meet the same end' Draco wished he hadn't spoken, Voldemort was agitated but he pressed on. 'No, for many years now my enemy and only true opponent had been Albus Dumbledore.' Draco nodded in agreement, for it was true. Draco hated Dumbledore; his blindness towards his enemies around him would always be his weakest point. He hated the way Dumbledore thought the sun shined through Harry Potter, how he favored Gryffindors and how he always seemed to be talking nonsense.
'Ahh I see you understand me, Malfoy' Voldemort's eyes gleamed once again and Draco felt immense pride at being called Malfoy, a name usually reserved for his father alone. 'Now I'm sure you must know what has to be done' he hissed. Draco looked a little confused. 'KILL HIM YOU FOOL, YOU MUST KILL HIM!'
'What? How?' Draco stammered.
'Don't you dare question me boy, you must kill him, it has too be done, and you must help me eliminate my enemies so I can be all powerful once more!' Draco stared at him, not completely comprehending the enormity of what his master was telling him.
'Of course master' he instantly replied, for fear of being cursed into oblivion.
'Wonderful' he hissed, 'now you must understand this. You alone must do this Draco, you are living in Hogwarts for most of the year, so the job should be fairly easy. Dumbledore being as blind as he is actually trusts you.' He laughed then paused. 'You realize I possess the power to release your father from prison, but I can also do much, much worse.' Lord Voldemort gave him a long, blazing look before turning to leave the room. 'You must keep quiet about this Draco; you have a highly important mission ahead of you.'
'Yes master.' Said Draco, and with that Voldemort walked out the door.
