DISCLAIMER I made up Nero, but that's it. All the others belong to JKR.

…

Nero – "Power" Latin

Once a Parkinson, now a Malfoy, Pansy stood in a long silk dressing gown before a blazing fire in the hearth. She inspected her forearm where her pristine white skin glowed flawlessly in the flickering firelight. The sun had not broken the horizon. Come dawn, the bargain would be made and her perfect pale skin would don the symbol of greatest power.

The door creaked open behind her. "You're up early, my pet," Draco purred. "Not nervous or having second thoughts, are you?"

She turned to face him. "No, of course not."

Draco smiled. Over the past few years, Pansy's pug-like features had softened and she made a passable trophy wife for him. None of their insipid classmates knew they had even married. He was surprised most of all when Pansy had come to him and informed him that a bargain had been made that would allow her to receive the Dark Mark. Even after he learned of the trade, he was proud. "Be sure you're ready by dawn."

"I will."

Pansy turned back to stare into the fire until he was gone. Only then did she let her guard down and a tear formed in her eye.

She was actually having serious doubts. She was only sixteen! A year ago, she was just a girl. Now she was married and about to make a huge sacrifice in order to prove her loyalty to her Dark Lord.

A baby's cry echoed through the cold hallways of Malfoy Manor. Pansy turned sharply, but the child was quieted before she could tell where it came from. With a sigh, she left the fire and went to dress for the ceremony to come at dawn.

Mere moments before the sun was slated to break the horizon, Draco appeared back in her doorway. "Where is he?" he asked.

Pansy looked to the door and corridor behind him. "In the nursery to the left."

A sneer played on her husband's lips. "Ring for him to be brought here."

Obediently, Pansy pulled the call rope for the nursery. A nursemaid materialized instantly in her chambers. A tiny baby boy wrapped in a blue blanket lay quietly in her arms.

"I'll take him," Pansy said stoically. The nurse gave her the child, curtseyed, and Apparated out again.

Draco glanced at the baby only briefly before turning on his heel and sweeping out of the room. "Follow me."

He led Pansy deep into the Manor. After a few moments of endless turns, hidden passageways and false doors, Pansy was thoroughly disoriented. Finally they stopped before a heavy door flanked by black-robed Death Eaters. Draco bowed his head slightly. "My wife has come to pledge her service to the Dark Lord."

The Death Eater on the right nodded. "It is almost dawn." Pansy recognized the voice as that of Rudolphus Lestrange. She wondered how he could tell that it was almost dawn in the dim, torch-lit antechamber.

No one told her what to do, so she paced slowly, deliberately around the room with the baby. She made sure that she didn't appear nervous in front of Lestrange and whoever the other masked Death Eater was.

It felt like forever before the solid door swung open. Pansy needed no invitation; she walked into the dark room with her head held high. Draco closed the door behind her and she was left alone with the most powerful Dark Lord that the wizarding world had ever seen.

"Welcome," Voldemort hissed. "I hear you have come to prove your loyalty to me."

Pansy did not nod. Rather, she met his red eyes and said, "Yes, my Lord."

"What have you to offer me?"

Pansy lowered her eyes, squeezed the child in her arms gently, and held him out. "My son, my Lord."

The red eyes glittered with interest. "The newest heir to the Malfoys. An interesting offer, Mrs. Malfoy." He was quiet for a moment. "And what is this child's name."

"Nero, my Lord."

Voldemort's laugh filled the room like black electricity. "Latin for power. You do know the way to my heart, my dear. Bring to boy to me."

Slowly, Pansy ascended the stairs. She saw her baby boy look up at her as she laid him in Voldemort's arms. His white, claw-like hands closed around the tiny body. Pansy backed away.

"You clearly desire to prove your loyalty," he said.

"Yes, my Lord."

Red eyes narrowed to slits. "Hold out your arm, Pansy Parkinson Malfoy."

She did so. The searing pain that followed was beyond anything she'd ever felt. But she did not grimace or cry out, only closed her eyes serenely against the pain.

Then it stopped. It was over. Voldemort waved a hand and turned his attention to Nero. "You will know when I need you. Leave me now, I must spend time with my son."

Pansy turned for the door obediently. A knife ripped through her heart when she put a hand on the door. When she left that room, she would never see her son again.

Draco was waiting for her to return. When the door finally creaked open again, his wife returned to him without their son, but with a black mark on her forearm in his place.