Part 3

Draco met up with Cameron Halliwell after every Arithmancy lesson and sat with her during breakfast, lunch and dinner during the following week. He had remembered what she had said about earning her trust, and he was proving to be a very enjoyable companion.

She was much more fun than Crabbe and Goyle had ever been, joining in with retorts about the Gryffindors and generally appreciating his mischief. Draco immediately recognised invaluable qualities in her, ones that, with a bit of a push in the right direction, could be of use to the Dark Side. He decided to confront her about these on Saturday, when she was due to come up to his room to work on their Arithmancy assignment.

He was just closing the windows and adding an extra log to the fire to keep out the early autumn chill, when there was a knock at his door.

He opened it and Cameron was standing there, her arms full of books and parchment.

"Aren't you going to let me in"? she teased," I've carried these books up like a million flights of stairs and my arms are killing me".

Draco grinned, took a pile of the books and dumped them on his table.

"You're going to have to give a hand with my side of the project", said Draco exasperatedly flicking through one of the dusty tomes. "I don't usually find Arithmancy difficult, but I'll fail if you don't".

"So no pressure then" said Cameron giving him a grin, pulling out her class notes and glancing at the clock," if we get to work now we should have it finished in a couple of hours, and it isn't due until next Thursday".

"If you say so", sighed Draco looking at a long page of calculations upside down.

They worked continuously for the next hour, Cameron giving Draco help where he needed it. He felt comfortable in this girl's presence, not threatened by her intelligence, but rather excited when he thought about asking her about the Dark Side.

"Draco"? said Cameron pushing his shoulder, "I just asked you something and you're gazing into space again. What the hell is up with you"?

Draco jerked his head in her direction, "nothing, nothing. Do you mind if we break for a while? If I look at one more page of numbers my heads going to explode".

Cameron laughed and closed the book she was poring over, "sure, I was going to stop in a moment anyway".

Draco went to sit by the fire and both were silent for a moment.

He was pondering whether this was the best time to bring up the Dark Side and reveal his identity as a Death Eater. A few minutes past and Cameron shuffled the last couple of pieces of parchment and came to sit on the opposite armchair.

"You're pretty quiet today" she said tucking her feet underneath her, "are you ok"?

Draco looked up at her and decided now was as good a time as any.

"Cameron, do you agree with me on the idea of a Pureblood race"?

She looked rather surprised at this sudden question, "yes Draco, I thought I had made that obvious over the past week, didn't you catch on? I mean, that would be pretty poor for a Death Eater, wouldn't it"?

Draco snapped his head around, mentally kicking himself a second after he did. The oldest trick in the book; if she hadn't known his identity, she did now.

"So you are one", she said looking him straight in the eye, "I wasn't guessing anyway. The first time I met you and you touched your left forearm, I knew it was because there was a Dark Mark burned on there".

Draco didn't bother to conceal his astonishment. "How do you know about the Mark"?

"I've known about Dark Side ever since Voldemort came back to power last summer. I knew what the Mark looked like, and I've seen it on some Death Eaters bodies. They were killed near where I lived before I came to Hogwarts".

Draco mouthed soundlessly and if any doubt had remained in his mind about recruiting Cameron, it now diminished.

"Cameron, I'm tenth in charge, and I want to recruit you", Draco said firmly.

Cameron gave him a smile, one that reached her soft brown eyes.

"Finally, Draco. I was wondering how long it would take you", she finished coolly, "and yes, consider me recruited".

Draco jumped up. "There are a number of things I'm going to have to teach you before I can even introduce you to Voldemort. There is only one other female in the Dark Side, and that is Bellatrix Lestrange. She's a bitch, but I think your talent will far surpass hers".

She smiled again at the compliment.

"I think we'll call it a night for the Arithmancy", said Draco gathering her books, "but we'll have to meet at least once a week so that I can show you everything that is needed before the Dark Side can consider recruiting you".

She gathered her books, opened the door and stepped out.

A nightly breeze ruffled her hair as she turned to face Draco.

"Goodnight", she said turning and walking back along the corridor.

Draco closed the door behind her and leant against it.

He knew he was taking a risk with Cameron. He just hadn't realised the magnitude of it yet.

The following Saturday Draco finished his homework in the library before dinner and met Cameron in the Great Hall. She had changed out of her school robes, into something more comfortable, as Draco had told her to.

