Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter Three: Proposal

Father I will always be,
That same boy that stood by the sea and,
Watched you tower over me,
Now I'm older I want to be the same as you -Yellowcard, Life Of A Salesman

"You want me to what?" Draco whispered in an awed voice. He tried several times to say something more fluid, but failed miserably.

The Dark Lord gave an amused chuckle. "Wormtail's original idea was somewhat idiotic, but that is what I am for, I suppose. What I am saying, Draco, is that I have a proposal for you. Since your father is temporarily in Azkaban I will be training you in the Dark Arts."

Draco gasped. "You, sir? Wouldn't someone else..."

"Usually, yes, one of my servants would be doing so. But I have much, much more in mind for you, Draco. Much more."

The tone in his voice made Draco shudder slightly.

"What more, my Lord?" Narcissa asked curiously.

"I know how much you hate the Potter boy," he stated, addressing Draco. "Perhaps, you would like a chance for revenge?"

Something in the corner of Draco's mind sparked. His own curiosity flamed. Revenge on Potter? How was he supposed to get revenge on Potter? The flame grew hungrily, gnawing any sense away from his brain.

"How am I going to do that?" he asked with a touch of eagerness.

Voldemort smiled. His plan was working. Maybe being charming could work even after people feared to say your name. "Wormtail suggested the two of you becoming friends. He still manages to forget that Potter is a paranoid little twit. Anything that seems... wrong will only force him to investigate. He may even tell Dumbledore." He spat the name with venom. "Well, I'm asking you to merely watch him, to find a few things out. Then you will be rewarded with the revenge you seek out."

Voldemort laughed at the astonished look on Draco's face. "I see all, Draco. Remember that, it may do you some good in the future."

The Dark Lord didn't know how much that exact sentence would help Draco in the future. If he had, maybe he wouldn't have said it. Not knowing about this, Draco nodded dazedly.

"Good. Now let us discuss the terms and conditions."

The darkness was almost overwhelmingly inviting to Draco that night. After hours of discussing his apprenticeship with the Dark Lord and his mother, the need for sleep rang clear. His eyelids were drooping, the warm air smelled sweet and thick, and the emerald covers on his bed looked better than a million galleons ever could at that moment.

No! He needed to stay awake. To think. There wasn't much time left to plan his strategy. This school year will be the hardest, yet surely the most satisfying, he had in a long while. Draco needed to trick Potter, not into becoming his "friend" as Wormtail stupidly put it, no. He had to push himself into Potter's life without him noticing any drastic changes.

But how the hell was he supposed to do that?

More memories of the meeting came back to him.

"You have to watch him. Look for any unusual behavior. Depression, anger, abnormal cheerfulness. Eavesdrop on his conversations any chance you get. Examine the way he speaks, his hand movements. You must know the Potter boy better than he even knows himself."

Okay. So he had to tail Potter's every move, breath, and step for the rest of the year. Hasn't he been doing something similar, anyway?

Only this time, you're not doing it for stupid school rivalry reasons. This time it's serious. You will be breathing Harry Potter by the time you finish. You'll know his every weakness, his every desire. Then he'll die a torturous death for even thinking he was above you. For ruining your family, your reputation, your life.

"Potter's going down," Draco said in a determined voice. "He'll pay. That bastard will fucking pay."

And I will be powerful. I will be the Dark Lord's right-hand. My father will be so proud of me, he'll treat me like a king. Everybody will know that I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, is the most talented wizard in the world. Even better than Harry Potter.

With those satisfying thoughts in mind, Draco Malfoy laid his head on his pillow and instantly fell asleep.

Narcissa Malfoy let her son sleep in late the following day. She didn't know how to feel about him anymore. Should she be proud about him working closer with the Dark Lord, should she be worried, or should she go on getting drunk and doing things she would regret later? Narcissa really did love her son, but he was too absorbed in his power.

Sometimes he seemed too absorbed in Harry Potter.

Every summer he came home complaining endlessly about the Boy-Who-Lived. It was always something about him. The way people treated him because he was famous, how he got away with anything he did because of a stupid scar on his forehead, how he acted so arrogant and self-serving.

