The Houses Competition
House: Slytherin
Class: Herbology
Prompt(s) Today would be the greatest day of their life (Alt, their/his/her/my; life/lives).
Word Count: 527
Beta: Ash Juillet, Aya
Draco thinks about his life as he is given the Dark Mark
The Greatest Nightmare
Today would be the greatest day of his life—at least that's what his father had told him. But as he stood before the Dark Lord with his arm stretched out, watching as the Dark Mark took its form, it didn't feel as if it was the greatest day of his life; it felt as if his life was over. Draco had no choice but to watch as the Dark Lord's wand pressed against his forearm, smoke as black as coal swirling around, forming the shape that would forever mark him as the Dark Lord's property.
From the moment his father had told him he would belong to the Dark Lord, Draco had wanted to run as far and as fast as he could and never look back, but he couldn't. His mother's life had been threatened and he loved his mother more than he feared the Dark Lord. If he didn't take the mark, his mother would be killed. He couldn't let that happen, so with his head held high, he accepted the mark.
He was disgusted by the fact that his father was so proud of him. As if receiving the mark was something to be grateful for, that it was a wonder to behold such an honor, and that he should be thankful that the Dark Lord had found him worthy enough to bestow the mark of belonging to his inner-circle upon Draco. But as Draco looked at the mark that marred and jumped out against the pale skin on his forearm, all he wanted to do was cut his arm off, appalled that he had to have a symbol that represented everything he silently disagreed with.
He acknowledged that he had followed his father's example for many years, believing that Mudbloods were abominations to the magical world and should be destroyed, but as he got older, he realized that his father might just be wrong. He was ashamed of himself for all the mean things he had said to Granger and other Muggleborns just because they were born into non-magical families. It had taken him a long time to see that it didn't matter how pure your blood was, because in the end, if the Dark Lord won, they would all be puppets to his will no matter how pure they were.
And not like his father cared to notice, but Draco had dreams of his own he wanted to pursue.
Not many people knew, but Draco wanted to be an astronomer; he wanted to study space, the planets, stars, and galaxies. There was so much magic within the stars, and Draco believed that the stars could tell the future, but as he looked upon the Dark Mark, his future was shattered and all he could see was a future that included the bars of an Azkaban cell.
This was far from the greatest day of his life, but nevertheless, once the Dark Mark finished forming on his arm, Draco bowed down before the Dark Lord, kissed the edge of his robes, and thanked him for such a high honor. This day was a day Draco will never forget; it became his living nightmare.