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- "I need you to kill Albus Dumbledore. I trust you can do that, right Draco?" -

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I sat at The Dark Lord's table, hidden behind my loving mother. I was by far the youngest one here, and as much as I would like to boast about this to Potter, I knew that I had overgrown my childhood days and the quarrels between the two of us were in the past. I was by far the youngest one here, and as much as I would like to feel pride for this accomplishment, I knew I was only here because of who my father was. I was by far the youngest one here, and as much as I would like to believe that I was ready to do The Dark Lord's bidding, I couldn't help but feel that there was a reason I was two to three decades younger than my fellow Death Eaters.

Death Eaters. The skull and snake tattooed on my forearm quivered. It still didn't feel right. I knew that to have the honor of sitting at the table of the most powerful wizard in the world required the mark, but it still left my stomach stirring. Just months ago, I had been worried about exposing Potter's secret organization, and now, I was sitting at The Dark Lord's table.

The thought of Potter put a foul taste in my mouth. It was because of him that Father was locked in Azkaban. Potter and his bloodtraitor friends. Weasley and his sister, Longbottom, Lovegood, and... Granger. It had been her that had kept me going through the darkness of the summer. Her weekly letters delivered every sunday morning exactly at noon to wherever I had been at. Borgin and Burkes, no problem. Reminiscing in Father's office, delivered straight to his letterbox. Always impossibly punctual. It was one of those quirks of hers that made me crazy for her. Such a shame that she is a mudblood, Father would never approve.

Mother looked worried, but I could tell it wasn't for herself. The Dark Lord had not blamed her at all for Father's failure in the Department of Mysteries, so why was she so tense?

I placed a hand on her shoulder and she flinched, "Is everything alright, Mum?"

"Yes, Draco darling, everything is fine." Her eyes were unfocused as she said it. They darted from my silver eyes to my tensed fingers, and back up to the platinum blond hair on my head. That's how I knew she was lying. My heart started racing in anticipation. I knew that something was up when I had been given the mark before I was of age. I am the only wizard at this table who still attends Hogwarts.

Just then a shadow of black mist billowed elegantly into the seat at the head of the table. I felt my stomach twist around itself. I had never seen The Dark Lord with my own eyes before, just from stories Father and Aunt Bellatrix have told me. I straightened my weaselly frame into a more astute position as I awaited my first introduction to The Dark Lord. My thin chest pounded with anxiety. What is his plan for me?

He materialized in his seat. It took all the self control I had in me to not grimace. The thing that sat in the chair appeared human, but was too much like a snake to actually be one. His icy white skin contrasted the midnight black robes he wore. His flat, snaky slit nose took away all ability for him to even identify as one of us, and the way he moved reminded me of the slither of a serpent. The only human-like thing he possessed on his face were his bloodless lips, and sharp green eyes. I hadn't realized I was staring until his cold, heartless eyes glared back into mine, slithering their way through my bones. I shivered, a eerie chill making it's way around the room. I wasn't the only one with a disturbed reaction. I noticed everyone else at the table, except Aunt Bellatrix, fidget some way or another, especially Mother.

"Ah, young Draco," his icy voice froze all breath in the room, "I am thrilled to meet you at last." He smiled maliciously, but I didn't falter my gaze; I had to make Father proud after all. However, Mother gave a squeak. The Dark Lord continued, "I'm sure you're curious to why you are here. Actually, I'm sure all of you are curious as to why Lucius's only son is here." Mother cowered in fear, emitting a whimper of terror like a kicked puppy. This enthused The Dark Lord, "You see, I am very disappointed in Lucius's failure months ago in the Department of Mysteries, giving up all that secret information, very recklessly I might add, that I thought it was fit that his son make amends for his cowardly mistake."

I knew it. I knew there was a reason why I was here above all others. The Dark Lord had a task to give me. I was delighted. Any chance to prove myself not just to Father, but to The Dark Lord himself excited me beyond words. For a brief instant, I thought of what Granger would say if she found out about this, but I shook it down as to not appear weak in front of my lord.

"Draco, I need something done you see. Something that can only be accomplished at Hogwarts. It is you who must complete it Draco, as no one else can. Crabbe and Goyle's sons are too small-minded for this task, but you... Draco, my dear boy, the way your father speaks about you... Yes, you will do quite nicely for this job."

I looked to Mother who seemed as though someone had cursed her with the Body-Bind Curse. Her lip quivered, only once, but it was enough to tell me that this task wasn't an honor to have been given. "My lord," I responded, summoning the part of me that was my father's, "What is it you wish me to do?"

"Ah," he breathed, "I need you to kill Albus Dumbledore. I trust you can do that, right Draco?"

My heart sank like Potter almost did in the black lake two years ago. Professor Dumbledore? Kill? As much as Father despised the man, personally I had no reason to. Other than being annoyingly always on Potter's side, he never did anything to make me hate him. In fact, around him, I always had a strange feeling that he understood more about me than he let on. I wouldn't even want to cut him with a knife, let alone kill him. But it had to be done, for Father's sake, and my own. I swallowed, "Yes, my Lord."

"Very good, Draco. Now, I don't have to say what would happen if you fail to succeed in this endeavor, do I? I can't let a line of cowards and failures live on just to disgrace their fellow wizard kind, now can I?"

The unspoken truth of his words hit me like a disarming spell. I had no voice, no mind, no body. It was just my soul floating around The Dark Lord's table. Surely, he didn't mean he would kill me, did he? Now I understood my mother's reactions to his cruel words. Yes, he meant he would kill me.