This is my first attempt at a Harry Potter story. For the most part, the story will stay close to some of the events that happen at Hogwarts in the books, but other times things will be completely out of the ordinary and completely new from the world.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Harry Potter. I only own my OC's, Audrea Falco and Jessaiya Bolt.

"Sometimes people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them."

–John Green

"Hurry, dear. The Dark Lord does not like to be kept waiting."

The woman in front of me pulled her coat tighter around her lean frame, walking swiftly through the winding streets of Knockturn Alley. Her brunette-blonde hair flew wildly around her head as the wind picked up again, my eyes squinting as the cold, dry air hit my face. We walked for a few minutes more, making a few sharp turns along the way, and then she stopped in front of a shop. I looked up at the shop and recognized it as Borgin and Burkes.

The woman looked around at her surroundings suspiciously, keeping her gaze focused on what was behind her the longest, seemingly waiting to see if something would suddenly come out of the shadows. She sighed softly and then grabbed the door handle, hauling it open and allowing me to go through. I watched as she shifted her gaze all around her once again, walking into the shop behind me as I pulled the large hood of the black coat off my head. The entire room was filled with various artifacts and objects that reflected the study of the Dark Arts, something I was skillfully trained in by the Dark Lord himself. I swept my eyes along the room and realized we were the only ones present. I heard the door close softly behind me and the woman walked over to stand next to me, shaking her gloves out as she took them off.

"Well...shall we?" The woman looked down at me with what seemed like a sympathetic smile, signaling that she knew something was going to happen that I wasn't aware of. I nodded once, reaching my hands out to her and feeling her cold ones slip into my own. She squeezed my hands and then closed her eyes, scrunching her face in concentration. I watched her and then took my hands away from hers quickly, causing her eyes to shoot open and her eyebrow to raise in questioning.

"Before we go," My sentence trailed off as I looked down at my hands, wringing them together and thinking about what could possibly happen when we came face-to-face with the Dark Lord. "I just want to say thank you, Narcissa...for everything."

I brought my gaze up to see her smiling down at me, almost like a mother would with her own child. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy had taken care of me after my parents were suddenly murdered by the Dark Lord. His own explanation as to why he decided to kill them was because they had "failed him as Death Eaters," something I never want to be associated with. The Dark Lord identifies me as one of his Death Eaters, but I always denied it, not wanting to do the Dark Lord's dirty work for him. When he killed my parents he forced me into the Dark Arts, and for fear that he would kill me, I went along with whatever he said or ordered me to do.

She nodded and walked forward, pulling me towards her in a soft hug. "You don't have to thank me just yet, darling. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other soon enough."

I rolled the sentence she had just spoken over and over again in my mind, wondering what she could possibly mean. It was weird enough that the Dark Lord had summoned me to meet him immediately, not giving any more details as to why.

"Now," Narcissa stepped back, keeping her hands on my shoulders as her gaze stayed locked with mine. "We shouldn't keep him waiting any longer. I wouldn't want to see him hurt you as a consequence."

"Right." I nodded at her, the left corner of my mouth turning upwards in a small smile, my eyes holding a hint of fear at what was to come. She held her hands out once more and I placed my hands in hers, closing my eyes as my arms began to tingle. Narcissa and I apparated from the small shop with a loud "pop!" When I opened my eyes and looked around I saw we were in some sort of abandoned, worn down building. Narcissa walked quickly ahead of me and waved her hand, signaling for me to follow her. We walked up a large staircase and to a closed door, stopping in front of it. Narcissa grabbed the knob and slowly turned, opening the door wide enough that I could see inside.

A large, narrow table sat in the middle of the large room, rows of chairs positioned on either side with various Death Eaters occupying their spaces. Narcissa walked into the room in front of me as I followed, casting my eyes downward as I felt every gaze in the room land on me.

"My Lord," Narcissa bent into a subtle bow, turning her body towards me and pointing her arm in my direction. "Audrea Falco."

I brought my eyes upward, meeting the gaze of Voldemort himself. His mouth was frozen into a smug smirk as he folded his hands together in front of him, leaning forward in his chair. His eyes were vacant of any kind of emotion and seemed like endless black holes. Anyone who dared look him in the eye would probably have fainted in fear, but not me. I kept my gaze locked on his, my arms crossing over my chest as I stood before him at the side of the table.

"Ah, Audrea..." He drew the last syllables of my name out, smiling wider as he said it. He stood up from his seat and seemingly floated towards me, placing a finger under my chin and forcing me to look up at him. I cringed at his touch and my arms fell to my sides, staring up at him. "It is time, my dear."

I wasn't aware of what he was talking about and I felt a shiver unwillingly shake my body as I thought about what that could mean. I looked over at Narcissa and she smiled warmly at me, almost as if she was reassuring me that he wasn't going to kill me just yet.

Voldemort stepped back from me, clasping his hands together again and looking at me curiously. "I have a task for you. It is one that must be completed under any circumstance."

I swallowed and nodded towards him. "I understand."

