Dark Marks; Draco Malfoy (18+)

t w e l v e

Draco's perspective

I adjusted the collar of my black button-up shirt and ran my hands down the lapels of my suit jacket to smooth it. Father had ordered me to "dress for the occasion" tonight and while I didn't know why, I knew it wasn't going to be for a gala. I let out a very shaky breath, I was nervous. The Dark Lord was coming tonight and the fact that I had to be dressed formally only meant one thing: that I had to see him.

Although the Dark Lord had been in my home many times, I had never actually met him. His presence was felt though, the entire mansion always seemed a little colder when a meeting was taking place. Meeting him was not something I wanted to do, in fact, the whole idea of it terrified me.

"Draco!" I heard my mother call out to me from the foyer.

Taking one last shaky breath, I tried to calm my nerves. Straightening my shoulders and putting on an emotionless face, something I got rather good at during childhood, I slowly walked towards the foyer. That's when I saw her.

Violet was stepping inside behind her parents. She was breathtaking, in other circumstances, I would have smiled when I saw her. She was wearing a long black dress that was long-sleeved and wrapped around her body elegantly and fell to the floor. Her dark hair was pinned up into an updo, with two strands left out to frame her face. Despite how amazing she looked, the fact that she came to the meeting dressed this nicely was not a good thing. It meant she probably had to meet the Dark Lord as well. The idea of her being in the same room with him gutted me.

Her face was blank and guarded, anyone who didn't know her well might have thought that she was calm and indifferent. Not me, though. I could see the nervousness in her eyes that she was trying so hard to mask.

"Draco," she greeted me rigidly, nodding her head at me.

"Violet," I nodded back curtly.

This was excruciating. I wanted to take her and hand and run far away from this Manor and this nightmare. Cowardly to think of doing such a thing? Probably. But it seemed better than what laid ahead. It wasn't an option though, there was no escaping from the Dark Lord.

"You two," my attention was brought to my father, who snapped at us coldly. "Wait in the sitting room, no funny business and do not leave."

We both nodded and retreated to the sitting room while our parents headed into the dining room, shutting the door behind them. We sat a foot away from each other on one of the leather couches in silence, both of us too nervous to speak.

"Do you know what's happening?" Violet broke the silence, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"No," I sighed, "I don't think it's good, though."

We returned to being silent. I wanted to hug her, kiss her, or fuck her. I wanted to do something or say something to her, but there was nothing I could say that would make this any better. My heart was pounding in my chest from anticipation. I clenched my jaw and stiffened my shoulder, even more, trying to look as calm as I could.

After a good ten minutes of tense silence, I heard the dining room door open and footsteps coming towards us. The footsteps were my father's, his distinctive march and clunking of his cane giving him away. He strode into the room, eyeing us on the couch.

"Come with me," was all Lucius said before turning around and heading in the same direction he came from.

I heard Violet take a deep and shaky breath beside me and all I wanted to do was hold her hand and say something to make her feel better. I knew that I couldn't though. Instead, I stole a glance in her direction as we followed my father. Her face was still emotionless, but her eyes showed me otherwise. She was scared.