When I walked into my house, I knew something was wrong. I was right, that letter wasn't from mum. But I never thought it would be from him. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Tom Riddle, The Dark Lord, Voldemort. Whatever you want to call him... And now... he's sitting at my dining table. The Dark Lord is sitting at my table with 8 death eaters, my mother and my father. My mother looks nothing like herself. She looks terrified. There are bags under her eyes and she is skinny. Her hands are shaking and she looks at me with sadness. My father is the same. But he looks at me with the same anger and disgust as usual. The Dark Lord gave me a dark look. "Ah, Draco. The young Malfoy. We meet at last." The Dark Lord said. I stood there, just frozen. "Please, join us. Have a seat. There is much to discuss." he said. My heart was beating out of my chest as I walked over and sat down next to my mother. She held my hand under the table and spoke quietly. "Be strong, my little dragon." she whispered. I sat up straight & put on my mask to hide it all. The Dark Lord looked at me with a strange look that I couldn't decipher. "Do you know why I'm here, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked. "No, My Lord. I'm sorry." I said quietly. He nodded. "Well, I'll get straight to the point because I'm sure the anticipation is dreadful." he said. I nodded. "You will be given the honor of taking the Dark Mark today. You will pledge your loyalty and service to me until the end of your time." he stated. My heart stopped. My veins iced and I couldn't breathe. No. This can't be happening. There are no death eaters this young. I'm only 16. The youngest death eater was 18 or something. I was supposed to have more time. Not now. It's too soon.
"My Lord, he's just a boy." mother said. "He is 16. That's one year from being of age. He's not a boy." The Dark Lord said. She looked at me with concern. "Draco, you do realize what an honor this is, right?" The Dark Lord asked. "Of course My Lord. I just- what about school? I thought I'd-" I started. "You are receiving the mark because I have a task for you. And it involves Hogwarts." he said. My eyes widened. "Please, My Lord. I'm-" I started. "I don't know what gave you the impression that you have a choice in this matter. You should be grateful you are even alive after your fathers failure." he spat. I looked at my father who was staring at the table. "Isn't there another way, with becoming-" I began. "Let me clear this up," he said. He paused and stood up. He walked over and grabbed my mother and threw her to the floor. "Mum!" I yelled. "Crucio" he said. My mother thrashed on the floor and screamed in pain. "Please! Stop! I'll do it, just stop!" I yelled. He stopped and sat back down. I dropped down next to my mum and took her hand. "It's ok. I'll be ok." she whispered. I helped her back up and quickly wiped a stray tear. "Come, kneel before me," he said. As I stood and walked towards him, I knew it was the end. This was the very end of my innocence. I've realized we all have a specific point in our lives where our innocence expires and we are ripped from our childhood and thrown into darkness. Theo's mother drank herself to death and he was his moment. For Annabelle, it was Donovan. For me, it's this moment. From this point on, everything will be tainted by the mark on my arm. The shadow has been cast. I dropped to my knees in front of The Dark Lord and everyone rose to watch. I held out my arm and he lifted my sleeve. He pressed his wand to my skin and I closed my eyes. "Morsmordre" The ink swirled into my skin and I clenched my teeth and dug my nails into my palms. The pain was overwhelming. It was like a fire searing through my flesh. I felt it as it burned deep and tore through every layer of skin until it hit bone. It felt as if it was crushing each part of my bone into pieces and I couldn't breath. Then he pulled his wand away. I looked at the mark. A brand. Tomorrow, training starts. I learn how to use unforgivable spells, how to torture and kill. I learn legilimency and occlumency. All the tools to become less of a human and more of a weapon. The Dark Lord and the death eaters finally left and it was just mother and father. The second they were gone, my mother hugged me tightly. "I'm sorry Draco. I never wanted this life for you." she whispered. "I would do anything to keep you safe." I said. "That's good to know." a dark voice said. I turned around and my father was standing there. "I said I would keep her safe, not you." I said glaring at him. "If you truly want to keep her safe, you will comply with the orders I was given," he said. "What orders?" I asked. "The Dark Lord knows about you," he said. The disgust was evident in his tone. "The only reason you received that mark was because he needs someone inside Hogwarts. So he is going to fix you." he said with a cruel smile. "Lucius, please. He's our son. You can't fix-" mother started. "Shut up." he spat. "Don't speak to her like that." I yelled. He just scoffed. "The Dark Lord has made arrangements with the Greengrass family," he said. I felt a pit in my stomach. My eyes watered and I felt sick. "What kind of arrangements?" I asked. "Their daughters are going to help fix you. They are going to correct your thinking and thoughts on what's appropriate." he said. I felt my whole world stop. "So what? You think sex is going to fix me?" I asked. "The Dark Lord has other options. I would hope this one works. The others are much more painful." he said. "Mum?" I said, looking at her. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "He's right. The Dark Lord will hurt you if you don't do this." she said. I felt tears fall down my cheeks. "When?" I asked. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could-" she started. "When?" I snapped. "Friday is the first day. After your training." she said. 5 days. I turned on my heel and walked away. I ignored my mothers calls and stayed in my room.
3 DAYS LATER ANNABELLE LUPIN-BLACK
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It's been 3 days and I don't want to be in this bloody house. Everywhere I turn, there's dad. Just memory after memory, haunting me to no end. I've made a total of 4 trips to the liquor store. I've gone through bottles and bottles of whiskey, vodka, and tequila. I've gone through carton after carton of cigarettes. I can't even take dreamless sleep because Remus found out about the whole "accident" thing. He's hid all the potions. It's bullshit. So I just get flatout drunk and pass out every night. Remus on the other hand, he just throws himself into his work. He leaves for a meeting with the Order or the Ministry early in the morning and comes back late. I think we're both avoiding each other because everytime I'm with him, I remember dad. Then we end up crying. It's pathetic really. Dad's gone. He's never coming back. And I hate my life without him. "Anna-" my dad whispered. I woke up and it was still dark out. There was an empty bottle of whiskey next to me and I'd fallen asleep on the couch. "What?" I groaned. "Fucking hell kiddo, how drunk are you?" he asked. "Not drunk enough to forget dad." I mumbled. He sighed and picked me up. "Let's get you to bed." he said. Tears fell down my cheeks as he tucked me in like he did when I was a little kid. "It'll get better," he said. He stepped back and looked down. I forced a smile and turned to my side. "No it won't." I said.