"Hey Cameron", whispered Draco.

"Hi".

"Meet me in my room at nine and bring your wand".

"I always have it with me Draco. Don't you"?

Fervently agreeing verbally, Draco mentally approved Cameron's abilities again.

After dinner, Draco sat in the armchair in his room twirling his wand in his hand, contemplating what he was about to do. He had known Cameron a mere two weeks and he was about to unfold his tricks and secrets about the Dark Side. Was he crazy? His mind was a mess. Emotions had disrupted his concentration, and by focussing his energies on the Dark Side he had hoped to regain himself. But no, his adolescence had only become worse. Haunting every waking moment, the only time he was able to find peace was in sleep. An hour passed in this fashion until a knock at the door awoke him from his daydream.

Cameron strolled in, and Draco who was losing nerve for the whole idea, gritted his teeth and decided to give her a difficult task to start with, the one he had been given ever since he could remember. If she could withstand this, there was no room for doubts.

"Cameron I won't tell you what I'm going to do", said Draco holding his wand in front of him, "just fight it any way you can".

Before she was even ready with her wand Draco bellowed, "Crucio"!

She fell to floor, her body twitching, but to Draco's amazement five seconds later she threw off the curse, pulled out her wand and yelled "Impedimenta"!

Draco was blasted into the back of an armchair and when he had straightened up, Cameron was standing there, arms folded, twirling her wand between her elegant fingers.

"Wow". Unable to contain his shock Draco reacted in the first normal way that came to mind.

He ran a pale hand through his dishevelled blond hair and started in pain as he felt blood.

"Are you alright"? Cameron walked towards him, looking concerned, "I'm sorry, I-".

"It's fine", snapped Draco, "you managed that fine now lets move on, ok"?

Cameron looked slightly put out at his change in temperament, but stood up straight, face steeled, wand held in front of her.

"Give me your best shot".

Three hours passed in this manner every Saturday for months. From nine until midnight Draco and Cameron practised duelling and throwing off the Unforgivable Curses.

Though she would show no pain or tiredness, Cameron longed to rest.

Winter arrived, and to toughen her up Draco deliberately opened the windows so the icy chill penetrated the room and Cameron shook with the cold. His eyes never smiled as they did when they joked and laughed at Gryffindors during lessons, and one weekend, before the holidays started, Cameron snapped when she could not throw off the Imperious Curse.

"What's wrong with you Cameron"? shouted Draco, his eyes like chips of ice, "didn't you do the mental exercises this week at all"?

"What the hell is wrong with you Draco"? yelled back Cameron, her face screwed up with anger, "why the fuck do you turn into such a bastard every damn weekend, why do you never praise what I've achieved"?

"Why should I? I was never praised, not once until I became a Death Eater, and when I threw off the Cruciatus Curse it wasn't because I was training"!

"Well get this Draco, I'm not you, and you can't want me to join the Dark Side this much or you'd be civil to me at least once during one of these torturous three hour training sessions"!

"I don't have to be civil", said Draco turning his back on her and standing next to a window so that a flurry of snowflakes blew onto his face.

"You know what", said Cameron, and Draco could hear the tears in her voice even if he couldn't see them, "I don't think you're as mean as you make out. I don't think you're mean because you can't be anything else. I think you're just afraid to be nice to me".

He heard her footsteps across the room and a door slam.

Standing for a minute he gripped the window frame very tightly, his knuckles going white from the cold, eyes staring out into the thick swirls of snow.

He turned his head to look at the room that was as usual, chaos after the training session. He was exhausted and staggered into his bedroom, collapsing onto the bed. Sleep overpowered him, but unlike the peace he so often counted on after a draining day, tonight he was tortured with dreams.

He stood in a black room filled with everyday things from his life. Everything from his parents to towering piles of schoolbooks, Lord Voldemort to flashes of green light was threatening to swallow him up...

...the floor opened up below him and he was falling...away from the black room...down...down...he collapsed into a white room.

His eyes closed and he slept dreamlessly for a few hours.

Then as though he were actually waking up, his eyes opened in his dream and met a bright white light. Blocking the light from his line of vision was the blurred silhouette of someone, a girl he could not make out.

She ran her hand soothingly over his head and hair until he closed his eyes in sleep, then kissed his forehead.

And Draco slept peacefully.