Warnings for violence
IIX. THIS IS BREAKING
The Dark Lord was very pleased with Draco, not only had he 'delivered results' but it seemed he had a talent for strategy. It began with the partial success at windswept. Malcome McGonagall was a very good man, but more importantly to the dark lord he was a powerful wizard with a prominent name. Since, Draco has been getting more missions and has sucessfully completed most - any intel they needed he gained, the order were more than happy to comply.
But it was the things Draco did by accident, he had given the Dark Lord some very sound strategic moves, brainless of him, to aide the dark side but that too had proven good for the order in the end.
Draco Malfoy was no longer a joke.
The order were still gaining ground, as Draco was the one to make all the plans he could easily report them to the order, somehow , blessedly, no one managed to catch on; there wasn't even the suspicion of there being a spy in the ranks, and even so they had no reason to doubt him so far.
The Dark Lord had promised him a treat for his efforts; his being invaluable that is. He was being allowed to see the progress the Dark Lords latest plan was making. Despite the Dark Lord's own words in calling it a 'treat' Draco was not looking forward to whatever the Dark Lord had in store for them.
They went to the drawing room of Malfoy Manor, where behind a large bookcase was a hidden passageway to the cellar. Draco had never liked the cellars, a large circular room with little alcove-like nooks to store barrels of wine and cheese and his fathers illicit merchandise. It had always smelled very strongly of mildew, only now Draco couldn't smell even a trace of mold. He didn't relish the change.
The room was circular with large cages lining the walls, and now, the room smelt like blood and urine.
The Dark Lord smiled at him, like a maniac, and called Bellatrix, who stepped from the cage at the end with what Draco could only describe as an animal. Her hair was as long and red as it was at school but she was crawling, looking up to Bellatrix like a starving dog would look at its owner.
"It only took dear Bella a week and a half to make her into something, obedient." The Dark Lord said with pride, though Draco could only feel ill.
"We can trust she is not acting?" Draco asked, he didn't want to believe this sort of barbaric, inhumane torture would work how they intended, he had hoped and prayed. Voldemort smiled - never a good thing.
"Perhaps, Bella dear a demonstration, then?" The Dark Lord ordered, looking positively gleeful. His aunt looked no less pleased.
"Fetch me Creevy, Ginerva dear," Aunt Bella said, dropping the usual baby voice she used when talking to anyone evne slightly younger than her, Ginny Weasley stood up, she was dressed in only her underwear which were once white, now grey and brown and black with dirt and blood and other stains, her bones stood out sharply, Her skin unnaturally pale, her eyes were sunken and dead inside, but determined, her body was covered in welts, wounds, a testament to the torture she had been forced to endure. Weasley went to a cage, which Bella unlocked for her and pulled out a screaming boy, Colin Creevy, a small blonde boy in Ginny's class.
"Kill him." Bella said and without hesitation Draco Malfoy watched the girl jump on Creevy and strangle him. The boy fought, but it was no use and he was strangled to death.
"Mistress?" Ginny said, and Bellatrix smiled.
"Good girl," she cooed at the red head and once more Draco felt sick.
"Satisfied?" Voldemort asked a smirk on his face.
"Quite my Lord." Draco said, doing his best to compose himself. "It's an excellent day when you might watch a blood traitor strangle a mudblood to death." He added, Voldemort was laughing.
"Indeed, indeed." The Dark Lord agreed.
"Avery," Voldemort said. A silencing charm was removed from a cage and screams were heard.
"This one is more stubborn!" Avery called, Draco would have flinched at the screams of the stranger if he had the luxury of being able to show his true feelings here.
"Thomas, isn't it?" The Dark Lord asked, Avery called back the affirmative.
Draco walked into the room, and indeed, strung up on the roof, naked and bloody and crying was Dean Thomas.
He managed to keep his face straight, though he wanted to leave the room as quickly as he could. Dean Thomas looked at him with an utterly lost look.
"Don't let them do this to Harriet," Dean whispered, his reward was to be flogged by Avery once more. Draco frowned at the boy, who began to apologise.
The Dark Lord was frowning, no doubt because of Dean''s request.
"Isn't it nice to know how much the mudbloods all love each other?" Draco asked still sneering at the bloody boy, "Like their sentiment will save them." He added, his horrible words were enough to appease Voldemort. Whatever fears the Dark Lord had were clearly vanished, as he lead Draco from the room once more. A large smile on his snake like face.
"And more news," The Dark Lord said, clapping his hands together "Tonight we're planning to Attack Diagon Alley. No real objective." He said off-handly, "Just bringing death to the people, death and destruction and all that fun stuff." The Dark Lord nodded, he was trying already to decide how best to get a warning out, but the Dark Lord continued, intterupting Draco's train of thought. "I need you to brew us some potions, explosives, healing, pepper up and the like, I trust you know what we usually need?"
Draco nodded, "I'll get started right away." He promised, nervous, as he couldn't see a way to warn the order.
The potions must be done, and Bellatrix decided to come and help him. as it were, the order were not going to be warned at all.
"So baby Draco, the Dark Lord is so pleased, I'm proud of you little boy, make mummy and daddy very proud." She pinched his cheek, treating him like a baby, something the woman was fond of doing. "Its such a rush training my new pet," Bellatrix continued, reaching the room set up as a potions lab and Draco began immediately, Bellatrix settled down and began dicing some shrivelfigs. "I cannot wait until we capture Miss Priss Potter, the Dark Lord has said to me I may train her." Bellatrix told him, the crazy bint obviously excited by such a prospect. Draco shook his head.