He nodded subtly in my direction, shifting his gaze over to a man seated to his right with a Death Eater mask stationed on his face. He signaled for him to rise and come over to us. I looked over and saw the man quickly rise from his seat and walk over to stand next to us, removing the mask from his face. My eyes widened when I realized the face under the mask belonged to Lucius Malfoy, his face grim as he looked at Voldemort. "Yes, my Lord?"

"Audrea and I are going to create an Unbreakable Vow. Would you do us the honor?" Voldemort stretched his arm out, motioning between us as Lucius' eyes widened a bit. He shook the shock from his face and then quickly nodded, snapping the snake head cap off of his walking stick that contained his wand and held it out towards us. Voldemort smiled a sickly smile and held his right arm out to me, Lucius looking in my direction with what seemed like a look of pity on his face. I stared at him, realizing that I had never seen him care for anyone other than Narcissa or Voldemort like this, and I imagined it was because he knew what Voldemort and an Unbreakable Vow meant.

I shook myself out of my daydream-like state and looked at Voldemort, timidly holding my right arm out to him. He grasped my right forearm with his hand rather tightly and I flinched, slowly grasping his right forearm. Lucius held his wand over our arms, looking over at Voldemort. I saw Voldemort smile before nodding. "Audrea Falco will watch over and protect Draco Malfoy until his task of killing Albus Dumbledore is completed, stopping anyone who tries to harm him, even if it means murder..."

My ears perked up at the name that came out of Voldemort's mouth, quickly darting my eyes between Narcissa and Lucius. I wasn't aware they had a son, and neither of them had mentioned him or even told me about him when I had been around them. And what made him so important that I had to protect him?

I was knocked out of my short-lived shock when Voldemort's heavy gaze forced me to look at him. "I promise to look after and protect Draco Malfoy until his task of killing Albus Dumbledore is complete and stop anyone who tries to harm him even if it means murder."

The bright mist of the Vow began to wrap around our arms and hands, permanently etching the task into my soul. Voldemort's smile widened and he continued. "Once your task is complete you will be immediately terminated."

This statement took everyone in the room by shock and I heard an audible gasp come from Narcissa. I swallowed and stuck my chest out, shaking the fear from my body and standing tall opposite the Dark Lord. I realize now that no matter what I will die at the end of all of this; whether I succeed or fail.

"When my task is complete I will be terminated." The strings of the Vow wrapped tighter around our arms and hands until Voldemort smiled, nodding at Lucius and signaling that that was all. The visible Vow vanished and I unclasped my hand quickly from Voldemort's forearm, staring down at it as I flexed it.

"Wonderful..." I looked up to see Voldemort walking back over to his seat, looking down at something on the floor. A large snake soon slithered up onto the table, stopping in front of me and raising the front of its body. Its tongue flicked in and out of its mouth as its beady eyes stared into mine. I glared at it and crossed my arms back over my chest again, Voldemort chuckling darkly from where he stood at the head of the table. "Nagini approves of you as the one to protect young Draco."

"Lovely." I tore my gaze away from the overgrown serpent and looked over at Narcissa, seeing her staring at the ground with her hands clasped in front of her.

"I imagine you will be leaving for Hogwarts soon. Severus Snape will meet you when you arrive and show you to the quarters in which you will be staying," Voldemort looked at me, his head cocked to the side. "And please leave one Harry Potter. I wish to personally kill him. Watch him suffer..."

He trailed off and seemed like he was in deep thought about something. I bit the inside of my cheek and watched him sit down in his large chair, still deep in thought. "You may leave now. I do wish you the best of luck in your task."

He looked up at me and I nodded at him, turning to leave the room. "And, Audrea-"

I looked back to see him clasp his hands in front of him and smirk at me. "Do not follow the path of your parents and fail me. I would not want to have to terminate you so early."

I sent him a dark look and then turned my back on the room, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. I slammed the door loudly behind me and stopped walking just outside. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, attempting to keep my feelings for my parents at bay. If Voldemort saw me cry now, he would deem me as weak and I wasn't about to die early. I hadn't cried in over eight years anyway. Not since the day I learned my parents had died when I was one. I don't know how I was able to comprehend the meaning of death or the fact that I would never meet or see them again, but I had a hitch that it had to do with the complex soul that was living alongside my own. The Black Panther that lived inside me was truly becoming a curse.

I sighed and opened my eyes again, walking down the staircase towards the main room we had apparated to earlier. I couldn't help but think about what Narcissa and Lucius thought about all of this. I mean, I was trusted to fully protect their only son.

I bit my lip. What did he look like anyway? And how was I supposed to find him when I got to Hogwarts? I sighed again and held my head, feeling it spin from all of the unanswered questions as I apparated back to my lone living quarters in Godric's Hollow.

Little did I know that finding Draco would be a lot easier than I thought.

I hope you like my take and how I've customized it just a little in later chapters.

If you do like what you read, please share your thoughts and let me know how I'm doing! :)