The Death Eater [HARRY POTTER]

22

"Hello, Draco Malfoy," Calla greeted the boy as he and his father walked through the doors of the Manor. "Nice to see you again."

Of course Draco looked quite surprised to see her, it wasn't every day that he saw Calla at his house, dressed in a gown that probably cost more than her annual salary. It had been a gift from Narcissa, who had also helped Calla curl her long black hair and put one some accentuating makeup. Calla descended the last three stairs and came to stand in front of the two men, taking silent pleasure in the way Draco's eyes grew about three sizes, and he seemed to be at a loss of words for the moment. Calla turned her attention to Lucius as she waited for Draco to gather his thoughts.

"The Dark Lord requested the use of your dining hall for the night. Lady Malfoy has already made the arrangements for your family dinner to be served in the smaller dining room tonight, and the house elves have been put to work to prepare the extra food. Furthermore, the Dark Lord told me that he wanted to meet Draco before you whisked him away for your family dinner."

Lucius, who had grown rather accustomed to Calla being the one that the Dark Lord relayed most of his orders through, nodded silently. He straightened his jacket and looked over at his son, who seemed to be just coming out of the shock of seeing Calla again.

"Draco, why don't you fallow Miss. Snape, and she will take you to the Dark Lord. I take it you will be having dinner with him tonight," Calla nodded. "In that case, please tell him that I've done the task he wished of me, and we should be seeing results in the morning paper."

Calla nodded once more before she watched Lucius Malfoy stalk off, no doubt to speak to his wife about their changed dinner plans. Once he had disappeared from sight, calla turned back to Draco with a charming smile. Thankfully he seemed to have gotten hold of himself, and he was looking over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you dining with the Dark Lord now, Calla?" Draco asked, stepping to Calla's side and almost thoughtlessly offering his elbow so that he might lead Calla to the more formal dining hall that the Dark Lord had taken over as his unofficial meeting room. Calla rolled her eyes at the young man's tone, but took his offered arm all the same.

"I am, Draco Malfoy," Calla agreed as the two of them walked toward the great dining hall. "I will have you know that I am a respected member of the dark Lord's followers, as well. I would like to believe that he thinks me competent enough to run my own missions."

Calla knew for a fact that Voldemort trusted her, at least on some level. There was no way he would allow her to do half the things she had done otherwise.

"No need to brag, Calla. Of course the Dark Lord would be fond of you," Draco scoffed teasingly, before his face fell into a serious mask once more. The two of them had come to a stop outside the door to the dining hall, and Draco was for the first time met with the realization that he was going to meet the Dark Lord. The man that his father had been following since before Draco's parents had even been married. The man that Draco was going to one day serve, just like his father and his grandfather before him.

Calla removed her arm from his, and paused only long enough to give his hand an encouraging squeeze before she stepped forward and walked through the door, forcing Draco to follow her as he did so. The room was dark, something that was altogether unusual for the Malfoy Manor. Narcissa and Lucius had always enjoyed the finer things in life, but Malfoy Manor had never been nearly as stuffy as some of the other pureblood manors. Their home had always been full of light and laughter. Narcissa was known for her elaborate parties, and Draco had enjoyed exploring many of the rooms in the manor when he had been a child. The dining hall, however, was almost completely dark. Only three sticks on one end of the dining table served as any illumination, and sitting in the circle of light was a man.