"She's fast, and dangerous, they're training her to fight. I think we would do better to focus on killing the mudbloods and muggles and blood traiters than capturing Harry-iett Potter." Draco said boredly, though in truth he was terrified for her.
"Potter needs to be brought down Drakey Wakey, let the adults make the plans, hmm?" Bellatrix said. Draco nodded, even though he didn't agree. He remembered her in windswept and had hope that they would never catch her.
The potions took all of his time before the Death eaters were called, Bella helped Draco pack up the potions and they left the manor together, Bella holding Dracos arm as they apparated away. it was always terrifying apparating with his Aunt, the woman was more than a little unstable and spliniching was not plesant, but they landed in Diagon Alley safely. Draco began distributing potions. Cringing as he threw some vials of very volatile liquids at building he knew were never packed and the vials exploded on contact, a horrible, acrid smell entering the air and thick black smoke shading what was quickly turning into a battle field. Screams filled the streets as more and more Death Eaters poured into the alley, the Order took their sweet time in arriving, but it was no use the Alley was overrun.
It was a tricky thing to fight for the side you were not supposed to be fighting for, Draco went by very much unscathed as there was no one who would pick a fight with him, which left the young man free to help where help was needed. He had to be sneaky, healing fallen Order Members and binding fallen Death Eaters, interfering in dules, a tripping jinx, a stinging hex, a well timed physical attack would turn any battle in the Order Member's favour. He looked out for anyone who might need his help, as well as Order members who might be able to help him. But, there was only so much Draco Malfoy could do. In an abandoned side street he came across a body of one of the young recruits, another injured but advancing on the fallen Alastor Moody.
"Mad-eye," Draco said, casting a killing curse at the Death Eater, the boy fell down and didn't move again.
"Malfoy!" Alastor called, Draco knealed by his side. The man was not in a good way, his wooden leg had been hit by a Bombarda hex, wood fragments littered his body, his wand arm had been severed, cauterized but it was still dribbling blood. his insides had been torn apart, he'd been burned and cut and tortured, his breathing was laboured.
"Do it boy," Moody commanded, "Like theres any hope for me now, and If you do it, you'll be a little closer to Voldemort, you're a good soilder lad, you understand sacrifice, you understand war. This is war, boy, do it."
Moody shut his eyes, and Draco raised his wand.
"Avada Kedava." Draco cast for the second time that day and with a flash of green light, Mad-Eye Moody was dead.
There was a mighty gust of wind, at the end of the Ally Draco saw bodies being flung about.A paper was caught up in the unnatrual gust and he caught it before it hit hm in the face. Draco stood, shoving the paper in his pocket, running to the end of the street, and through the battlefeild he saw Harriett Potter.
She once agin wielded her sword-staff, she looked both beautiful and terrifying, she was deadly efficienct with the weapon, but her spell work was far more dangerous. Once people learned to keep their distance,out of reach of the weapon she was equally as vicious with her wand. It was Voldemort who called the retreat. Draco caught Harriett's eye across the bloodied street of Diagon Alley, she blushed, the reddening of her cheeks and downcast look of her eyes etierly out of place amongst the war that was raging, Draco smirked, as though they were looking across the great hall and not a graveyard. but then he was approached by Carrow and apparated away.
"She'd have you next, you stupid, spoiled prat, what were you thinking?" The Carrow Brother was yelling in his ear, Draco levelled him with a glare.
"You frightened of the half-blood girl?" Draco said, effectively shutting the Death Eater up. He frowned pulling the paper from the alley where moody died from his pocket.
It was a fairly recent edition of the quibbler, and below a large heading proclaiming Harriet as the hope and saviour of the world was an announcement which shocked Drco to the core.
The dining room of the manor was packed, but quiet, no one seemed to wish to disturb the dark lord, who was sitting with a hand on his forhead, as though he was the father of a hundered disappointing children.
"Draco, Draco, dear Draco, tell me you have some good news for me, we lost more than we killed today, pathetic." The dark Lord said, stirring from his position. Draco smirked.
"Of course my lord," Draco said, trying is best to gaurd his real thoughts on the death of Mad-eye. "I killed the Auror Alastor Moody," Draco reported, then threw the quibbler in front of the dark lord, "And I think I've found our next target. The newspaper is trying to keep the moral of the blood traitors up, it would do poorly for the light if their little herald was burned to the ground. As well as that, it seems as though they are planning to re-open the school. Theres a notice that the Hogwarts express will be running at the end of the summer.
Voldemort grinned, "You believe we should attack the train?" He asked, Draco shook his head.
"Too obvious, they will prepare for it. The station, perhaps, Hogsmeded before the train arrives. But its likely they will protect the station too. Either way the school will be weaker with students attending as normal." Draco said, "If you were going to try to capture Potter, I'd suggest during the term."
Voldemort nodded, before sending two death eaters to find the headquaters of the quibbler. Draco already knew the Lovegoods were in hiding after the attack on their home. He just very seriously hoped Voldemort would follow his advice and not attack the train.
It was still nearly two months before Hogwarts would reinstate, the Death Eaters, Voldemort at their head became more careful, they attacked less, and when they did it was homes of people not out in the open, Draco had hope, for the first time in a long time, that the Order were actually winning this war.