DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter; it is fully JK Rowling's. The plot is all that is mine.

Roll away your stone I will roll away mine

Together we can see what we will find

Don't leave me alone at this time

For I am afraid of what I will discover inside

Darkness is a harsh term don't you think

Yet it dominates the things I see

-Roll Away Your Stone; Mumford and Sons

Draco POV:

Draco was sitting on a greek-style, marble bench in his mother's favorite rose garden. Summer was almost ended and so the flowers were all at the end of their bloom. Magnificent colors were all that Draco could see, pink, orange, red, white, and his favorite, ivory. Draco plucked a small ivory rose bud from one of the bushes and twirled it between his fingers, the feel of the silky petals helped sooth his inner turmoil. He was contemplating the constellation Cepheus, when he felt someone sit down by him. He didn't look away from the clear sky but he could smell Astoria's perfume, lilac and honey with a hint of mint. Inhaling deeply he closed his eyes and took comfort in her familiar scent.

"It's a beautiful night," Astoria commented. Draco caught a shred of wonder and appreciation in her voice.

"Mmm, I suppose," Draco opened his eyes and found Astoria staring at him in confusion. Her eyebrows were knitted together and her mouth was turned down in a slight frown.

"It is! There isn't a cloud in sight and you can see all of the constellations. All of the roses are in full bloom, they smell wonderful!"

"I wasn't talking about the scenery," Draco sneered. He clenched his hands into fists and futilely tried to keep his emotions in check. The initiation ceremony had shaken him more than he cared to admit and he could feel the guilt burning his arm.

"What are you talking about, then?" She sneered back at him.

"The… Events that took place today," He subconsciously grabbed his left arm and rubbed the painful spot on his forearm.

"What are you talking about? Don't you feel honored and elated?" When Draco didn't respond, Astoria dropped the topic; she wasn't one to be pushy. "Are you going to join the festivities?" Astoria motioned to the brightly lit ballroom inside. Everyone was talking and laughing gaily, huge smiles plastered on their faces. Draco looked for his parents and found them smiling and nodding to everyone who came congratulate them. He knew that his father's smile was genuine, his mother's was not. Only a few people knew that Narcissa wasn't a full Death Eater, they just assumed that she was because of her husband's standing in Voldemort's inner circle. Draco was one of the few that knew of her true standing. She was an honorary Death Eater; she had begged Voldemort to not make her take the Dark Mark in order for her to be accepted in society. She made the excuse that if at least one of her family wasn't a "true" Death Eater, then the Malfoy name would be safer and so they could serve him even better.

Astoria saw him looking at his parents and bit her lip to keep from inhaling too sharply. The only person in the grand ballroom that she could regard as a guardian was Bellatrix, and while Miss Bella had been a wonderful guardian, she couldn't take the place of Astoria's parents. She could almost imagine them laughing along with all of the other purebloods in the room. She could picture in her mind's eye, her parents dancing to a waltz. If she tried hard enough, she could almost see her older sister, Daphne, as she would look today, giddy with excitement for Astoria and bursting with happiness.

"Your mother looks unhappy," Astoria whispered, coming out of her dream. "Isn't she happy for you?"

"I don't know, Astoria. She may just be in shock," Even though Astoria had lived with them for three years, the Malfoys had never been inclined to tell her of Narcissa's current standings with the Dark Lord.

"Oh look, there's Blaise. I didn't know that he would be here tonight."

"Nor did I," Draco replied. He took in the appearance of his best mate. Although he looked to be the picture perfect pureblood, Draco could tell that he was jealous. Jealous of the fact that his two best friends had been initiated before him and that he wouldn't be given the honor until after he had graduated from Hogwarts. As Draco watched, Blaise pulled off a string from his dress robes and glared around moodily until he found a young woman who was wearing an atrociously tight dress sitting at a small table. Blaise sauntered over to her and began to engage her in, what she must have thought was, friendly conversation.

"Would you like to go talk to him? I'm sure that he misses us. Well, mainly you."

"I'm sure he does, but I'm not really in the mood to put up with his so called 'witty' banter at the moment."

Astoria looked exasperated at Draco. Everything that asked him to do, he shot down. She could tell that he was unhappy about something, but she had no idea what. She felt that maybe it was because of the torture earlier in the day.

"Draco, I'm sorry, I was-"

"Do you see that, Astoria?" Draco didn't seem to even have heard her apology. "I think, I think it's an owl."

"An owl?"

"Yes, see there," He pointed to the dark sky and sure enough, a white snowy owl was flying determinedly towards the pair.

"Is that… Is that Harry Potter's owl?" Astoria's voice was filled with shock and contempt.

Draco just ignored her and stood up to retrieve the letter attached to the owl's leg. The owl, supposedly Harry Potter's owl, landed on a large white fountain and began to drink some of the water, as if it had flown a long way. Draco gently untied the letter and then the owl took flight again, silhouetted white against the dark, ebony night.

"Who is it from, Draco? Draco?" Astoria came up beside him and looked over his shoulder. His hands were shaking slightly and the parchment was beginning to crumple in his iron-clad grip. He suddenly held the letter out to her and she gently took it from him. Draco had already memorized the writing on the parchment.

Dear Draco Malfoy,

We have become aware that earlier today you were initiated into the ranks of Voldemort's Death Eaters. We send our condolences. We would also like to offer you an opportunity that we feel you would take up with pleasure. To our knowledge, you have not been too keen on serving Voldemort and we understand this. As it is our duty to defy Voldemort's plan of purification of the wizarding society, we would be very pleased if you would join our cause. We also understand that because of your name and family's status in this world, you may not be able to help us. If not, we completely understand and we will not bother you again. Our original offer is that, if you so choose, you will be able to join our ranks and work on a mission that could ultimately be the deciding factor on whether Voldemort falls. Because of the importance of this mission, we cannot give you any details on what it is unless you reply to us that you will help and give your full allegiance to us. Please reply to this as quickly as possible. For safety concerns, we would appreciate if you sent your letter to The Burrow and address it to Fred Weasley.

Thank you, Mr. Malfoy

Sincerely,

Remus Lupin, the Order of the Pheonix

Draco heard Astoria gasp and knew that she had finally understood why he had been so morose throughout the evening.

"Y-you, don't want to serve the Dark Lord?" She whispered to him.

Rather than trusting himself to respond politely, he just nodded and stared out at the sky again.

"How could you, you ungrateful bastard!" She hissed.

Draco simply stared out at the Leo constellation. He would have rather had her scream and yell at him, not this hateful quietness. After a few moments he heard her dress swish and listened as she angrily stalked away. For a couple seconds he just stood there, but then he heard a slight pop and looked down to see Cepheus standing next to him.

"If you require any-zing, Monsieur Malfoy, I vill be 'appy to 'elp."

"Thank you, Cepheus. But I would prefer to be alone right now. Maybe later,"

Cepheus nodded once and then looked at him closely, "Vous êtes un homme bon, peu importe ce que dit."

"Merci, Cepheus, merci."

A/N:

Bwahahaha! :)

Please review! You'll have to figure out what Cepheus said for youself.

Also, the "any-zing" is supposed to be "anything"

OnlyPureBlood, over and out :)