𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

seventeen

I stumbled, trying my hardest not to fall as Bellatrix Apparated us onto a gravel path. I looked at my new surroundings and saw none other than the Malfoy Manor.

I sighed quietly, not wanting to attract Bellatrix's attention. We walked into the mansion, storm clouds rolling in the sky.

Bellatrix giggled, dragging me further into the room. "I brought something for you, My Lord!"

"Did you now? Bring it to me." A deep, raspy voice sounded from another room.

I was wrenched forward from Bellatrix's grasp and thrown to the ground, grunting quietly as my knees scraped the hard floor.

"As you requested, I have brought Y/n L/n!" Another giggle.

I looked down at my hands, standing back up quickly.

"Leave, Bellatrix. I must speak with Y/n alone."

She hesitated, but left anyway.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named looked at me. "Do you have any idea why you're here?"

My voice was quiet, but I took a deep breath and spoke anyway. "Yes, Bellatrix explained a bit before we arrived.

"I doubt she did a good enough job. Your parents were my two favourite Death Eaters before I disappeared, for obvious reasons: They were both strong, ruthless, and evil. They were so evil that some of that tainted their blood, and it was passed onto you. And even though those qualities were not passed to you, your parents gave you something else: A death omen. It is extremely rare for anyone to have a death omen. It can only be transferred through the purest, evilest bloodline, and you just got lucky. With training, you could harvest this power, and use it to my benefit. You can kill whatever you feel like- plants, animals, people. According to Bellatrix, you've killed multiple plants, your old pets, and I heard about your mother. Your father was killed in Azkaban, due to a failed escape."

I gulped, taking in the large amounts of information. My luck couldn't get worse.

"Since you obviously don't have control of your powers yet, I'll be taking you in and training you. I have already sent a man down to your house to explain where you've gone and why. He is telling your adoptive father an elaborate and believable lie. You'll be staying here in the Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix is retrieving your clothes and belongings we'll allow you to have. You'll be in a room, but only because the Malfoys think you'll be more willing to work with me if you're treated right. Narcissa will show you to your room when I'm done."

Oh, Merlin. I'm so screwed.

"Shall we start the training?"

I took a shaky breath and nodded. "Yes, My Lord."

~~~

I plopped down on my bed, exhausted after a long day of working with Voldemort. Today, I had to work on slowly verses quickly killing the patches of weeds that are in Narcissa's garden, and it was hard.

I've been staying in the manor for two weeks already, and I haven't seen Draco at all. I'm starting to think he's not here.

Just as I was falling asleep, a quiet knock sounded on my door. I was at the very end of the hallway, so it wasn't accidental. Before I could get up to open it, however, the door opened and a familiar face entered the room.

Draco closed the door and started talking, his voice full of emotion. "Oh, Merlin, Y/n, are you okay? I can't believe they found you, I'm so sorry that they brought you here-"

"Wait, Draco?"

"Yes! I-I'm so sorry, Y/n. I never wanted to hurt you, I was just doing as I was told. I'm sorry."

"Come in, sit down." I sat up on my bed, crossed my legs, and patted the space next to me. He did, and I looked in his eyes. "It's okay. I understand. I overreacted a bit."

"Really? You forgive me? Okay, thank you."

I gave him a half-smile. "And yeah, I know it sucks that Bellatrix found me and took me here, but there's not much I can do except go along with it."

"Look, I need to warn you. Voldemort is making me become a Death Eater because he wants people inside Hogwarts. That means he's probably going to make you a Death Eater too. You'll get a Dark Mark—and you can't escape those."

I gasped quietly. "Oh."

"I know it's a lot—do you need a hug?"

I nodded, leaning into his embrace. "Thank you." I pulled away, looking at him again. "Do you know if anything happened to my family?"

"No, I don't know anything for sure, but I hear a lot. What are their names?"

"Um, Kya is my sister, Matthew is my brother, and Wyatt is my father."

Draco's eyes widened. "Um . . . Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry."

"What? What happened?"

"Your siblings are with your cousins—your father is here, in the Manor's cells."

The colour drained from my face as I processed that information. My dad is here, probably being tortured or hurt or starved—

"Can I see him?" My voice came out shaking and panicked, but I at least got my point across.

"I don't know. I've only been in the dungeons once, and it was back when I was twelve because Dobby had just left."

Tears started welling up as I thought about the possibilities. "Okay, thank you for telling me."

"I'm sorry, Y/n. I wish things could be better for you."

After another hug, Draco and I said goodnight and he left.