The Vanishing Cabinet
Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter disappeared through the school gates and in to the night. Draco Malfoy, watching from a seventh floor window, pulled out his father's time keeper and frowned. Of all the nights for the Headmaster to leave the school it had to be tonight. Draco groaned and moved away from the window, it was getting closer to their arrival. He sat back down on the broken trunk and turned the time keeper over and over in his hands. He was nervous; everything had to go according to plan tonight. His life depended on it.
The Vanishing Cabinet loomed in front of him, quiet and threatening. Draco had spent a large part of his sixth year of school trying to fix the cabinet until finally, mere hours earlier, he had succeeded. Soon a group of Death Eaters, his Aunt Bellatrix among them, would be coming out and he would lead them to the astronomy tower to complete his task. The task had weighed heavily on Draco all year and despite his best efforts he couldn't find a way out of it. Draco closed his eyes and dropped his head in to his hands, shaking from the memory.
The previous summer Draco had returned home to find his mother alone. His father had been arrested following the events at the Ministry of Magic, all thanks to precious Potter. His mother wouldn't say a word to him as she led him through to the back room where his Aunt Bellatrix stood waiting. Draco remembered the anger he felt when she recounted the failure of his father and the resulting fury of the Dark Lord. His mother cried while his Aunt told him to take her hand, the Dark Lord had requested his presence. Draco knew better than to decline. He had grown up hearing about the powerful Dark Lord, the rightful leader of the Wizarding World. When his parents spoke of him they spoke with a revered tone and Draco felt the same way while he stood in a dimly lit room waiting for him to appear.
A cold voice came from behind him, "Draco."
Draco turned and made eye contact with a set of eyes he'd only ever dreamed of. Slits of red pierced his mind and Draco watched as memories ran through his head - stories from his parents, the pride he felt at the torment of Muggles at the World Cup, the disgust he felt for Mudbloods and most of all the admiration and thirst he had for power. A high pitched laugh filled the room.
"I see young Draco won't take much persuading after all."
"My lord, it is an honour" Draco replied, dropping in to a low bow.
"Enough." Lord Voldemort responded, "Your father has let me down. Thwarted by teenagers, he's an embarrassment to our cause!"
Draco felt his face burn as his Aunt laughed beside him. Aside from the Dark Lord, Draco had always looked up to his father. The Dark Lord smirked at him.
"You are a fool to admire such a disappointment of a man, Draco. But it pleases me to see you believe in our cause and the purity of the Wizarding World." Lord Voldemort said, "Tonight you will be given an opportunity to prove this."
"Anything, my Lord."
"Albus Dumbledore has long crusaded to defeat me. But he is a foolish old man and I need him out of the way." Lord Voldemort said and grabbed Draco's left arm, "As one of his students you will have a greater chance of solving this problem for me."
"Solve the problem, my Lord?" Draco questioned.
"You will kill Albus Dumbledore before you return home next year."
The words hung in the air and Draco felt his sleeve be pushed up. He stared down at his exposed left forearm; he knew it would never be bare again after this moment. Draco smiled and looked up at the Dark Lord.
"I would be honoured, my Lord."
Bellatrix began laughing manically and with a flash of blue light Draco's arm seared with pain. He never screamed, he would never be weak in front of the Dark Lord.
Recoiling from the memory Draco stood up and began to pace around the vanishing cabinet. Draco pulled his sleeve back and stared at the mark of the Death Eaters forever etched on to his forearm. He felt a wave of shame come over him remembering the way he gloated to his fellow Slytherins, rubbing it in their faces as if he was more important than them. How foolish he had been. At first the task seemed like the right thing to do; defeat the enemy and save his father. His feeble attempts had been thwarted each time and Draco grew more desperate. He had to succeed. And yet, Draco found himself wanting to fail. Draco had spent the year watching the Headmaster and saw a kindness in the man he had never noticed before.
"I don't want to do this" Draco whispered. "There has to be another way..."
He thought of his mother alone at home and remembered the way she used to read to him as a child. His father, though proud and firm, had never let him down. Draco wondered if he was fighting for the wrong side, but it's all he's ever known. It's too late now. If he doesn't complete the task his family is dead, he is dead. Draco felt the hot anger in his chest again and he began to shake.
"Stop it." He hissed to himself. "Don't cry. Don't you dare be weak."
The shaking grew more uncontrollable and Draco began to lash out at the assortment of objects around him. He hurled textbooks across the room, tore apart robes, smashed frames and mirrors and kicked the trunk until the side fell off. He fell to the floor sobbing. His wailing echoed around the room and his breathing become painful and quick. The vanishing cabinet loomed before him, a coffin for his life.
"I am not a murderer." Draco cried, "I AM NOT A MURDERER."
Panting Draco carefully got back on his feet and pulled out his wand. His hand shook as he slowly raised his arm. If the cabinet is broken they can't come through. Draco willed himself to be brave, to do the right thing for the first time in his life.
"I am not a murderer." Draco whispered.
The cabinet door slowly creaked open and a hand reached out from behind the door. Draco's arm fell to his side and he hurriedly wiped away his tears. Draco stumbled backwards as his Aunt Bellatrix jumped out the cabinet and followed by others. Draco's stomach dropped when he saw Fenrir Greyback emerge licking his lips excitedly.
"Well done Draco." Bellatrix said and began to laugh manically.
Draco turned from his Aunt to hide his fear. He was too late; there was no way out now. Draco cleared his throat and led them to the door leading out of the Room of Requirement and into his nightmare. Tonight he would become a murderer. Tonight he would seal his fate with death.