The Dark Lord's Pet Princess

61. A Word Of Warning

Despite her being in contact with Dumbledore, Voldemort still trusted Larissa completely.
Even though he had caused her brother's death, he had no reason to doubt her. Afterall, they had been through so much together, so he didn't think she would ever betray him.
Because of this, Larissa was able to tell Dumbledore of Voldemort's plan to have Draco kill him, because the dark lord had revealed his intentions to Larissa.
To Larissa's suprise though, Dumbledore didn't seem all that concerned for his own welfare, he appeared more concerned for Draco.
Larissa was also worried for the boy, so the night before he returned to Hogwarts, she snuck into his room to talk to him.

"Aunt Larissa?" Frowned Draco, as he looked up from the book he was reading, when he heard his door creak open.
"Hello Draco. I'm sorry I haven't spent more time with you this summer. But it's been too dangerous for me to be here all the time, as the Ministry are keeping a close watch on you and your mother. If I'm being honest I also don't want to be around your aunt Bellatrix, which is why I have spent so much time away" admitted Larissa, as she made her way across the room.
"I don't mind. You're a busy woman, so it's understandable that you couldn't speak to me as much as last year... Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Questioned Draco, as Larissa sat down on the side of his bed.

"Yes, and you must forgive the intrusion, but I didn't want anyone else to know that I was speaking to you" informed Larissa.
"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Asked Draco, as he propped himself up further on his bed.
"It's about the task our master has given you" sighed Larissa.
"I have already accepted the mission, so I cannot back out now- not that I'd want to" replied Draco quickly.
"I know better than to ask you to back out. You have no choice now, but to complete the mission assigned to you. But I wanted to offer you some advice, from someone who was once in your shoes"
"You have no idea what it's like to be me".

"Don't I? Perhaps you are unaware, but I was made a death eater while I was still at school, just like you. And I too was given a task by the dark lord, to complete at Hogwarts, even if mine was a little easier than yours. I know what it's like to have an enormous amount of pressure placed on you, and to have to hide a big secret from the world" revealed Larissa, as she showed off the dark mark which had been burned into her skin.
"Even though you do know what I'm going through, you can't help me" replied Draco.
"I beg you to think this through carefully little dragon. You might think that being a death eater, and getting an important mission handed to you, is the coolest thing in the world, Merlin knows I did when I was your age. But the reality is very different, and soon you are going to realise that life as a death eater is very hard".

"The dark lord chose me, above all others. He trusts me. And I will not fail him" insisted Draco.
"I also used to think that I was our master's favourite because he chose me. But he doesn't pick his followers for their benefit. He picks them because he knows they will be of use to him. And the minute they stop being useful, he will cast them aside" warned Larissa, as she covered up her mark.
"He chose you, and you're still here, living an amazing life" pointed out Draco.

"On the outside, my life may seem wonderful. But I have certainly not lived a life full of happiness and rainbows. I suffered a lot at our master's hand, even though I did nothing wrong. If I could go back in time and stop myself from signing up, I would. I was young and niave, just like you, when I joined him. I didn't know what I was getting myself in to, I was only 17 at the time afterall. I had no idea that my life would go downhill when I joined the dark lord" admitted Larissa.
"Look, you're wasting your breath. I'm a death eater now, and there's nothing either of us can do to change that" reminded Draco, as he showed off his new dark mark.

"My youngest brother joined up when he was 16 as well. He was so happy and my parents were incredibly proud of him. But that happy feeling doesn't last very long, trust me. Regulus soon realised what he had signed up for, and wanted out. But the dark lord doesn't allow you to just leave, so he had my little brother killed, even though he was only 18. And you're right, now that you are one of us, there is no way out for you. But I intend on succeeding with you, and not failing you, like I did my brother. I am going to try and keep you safe, to the best of my ability" informed Larissa.

"You can't help me, no one can. I'm going to be at Hogwarts all by myself, so you won't be able to assist me. He gave this mission to me, because he knows I will succeed" admitted Draco, as he recovered his arm.
"He gave it to you to get back at your father, and punish him for the disaster at the Ministry! He didn't give it to you, for your benefit or because he actually think you will complete your task" insisted Larissa.
"Well then, I will prove him wrong. I will succeed" announced Draco.

"I hope for all our sakes that you do. Because if you don't, I dread to think how he will punish you and your mother. I care about the two of you very much, as you're really all I have left, so I don't want the dark lord to hurt either of you... But if you do succeed, the consequences will be just as dire. Killing splits the soul in two, and I don't want your soul to be damaged little dragon. You are not a murderer. You may have done bad things at school, but they are nothing compared with taking someone's life" admitted Larissa.

"Have you- have you ever killed anyone?" Asked Draco.
"No. I'm probably the only death eater who hasn't. I've watched awful things happen, but I have never ripped my soul apart by killing another human" answered Larissa.
"I don't want that to happen to me"  whispered Draco.
Larissa lent forward and placed her arms protectively around the boy.
"I hope that you don't have to damage your soul either. I know that you have a plan to get death eaters into Hogwarts. Focus on that part of your mission, and not the other. Leave the killing to someone with no conscience, or morals, like Bellatrix" replied Larissa softly.

Draco extracted himself from Larissa's arms, "Won't the dark lord be mad if I don't kill Dumbledore?".
"No. If you succeed in getting his death eaters into the castle, then that should be enough for him. As long as Dumbledore ends up dead, I don't think the dark lord will mind who killed him" admitted Larissa.
"Do you really think so?" Asked Draco.
"I do... Now, get some rest. You have to get up early tomorrow, as it's a long ride back to Hogwarts"
"Goodnight aunt Larissa"
"Goodnight little dragon".