The Dark Arts, I realized is where the real power lay. With so many Wizards scared to harness this power, it was the surest and quickest route. However, at my house and Hogwarts I had very little information on the Dark Arts available to me. What I needed was a teacher, a mentor or sorts, and I knew just the person to help me. Draco Malfoy, the infamous Death Eater. Of course, his son Thomas was a first year at Hogwarts that year, but I hardly wanted to go to a first year for help. So that Christmas Break while Mom, Dad and Stace were out for a night at Aunt Hermione's and I was home with a feigned stomachache, I took a chance. Now, you must understand, there are certain turning points in a person's life, had we been out of floo powder, or had someone walked in, I'm quite sure my obsession with the Dark Arts would have faded away to mild curiosity, but as it was I did in fact use the Floo Network to get to the Malfoy Manor. As I spun past fireplace after fireplace I considered exactly what I was going to say to Draco Malfoy when I spilled suddenly onto his parlor floor, "Hi, I'm the daughter of Harry and Ginny Potter. Want to teach me the Dark Arts?" hardly seemed appropriate. But I really didn't have time to consider many options because suddenly I felt the solid ground under me meaning I had reached my destination. I tumbled into what I now know was Darco Malfoy's private study but before I knew it, his wand was pointed right between my eyes. I reeled back. I suppose it was the first time I had been scared for my life, but definitely not the last.
"What is the daughter of Harry Potter doing sprawled on my study floor?" he asked, wand still trained right at me. Now as I said, I didn't have a lovely little speech prepared, but as one's instincts usually do in times of need, they kicked in and words sprang to my still trembling lips.
"I want to learn the Dark Arts." I said with my eyes focused on the end of the wand.
"Do you expect me to believe that?" he asked.
"Not really, but it's the truth." I sputtered.
"And why, may I ask, do you wish to learn the Dark Arts?"
"Power." The answer seemed to satisfy him because he removed the wand from between my eyes, yet still didn't tuck it back in his robes.
"Get up," he said and gestured towards a chair, "sit." I obeyed; glad the immediate threat of the want was gone. Mr. Malfoy moved to the cupboard in the corner, pointed his wand at it, whispered some sort of incantation I didn't hear, and the cupboard sprang open to reveal a few shelves of small vials filled with a variety of different colored liquids. He fingered a few of the bottles looking for the right one. Finally he selected a small, half empty vial full of what looked like water but I guessed it was something more. He conjured up a glace of water and put three drops of the clear colorless liquid into the water.
"Here" he said and handed me the glace.
"Veritaserum?" I guessed. He nodded and I drank. I went into an odd sort of state. My head felt light and I knew I wouldn't be able to withhold the truth.
"Why are you here?" Mr. Malfoy asked, his voice far off and echoing.
"To learn the Dark Arts." I said my voice flat and not under my control.
"Why?"
"I want power."
"And why is that?"
"My father, he's scared of power. I will not be scared of power."
"Why did you choose to come to the Malfoy Manor?"
"It is well known that Draco Malfoy is well versed in the Dark Arts."
"And you wanted to learn them from him?"
"Yes"
"What will you do with these powers once you have learned them?"
"Whatever I must do to keep that power." was my expressionless reply. He smiled, well smirked really, and produced another glass with a few drops of a different potion and handed it to me.
"Drink" he commanded, and I did. The buzzing in my head stopped and the things around me swam into focus. "Crucio!" he said suddenly and I felt my body jerk with pain. It felt as if knifes were stabbing me all over and every bone in my body felt as if it was ready to burst into millions of pieces. I screamed, a loud blood curdling scream like no other. Mr. Malfoy finally lifted the curse and I sat-up on the ground where I had fallen off my chair during the curse. Mr. Malfoy came and stood over me.
"That kind of power is what you're seeking correct?"
"Yes," I said awe struck, "teach me!" The smirk was back on his face. He offered a hand to pull me up.
" Get back into your chair. We must discuss the terms of out agreement. After all, it's not as if it's safe for you to come here all the time the same way." He sat behind his desk and poured himself a glass of brandy, not bothering to offer me any. It wasn't as if I cared, nasty stuff brandy is. "I can teach you a few things now," My Malfoy said calmly, "but once you go back to school I doubt we'll be able to continue our lessons, so we will start officially this summer. Can you make an excuse to stay here the whole summer? I assume you don't want your parents knowing as of yet of your intriguing new hobby." I simply nodded, "So can you think of any excuse?" he asked again.
"Given time, I'm sure I can concoct something" I said.
"But you do agree to spend the summer here then?"
"Yes. Just one issue though, your son."
"Yes, what about him?"
"Well he goes to school with me. I believe it would be slightly-" I hesitated, "Er- slightly sentimental if he knew of my... Well honestly I don't trust him not to blow my cover," I said. Mr. Malfoy laughed in what could only be described as a good-natured way.
"To be quite honestly, neither do I. Thomas doesn't mean to say things he shouldn't but he has an unfortunate habit of doing just that."
"So you will teach me, but Thomas won't know, and I can start this summer?"
"There is one more issue. I will expect-" he paused for a second, looked me up and down and leaned over the desk, "payment, for my services." he whispered huskily. I glanced around the room, Mahogany everything, priceless works of Wizarding art, and Magical artifacts I'm sure cost a fortune. Mr. Malfoy did not want money.
"No." I said.
"No?" he recoiled.
"I will not become your whore to learn the Dark Arts. I told you I wanted to learn them for power. Being your whore would hardly constitute power." Mr. Malfoy stared at me wide eyed but his shocked expression faded slowly back to that smirk.
"When do you have to be back?" he asked me as if the last little bit of the conversation never took place.
"My family is at my aunt's. If this visit is like the rest of them, they won't be back until well after midnight."
"Good," he said and glanced at an elaborate clock adorning a shelf, "That gives us time to have a mini lesson."
"What are you going to teach me?"
"Do you know memory charms?" he asked me.
"Those aren't Dark Magic."
"Correct, but very useful all the same. You didn't answer my question."
"No, I have never been taught them."
"First lesson:" he said downing the rest of the brandy and standing up, "learn by your own means. Magic is only harvested through that wand of yours." he nodded to my wand, which I was clutching in my right hand. "Spells and incantation simply aid in the process. Do you understand what I'm telling you?" he asked me.
"You're saying that I don't need to be taught memory charms, simply need to know what I want a spell to do."
"Precisely."
"So the fact that I never have been taught how to perform a memory charm shouldn't really hinder me.
"Right again. Of course I don't expect you to be able to do that quiet yet. So lesson two is memory charms. You must understand that memory charms are very important." He was speaking in an easy and fluent manor, "Memory charms are almost as efficient as the Imperius curse when it comes to manipulating people. You in particular will find the memory charm most useful. Now the correct incantation is 'oblivate'...
Our lessons continued like that through all of Christmas break and picked up again during my spring break. Most of the time they took place in the middle of the night seeing as how I couldn't keep pretending to be sick without arousing suspicion. That was the first step in my walk to where I am today, those midnight lessons with Draco Malfoy learning all I could to become a dark witch.