Narcissa hated the Potter boy, but Draco's endless rambles about him really disturbed her. It was as if he was completely obsessed with him! It was almost a fact in her mind that if Draco could, he would be Harry Potter. Which was utterly mad, mind.Here he was, a powerful pureblood wizard with wealth beyond many's dreams, and he wanted to be someone the Dark Lord marked to kill!

Anything else but Draco's strange mania with Potter, Narcissa adored. Yet, it was becoming worse with every growing day. Draco sulked around the house all the time, always mumbling the name "Potter" or the words "revenge" and "better". He just stared at the walls sometimes and burst out in a childish rage.

She thought it would get better with Lucius gone. All the time in the world to spend with her baby until his influence came back. No mentions of Potter, the Dark Lord, or being the best. Just time she could spend talking with him, buying him things, getting to know him. But no. Draco already grew up without her help. He screamed and yelled and cursed at her in the beginning before going back into his regular "Potter frenzy".

No way would Narcissa Black Malfoy stand for that.

So she yelled back. Gave him chores to do so it would show him who's boss. But he didn't change at all. He got worse, darker somehow. Now all his anger was directed at Potter and instead of releasing her from his fury, she made him hate her as well.

That's when the drinking started.

It started with a sip to help her out of her depression. Having both your husband and son distant from you never had good effects. The sips grew to gulps, grew to cups, cups grew to entire bottles. Draco watched her and followed her example. Somehow the summer didn't turn out the way she had planned.

But now there was time to change.

If she trained Draco for the Dark Lord and his spying then she could get closer to him. She could erase the past and start anew. Then when Lucius came back, they could be the family she's always wanted; powerful,rich, and loving.Narcissa sighed and looked at the unopened bottle in her hand. "When did my life become so screwed up?"

After a final thought, she raised the bottle and threw it at the wall.

It was a time for new beginnings, she might even get Draco to forget Potter for a little while.

The room was cold. Very cold. Draco Malfoy scowled. The stupid house elves must have forgotten to cast the daily warming charms. Then he noticed the dark. If it was dark they must have forgotten to light the fire places as well. Damn servants. They were going to get the punishments of their lives because of this.

He tentatively lowered his bare feet on the dark green carpet. It was damp. "What the-" Draco paused mid-sentence. Since when did his carpet have that deep hue of green? Yes, it was green before, but now it was such a healthy shade. Like lush lawns and crisp leaves from summer trees. Now it didn't match almost black emerald of his bed coverings!

And why exactly was it damp?

His scowl even deeper now, Draco slipped his feet into his slippers. Good, they weren't wet. Everytime he took a step the carpet made a slurping noise. Putting on a disgusted face, he strolled out into the hallway quickly. It was completely dark.

Something was wrong. Since when did the house elves forget to light the whole house?.

"MOTHER!"

No answer.

Draco tried again. Still no answer. Where was his mother? Drunk, passed out somewhere? He reached for his wand before realizing it was still in his room.

"Damn it."

After getting his wand and giving another disgusted grimace (the slurping noises remained), he hurried back into the hallway and whispered "Lumos." A white light instantly glowed from the tip of his wand.

"What the hell is going on?" Draco whispered to himself after looking in several rooms and finding no one.

"Where's my mother? MOTHER!"

Still no answer.

"Chi Chi! Get out here this INSTANT!"

No cowering house elf. No drunk mother. No one at all was in the house with the exception of Draco. For the first time all morning, he felt a sharp pang of fear.

"MOTHER! CHI CHI! ANYBODY! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" Draco screamed, but nobody replied. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..."

He ran downstairs, his damp slippers making soft padding noises as they slapped the marble floor. Then, finding no one there either, he ran to the front door.

"FUCKING HELL!"

The door wouldn't open. Draco kicked it several times but only succeeded in making his toes throb painfully. He ran back up the stairs and accidentally kicked off one of his slippers in his hurry. He ignored it and went on. If someone trapped him inside the house he wasn't about to make it easy for them to catch him.

The damp rug in his room still made that odd slurping noise and without his other slipper Draco could feel the soft thread between his toes. So he ventured into his private bathroom and locked the door behind him.

The mirror above his pearly white sink caught his eye.

"Might as well take a last look at myself before the psychos who got to mother get to me."

Draco got to his feet, kicked off his other slipper, and walked slowly to his mirror. His gray eyes rose to the reflection and widened.

