A Second Task by Undividable410
I can’t hide forever.
Draco Malfoy thought desperately as he trudged on through the grounds of the now empty school he had once attended. Memories flooded through him as he looked up towards the castle; memories of his last night there. He had been stupid to take on the task and he blew it, just like his father had blown his last task for the Dark Lord.
I have to go back. I deserve whatever is coming to me.
He has three options; to go back to the Dark Lord to hope and beg for a second chance; run away like a coward and living in fear for the rest of his life; or plead for forgiveness from the Order of the Phoenix and beg for help. Draco had never been good at making choices; someone else had always been there to make them for him up until last summer.
Last summer he had made his first independent choice; a choice that led him straight to the predicament he was currently suffering in. With his father in Azkaban, Draco had been determined to convince the Dark Lord the Malfoy family was not weak. The Dark Lord offered Draco a task no other dared to take on. Ambitious to prove he was worthy, he accepted the task without even considering the consequences.
Draco knew now he had been naïve to believe he could possibly succeed. He was to kill the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, the only person the Dark Lord ever feared. He had come so close, but the headmaster had offered him a choice as well.
He had been presented with the possibility of another option; to live without having to kill. But Draco couldn’t trust himself to choose. His last decision had cost him a lot, what if he did it wrong again?
It was this hesitation that had taken the choice from him. Another group of Death Eaters had arrived in the tower where he had the headmaster cornered and defenseless, followed shortly by Professor Snape. Snape, who had always considered Draco too weak to complete the job, had finished off Dumbledore without hesitation.
I failed. He has no sympathy… I’m going to be killed.
He turned away from the castle and looked around the grounds. Near the lake he could see the white tomb shimmering. Draco hadn’t attended the funeral. He had been in hiding from both his master and the Ministry. He knew the Dark Lord would be angry, but the Ministry was questionable. They knew he was the son of a Death Eater, but they did not believe he was one. It was doubtful that they believed Voldemort would accept a seventeen year old into his army.
As Draco neared the tomb he knew what he had to do. Dumbledore could not give him the protection he had once offered. He would have to go back. If he didn’t he would surely be tortured and killed. Draco swiftly turned on his heels and fled the grounds, apparating as soon as he exited the gates.
When he arrived at the Malfoy Manor he could tell it had already been searched by the Death Eaters. Looking around he could see over turned furniture, ripped curtains and broken dinner plates. The house elves must have ran, because they were nowhere among the rubbish. The Death Eaters were looking for him.
The mark on his left arm suddenly burned sharply. The Dark Lord was calling his followers; if he returned now he would surely be tormented. He would have to wait. Draco went up stairs to his now torn apart bedroom and laid down on his once comfy bed, instantly falling asleep, his arm still itching with pain.
Little more than an hour later, Draco was torn from his dreamless sleep by a loud popping noise.
“Knew you’d return home sooner or later,” his aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange spoke harshly from behind her mask pulling the hood of her cloak down. “Master would like to see you. There’s no need for disguise,” she added in a wicked tone.
Draco climbed out of his bed, his breathing becoming very shallow. This was it, the moment he had been dreading ever since the night he fled. He would have to face it. With two loud pops he and Bellatrix apparated to the Riddle house.
The Dark Lord was sitting in a chair, apparently waiting for them. Draco automatically dropped to one knee and bowed his head. “Master I“”
“Now Draco,” hissed the cold voice of the Dark Lord. “Do you really think I called you here to hear you pitiful excuses? Excuses do not make up for mistakes!” His master’s voice dropped from a high pitched shouting to almost a whisper. “Bellatrix here has convinced me to give you a second chance. It is rare that I allow such things, but I am sure you should be able to manage to prove your worth.” Voldemort continued calmly as though the last two months had meant nothing. “You are to capture for me, Ginny Weasley. She is close to Harry Potter and may be of some use to me.” He smiled wickedly and Draco feared his next words. “But, before you go, Draco… CRUCIO!”
Draco collapsed forward as he was hit with the curse, spreading agony through out his entire body. It was pain beyond what he had ever felt before. He had been the target of the Cruciatus Curse before, but never from the Dark Lord, whose power is far stronger than most wizards.
When the pain had subsided he had barely enough strength to stand once more and leave the room with his aunt. They walked down the hall into an empty room.
“Now that wasn’t too bad, was it Draco?” Bella grinned as though she were satisfied. Draco, who had regained enough of his strength, shot her nothing more than a glance of contempt before disapparating from the house.
Once again outside the Hogwarts grounds, Draco began to think. Would he complete the task? Should he seek out the Order and request protection?
I need a plan…
He again was faced with three choices; sticking with the Dark Lord; hiding with the Order; or running. He knew Voldemort would be able to find him no matter what he had protecting or hiding him. He would have to complete the new task.
There were two main possibilities for capturing her; to simply kidnap her or to trick her into coming with him.
Trick her…
His mind pondered on the idea for a moment. The new school year would be beginning in a week. If he could convince her to trust him, maybe over the school year he could get her to leave the school with him and he could take her to his master. It was his best option.
Gain her trust… Draco thought.
But how? The entire student body had probably figured out he was involved in Dumbledore’s death. Potter had seen him flee, but what else did he know? Then it dawned on him… the time in the bathroom.
He knew the Dark Lord was angry with me…
Maybe Draco could convince Potter and his friends he needed someplace to hide!
With a loud crack he apparated back to the Malfoy Manor to prepare for his plan.
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