DISCLAIMER
All recognizable characters and settings that appear in this story belong to JKR. The storyline and Gale Wallace belong to me, although I doubt you want to steal them. But don't.

REVIEWERS
moonypadfoot- Haha, I'm glad you thought it was scary... I was trying to make Voldemort into a vampire-type character.
Lady Norbert- Thanks for pointing out my error in the prologue... no one has ever noticed that before, including myself, obviously. I'm glad someone noticed. Also, I'm sorry you were confused about Lucius's sons; this chapter will hopefully clear things up.
tattva- I don't think this chapter has quite the same tense atmosphere, but I tried! Thanks for reviewing.

MISC.
Gale Wallace means "the stranger" in Celtic and Ophelia means "helper" in Greek... well, according to Babynames.com.

TAINTED LOVE
A fanfiction by poly styrene

CHAPTER ONE: Brotherly Love

Draco Malfoy eyed his half-brother warily. They sat on opposite sides of the parlor, and had spent the last half-hour determinedly looking anywhere but each other. After thirty minutes of stony silence, the two boys had begun to sneak furtive glances across the room, hurriedly losing interest if the other should look up.

For being my half-brother, we really look nothing alike, thought Draco. They shared the same tall, lean figure, but the similarities ended there. Where Draco was almost sickeningly well-groomed, his half-brother was carelessly handsome. Draco was blonde, fair-skinned, and light-eyed; the other boy had such dark coloring that he appeared almost African at times.

The parlor doors banged open, and Lucius stormed in. "Gale, Lord Voldemort wishes to see you." The boy's head snapped up, and he jumped eagerly from the fancy plush armchair he had been occupying.

Lucius turned on his heel and strode out, ignoring his other son completely. Gale had reached the doors when he stopped and turned to Draco. "It was... er, very nice meeting you, Draco," he said, shifting his weight awkwardly from foot to foot.

Draco forced himself, rather painfully, to smile. Gale smiled back and quietly closed the parlor door behind him. As soon as the door clicked shut, the false smile dropped like a fly.

How can they expect that mouse to carry out the plan? thought Draco bitterly. "He's got about as much charm as a brick wall," he said aloud softly.

A house elf looked up from her dusting. "You are absolutely right, Master Draco. You really are far more charismatic."

"Oh, come off it, Ophelia," groaned Draco, secretly pleased in spite of himself. "What do you know about human attractions? You're an elf!"

"We observe far more than you know, Master Draco," Ophelia replied simply, finishing her task. "If Master does not require anything, I should return to the kitchens."

Draco waved her away, calling after her, "Mind your mouth, Ophelia! Father hates house elves who talk back!" Of course, he knew she only acted like that around him, and he didn't mind. Ophelia could be fun to talk to. Of all the house elves that they owned, she was the only one he knew by name.

He slumped back down in his chair, mildly disgusted with himself. Resorting to conversations with a house elf, Draco? We are sinking quite low... This is what happens when one has no siblings, I suppose. Suddenly, he sat upright. He did have a sibling, he realized. Gale Wallace had turned out to be his half-brother.

Figures, he thought bitterly. Father was always quite the voyeur. I wonder how many other half-siblings I have running around? What really bothered him about the situation was the fact that Voldemort had chosen the little shit over his father's rightful son. The illegitimate bastard was not only encroaching on what little attention that Draco actually received from his father, but he was also stealing the glory meant for Draco.

Gale Wallace is nothing special. Draco strained his mind, trying to think of what Gale had done in terms of service for the Dark Lord. Nothing, absolutely nothing! No one ever noticed Gale Wallace. He had never even made his allegiance known.

Suddenly, Draco smacked himself viciously in the forehead, startling a gasp from a nearby portrait of his mother. OF COURSE! Gale had been chosen BECAUSE he was overlooked, BECAUSE he had never paraded his loyalties around. He was the perfect secret weapon. Hell, Draco hadn't even known his real identity until an hour or so earlier.

Stupid, stupid arse, Draco, he inwardly berated himself. You should have known to keep a low profile. He stalked off to his room to sort the messy situation out.

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Lucius threw open the double doors for the second time that morning. Eyeing the skinny, dark boy in front of him with distaste, he placed a hand between the protruding shoulder blades and shoved roughly.

Gale stumbled into the room, shooting a backwards glare at his estranged father. He dusted off his shabby robes and faced the two figures at the windows defiantly. His mother was the first to look at him. She nodded elegantly to him, and a small smile crossed her lips.

Encouraged, Gale cleared his throat.

Voldemort turned.

Draco was used to having the Dark Lord around, as Malfoy Manor had served as an important base for Voldemort ever since his revival. But Gale, who had been living with an elderly uncle until his mother's rather recent escape from Azkaban, had never been face-to-face with the Dark Lord.