"What the FUCK?" he screamed and stumbled back in a horrified sort of trance.

Harry Potter smiled from inside the glass and mimicked the young Malfoy heir.

Draco Malfoy woke up trembling.

"What did I just dream?" he asked himself even though the dream couldn't be clearer. It didn't run from his memory almost as soon as he woke up. It replayed over and over like a muggle movie in his mind.

Draco quickly looked around. It was summer, therefore warm. The lights were all on. He lowered his feet onto the carpet. It was dry. Sighing with relief, he called for Chi Chi who arrived seconds later with a breakfast tray.

"Mistress tells Chi Chi to give Master Draco his breakfast in bed," she squeaked, replying to Draco's surprised look.

Draco sat back on his bed and started on breakfast feeling dazed. His mother sent him his breakfast? She hadn't done that since the first day of his summer vacation! Usually, she yelled at him to come down and serve himself.

Deciding his life was getting back on track, Draco picked up a hash brown, took a bite, and laid back with a smirk. His mother must have finally remembered his worth after the meeting with the Dark Lord. About time.

Now all I have to do is find a way to spy on Potter. Well, there are already loads of ways to do that.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. Narcissa wasn't home until dinner, which was decidedly odd. Draco didn't ask her where she was, though. He really didn't think he wanted to know. They ate their supper in silence. After they were done, Draco turned to go but his mother stopped him.

"I have some presents for you, Draco dearest."

Draco sat back down and stared at her. A present?
For him? Draco gave a triumphant smirk.

I should have known mother would want to reward me. I certainly deserve it.

Narcissa came back into the dining room levitating numerous parcels. All wrapped in foil-like wrapping paper in silver and green. She lowered them on the table before Draco and beckoned him to start.

Draco was only too glad to comply.

The first gift was rather large and he gathered that it was a basket. Opening it proved him right. It was a gift basket to be exact. And it was full of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products.

"Mother, why did you buy me something from that disgusting weasel twinstore?" Draco snapped.

"The best thing to do with an enemy's weapons is to use it against them," she said clearly and calmly.

Draco thought about that for a minute. It was true, and he'd been dying to try out the weasel's products. Stubborn pride was the only thing stopping him.

Inside the basket he found most of their best merchandise. Strings that he put in his ear to spy on conversations; magical tracking devices; smoke bombs for easy getaways; small truth tablets (clear) to put into drinks or food and such; and much, much more. Putting that aside, he picked up a rectangular parcel which looked like it contained clothes.

In a way, it did.

"Mother! A-a..."

"Yes, Draco. It's an invisibility cloak."

He looked over the silvery cloak in awe. It was a dream of his to have one of these. But they were so hard to come by that he never got his wish.

"Where did you find it?" he asked eagerly.

Narcissa smiled. "I called in a few, ahem, favors and located a man who sold it to me. Rather hesitantly, of course. Go on to the next one. You have a long day tomorrow."

Draco ignored the last comment and dug into the next gift. It was a small, metal box. He gave his mother a searching look. She told him to take out his wand and follow her instruction.

Narcissa tapped the box once and muttered, "Alohomora." She tapped it twice and muttered, "Aperio." Then she tapped it three times and muttered, "Latus."

Silently, the box's lid opened.

Draco gasped and was astonished at its contents.

"Mother, isn't all of this-"

"Illegal? Yes. Playing dirty? Yes. Expensive? Yes. Listen, Draco, you mustn't tell anyone about this, do you understand me? Not one person. Only use it in extreme positions and only for your missions for the Dark Lord. The other gifts will help you only for small, trivial things. These must only be used in secret. Understand?"

Draco nodded. He couldn't believe it. The seriousness in his mission finally met him full force. Narcissa smiled gently at him.

"Why don't we just get rid of these for now?" With a wave of her wand, all the presents banished.

Probably went to my room, Draco mused and returned to the remaining gifts.

A/N 6/25/05: Edited this today. I'm starting to think I should get a beta, because I'm not the best at realizing my mistakes while I'm typing. Plus, I'm too lazy to really check over every word to see if it works, or used right, or any of that. So I just might go to to get one for chapter 8...

A/N 6/30/05: Changed a few lines around in accordance to my new BETA's advice. Same thing for the last chapter ;) Thanks Jadzia!