first light | d. malfoy

01

Draco Malfoy

The train ride to Hogwarts was exceptionally unbearable this year. Even while surrounded by the incessant bickering, yelling, and general conversations of my fellow house members, my mind continued to be plagued with memories of the Summer break.

I'm no stranger to pressure from my parents. I've come to expect the never-ending demands, and the disappointment that follows once those demands are not met to their satisfaction. Nothing, however, compares to the weight they've managed to place on my shoulders this year.

"Son."

"Yes, father?" I looked up from the spot on the table I had been staring at for the entirety of dinner to meet my father's cold eyes. The eyes that always manage to remind me how much of a failure I am.

"You've been assigned a task. This is the final step before we can summon the Great Lord once more."

Another task for the Great Lord. What a surprise.

For the last year, my entire life has revolved around completing tasks to allow the Death Eaters to raise the Great Lord from his resting place. Of course, these were menial tasks; stealing potion making supplies, hexing wizards into revealing much needed information. But this? This was bigger than that. This was the last step.

"We must make a sacrifice. Someone of pure blood."

"That is easy, father. Purebloods are all around us."

"No, Draco," my eyebrows furrowed as my father continued, "you are correct, they do need to be a Pureblood. But they must also be pure. They must have a good heart. That is the only way the sacrifice will work."

"How do I know who fulfills the requirements?"

"The Great Lord has already found the sacrifice for you, Draco. Her name is Lilith Einar. A fellow Slytherin."

"How is a Slytherin pure of heart?" The idea perplexed me. Maybe my father made a mistake. Perhaps she is from a different house. After all, I had never even heard of the girl before.

"You dare question me? Or the Great Lord?" My father seethed at me from across the table.

"No, father. I understand what I must do."

The weeks following our encounter were spent trying to find out everything I could about the Slytherin. Her father held a high position in the Ministry, her mother an Auror. No siblings. Her family seemed to stay out of trouble - odd considering they had pure Slytherin blood in them. 

I found her class schedule, and managed to switch my own schedule around to match hers nearly identically. After questioning other Slytherin house members, and a handful of other house members, I discovered that Lilith is essentially a shadow. Besides a small group of friends, she sticks to herself. In fact, many of the people I interrogated had never even heard of her.

All of the prying I did into her life did not answer the question I most wanted an answer to.

How was I meant to kill her?

If things were simple I could have used the Killing Curse on her when no one was around. But, of course, things were never that simple. The sacrifice must be made in a specific ritual. She must be brought to the Great Lord's resting place willingly before the ritual can even begin.

"So what's the plan, Malfoy?" I glance at Mattheo. Once I heard of my task, I decided this was not something I could accomplish on my own. At least not all of it.

"I don't know."

"Why don't we just use the Killing Curse?" Enzo hits Mattheo in the back of his head, causing the latter to wince.

"It has to be done at the resting site. Besides, she has to willingly go there, dipshit." The nickname earns Enzo a glare from Mattheo.

"Why not hex her into coming to the site. If she does it herself without you physically bringing her there it surely has to count," Theo suggests.

"No, she can't be under the influence of any magic. Otherwise the ritual won't work." Theo huffs at my response as if he has the burden of the task on his shoulders. He doesn't. He doesn't understand what it would mean if I could not do what is being asked of me.

"Why don't you charm her into participating in the ritual?" Blaise speaks up from his spot on the couch.

"I just said she can't be under any spell-"

"I don't mean a spell. I mean make her fall in love with you. Girls will do anything once they've fallen for you. Charm her, make her infatuated with you. She'll be wrapped around your finger. She'd take part in the ritual even if she knew what it meant for her at that point."

Blaise's idea was brilliant. I wasn't sure why I hadn't thought of it myself actually.

Once I started thinking of the logistics, though, the plan proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. How was I, the son of one of the most prolific Death Eaters, meant to make a girl who was pure of heart fall in love with me? The idea seemed absolutely foolish.

A nudging at my arm snapped me out of my thoughts, and I refocused my eyes to see who was interrupting my thought process. Across from me, Theo is discretely nodding his head in the direction behind my seat, causing me to look back.

A tall girl with dark brown, nearly black, hair stood at the end of the train car, speaking to a pale girl that I couldn't care less about. Although the first girl had her back to me, I knew from Theo's reaction that she was the one. I had never once seen her in person, or even in a photo for that matter. To be honest, I wasn't even sure how Theo knew who she was.

The girl turned, her dark hair swaying with the movement. I could see her green eyes glisten from my seat as she smiled at her friend. I'd be lying if I said she wasn't pretty. Perhaps making her fall for me could have its perks.

The thought of her on her knees before me sends a shiver down my spine. No one said I couldn't have fun while completing my task.

And boy do I plan on having my fun.