The red eyes locked his dark ones in a horrible, irresistible gaze. Gale gasped, feeling as though he had been punched extremely hard in the stomach. The room spun, and Gale had the odd, disturbing feeling that he could not move. He attempted to step backwards. No, he definitely could not move. He tried to look down at his feet and found that this too was suddenly impossible.

A smug voice from behind him jolted him from the odd paralysis. He stumbled backwards and almost fell, but caught himself in time.

"Bellatrix," sneered Lucius, unable to resist another dig at the volatile woman, "your son is far more well-behaved than you are. He did not struggle at all. Smart boy. He must get that from me."

"Yes, you are quite the doormat, Lucius," spat Bellatrix, watching in satisfaction as Lucius's smirk was replaced by a stony glare. "But at least you finally acknowledge that he is, indeed, your son."

Voldemort ignored his arguing supporters. He turned to Gale, whose posture suddenly showed great improvement. "You are a smart boy, Gale. You, unlike your headstrong and foolhardy half-brother, have managed to keep a low profile right under Dumbledore's nose. I hear that your mother has managed to fill you in?"

Gale nodded, and his lip curled in disgust momentarily before being instantly hidden under a polite, social mask. Voldemort laughed, raising involuntary goosebumps along Gale's arms.

"It is not the most ideal of assignments for you, I am sure. It will not be fun, as you most likely have imagined." Gale nodded grimly. He had imagined, and none of it had been pretty. "It is risky," continued the Dark Lord, "to allow so much to be placed in the hands of a sixteen-year- old boy." He stepped very close to Gale, and the boy found himself fighting the urge to gag as a putrid odor filled his nose. "Gale... if you succeed, you will become the most important follower that I will have ever had. If you fail..." Voldemort shrugged, a gesture full of silent menace. "...you will be disposed of, just like any other bumbling fool I have had the misfortune of relying on."

Gale swallowed hard and nodded. Voldemort smiled. "Who is to be my target?" asked Gale. Voldemort lifted his want and a soft stream of pale pink light flowed from the tip, a glaring contrast with the wand's dark finish. Gale stared at the conjured image in disbelief and horror.

"But... you can't mean... HER?!"

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Draco paced the floor of his elaborate bedroom, furious with himself. He was also suffering a near-cardiac arrest brought on by the odd combination of scorn, jealousy, and most of all, curiosity.

What an odd twist of events this afternoon had become. Draco had only seen Gale Wallace in passing. The two had never spoken. Now, they were half-brothers, and they would be spending the rest of the summer together at the Manor; not because their parents wanted them to get to know each other, but because there really was no other place for Bellatrix and Gale to go.

There was a quiet knock on the door, and Draco knew exactly who it would be. "Come in," he called, wondering if he would be expected to entertain Gale for the month of August.

"Hi," called Gale softly, peering around the door. "Mind if I come in?"

Do I have a choice? "No, of course not. Come right in."

Gale smiled broadly and closed the door behind him. "Sorry about barging in on you... the house elf told me where to find you."

Thanks a lot, Ophelia. "Don't worry about it; the Manor can get pretty boring."

Gale plopped down on a couch and stared out the window. "I dunno, you've got some pretty fascinating stuff around here."

Draco shrugged, and they fell silent. Finally, he could no longer bear it. "Who is it, then? Who's your target?"

Gale looked uneasy. "Well, I'm not really supposed to tell anyone..."

Draco smirked. "Voldemort doesn't really care if you tell me. I know the plan already, and I'll be able to figure out who it is once we get to Hogwarts. This was supposed to be my job, you know."

Gale shifted nervously, looking supremely uncomfortable. "Well, I dunno... I suppose it couldn't hurt any..."

Draco's smile dropped suddenly, and he leaned very close to Gale and hissed, "Look. Your life depends on this. I can help you, if you let me know who it is. You don't want to take chances with your life because you were playing loyal, do you?"

Gale sighed. "You're right." He glanced around. "Sure we can't be overheard?"

Draco smiled, sensing that he was about to get his way. "Positive. All the rooms in this house are charmed against eavesdropping." Resigned, Gale turned and whispered in Draco's ear. The blond stood, eyes wide. "Oh, bugger. I don't envy that assignment after all." He walked over to his desk and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. "You're going to need all the help you can get, mate."

When Ophelia came to call the two boys down to dinner, she found them bent over the roll of parchment, scribbling furiously and snickering. "Master Draco, Master Gale..." The two boys sprang apart, and Draco hastily rolled the parchment up and stuck it in his robe pocket. "Dinner," called Ophelia. As Draco walked past her, she hissed, "Don't be doing something to land yourself in trouble, Master Draco. His Dark Lord will not be pleased if you interfere with the plan."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Give me some credit, Ophelia. I know what I'm doing." He jogged to catch up with Gale.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
Sorry, this chapter is pretty long! Thanks to all of those who reviewed before. If you enjoyed this (or even if you didn't) please review and let me know what you liked and/or what I could improve on. I haven't started the second chapter yet, but this story is coming pretty easily, so it shouldn't take too long. Thanks again!