House: Slytherin
Category: short
Prompt: [Speech] "I know enough that I won't die. So, teach me how to do this."
Word count: 672
A/N. This is a slight AU.
oO0Oo
Draco swallowed hard. "I know enough that I won't die. So, teach me how to do this." He held his wand in a white-knuckled grip, his entire body tensed and ready to fight… or to flee. The boy was terrified, his father could tell. He was good at hiding his emotions, but not that good.
Lucius looked down at his son. "You do realize this is dangerous."
"I do." His son's words were hard and unyielding. Draco Malfoy had the potential to be a great man. Already he was making his father proud. "I understand the risks involved, father."
"Yet you insist on joining a Death Eater raid."
"I must prove my loyalty." Draco nodded sharply, his eyes focused on his father's face. It seemed as though he were searching for an emotion, or even searching for Lucius's thoughts. How fortuitous it was that the boy did not know Legilimency. "You of all people would understand."
"I would. Spilling magical blood just because it belongs to mudbloods, half-bloods, and blood-traitors is still spilling magical blood and requires a certain level of dedication to the Dark Lord." Lucius looked at his son again, seeing a fifth-year who had not even taken his OWLs yet. He was so young… and yet he would heap upon himself the responsibilities of adulthood. "You know that your mother would not approve."
Draco's eyes flashed. "She may not approve, but what I do will keep her safe. If our family's loyalty is called into question, she is the one who spends the most time in the Manor. She would be the first to feel the wrath of the Dark Lord."
"She would," Lucius replied, his calm manner betraying nothing. Although he wished it were not so, for Narcissa did not deserve to suffer for his folly, there was no way around it. "I am proud of you, my son, for considering your mother."
Draco gave him a strained half-smile. "She is my mother," he said simply, "and she deserves the best we can give her."
Lucius nodded. "For her sake, I will teach you, then. There is not much to be learned, for much of this knowledge you have already from your summers spent with your mother and those tutors we hired for you, but there exists a certain art to a successful muggle hunt."
"Father, I asked to join a Death Eater raid." Draco's tone was bland, but Lucius could nonetheless hear the irritation in his son's voice.
"First things must always come first," he replied. "Before going on a Death Eater raid, you shall participate in the muggle hunt. After all, muggles cannot fight back, but muggle hunts nevertheless signal your loyalty and devotion to the Dark Lord."
Draco sighed, his form relaxing infinitesimally. "As always, you are correct, father. So, what must I know to hunt muggles?"
"Not much," Lucius answered. "I trust that you can cast the Unforgivables?"
Draco's eyebrows rose. "I- I would have to cast those on muggles?" he asked, an unmistakable tremor in his voice.
"You would," Lucius said smoothly. "It is expected of all Death Eaters. But it is not difficult, especially when you are only casting on muggles. I trust you know the wand movement and incantation?"
"Of course," Draco scoffed.
"Then follow me. We shall go to Edinburgh and procure you a test subject. After all, you are a Malfoy, and a Malfoy would not go into his first muggle hunt unprepared." Lucius strode from the room, pride swelling within him. Draco would do well as his heir, and he would please the Dark Lord with his precocious prowess. For once, Lucius felt the first stirrings of hope. With a son so eager to learn the ways of the Dark, the Malfoys would surely benefit from the new order. "I am glad you came to me," he said to his son. "It showed strength of will. If you ever wish to learn anything beyond the Hogwarts curriculum, do not hesitate in the future. I will be all too happy to assist you."
Draco nodded. "I will. Thank you, father."
"It is my pleasure."