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Draco blinked away his dreams of death and they faded into the darkness of the night. He was shivering under his quilt. One would think living in a manor guaranteed warm nights throughout the year. The charms placed on Malfoy Manor, however, had been losing their effectiveness over the past couple months and Draco couldn't figure out why.

He peered up from his four-poster bed to look around his large, empty room. It wasn't a generic bedroom of a teenaged wizard. It didn't have a desk. That was in Draco's private study. There were over a hundred rooms in the manor and each one had its own purpose.

Some teenaged wizard hung up posters of favourite bands or Quidditch players. Indeed, Draco once thought of doing the same but he never bothered due to his father's sharp criticisms. While Draco went to school, Lucius became increasingly more disapproving of everything his son did because his grades were never the highest. He would lecture him about success and a family legacy that spanned over centuries. Draco was sick of hearing it, just as he was sick of having paintings of his ancestors adorning his walls, but he had no choice. Each ancestor slept peacefully and Draco began to envy them. They never had to wonder if they were on the wrong side. Death is the safest side.

Draco's breath hitched when he found his aunt looming over him at the foot of his bed. Bellatrix Lestrange eyed him curiously as if he was the subject of her next Transfiguration class. Indeed he was, in a sense that she was here to change him forever.

Her rancid breath blew across his face and he nearly choked. Bellatrix was once a beautiful witch, but all that changed when she was was sent to Azkaban. It was in the nature of every Dementor guarding Azkaban to harass the inmates to near insanity. Truth be told, it would be difficult to care for one's appearance while Dementors snatched away every happy memory you attempt to recall. It was over a year since Bellatrix was freed, but she made no effort to look more presentable. All she cared about was the purging of Muggle-borns from the Wizarding World and her fanatic servitude to the Dark Lord.

"Get dressed, Draco," Bellatrix ordered.

"Why?" he asked her groggily.

He should have known better than to question her, but she answered him nonetheless. "I've got something to show you. Now hurry up! We're going to have a little fun tonight." Bellatrix emitted a very childlike giggle and Draco blinked away his fear. He had a vague understanding of his aunt's idea of fun and it was not something to look forward to. He knew he had to obey her, otherwise he'd end up being the subject of her fun activities.

As Draco emerged from his bed, he realized that his impatient aunt wasn't going to give him any privacy while he got dressed. She merely backed away and motioned for him to move faster. He cherished his privacy and seeing Bellatrix stand before him as he emerged in his underpants added to the already vast amount of discomfort he felt when she was around.

Draco moved to the set of clothes that appeared at the end of his bed. He quickly slipped into his dress pants. As he buttoned his shirt, he started to wonder why these clothes were sent to him and not a mere house robe. The Manor's enchantments were acting strange. Buttoning his shirt like this immediately reminded him of the night on the Astronomy Tower.

Draco opened the Vanishing Cabinet to let Death Eaters into Hogwarts three weeks ago and yet it felt like just yesterday to him. He could recall in vivid detail how he dressed that day, feeling like he was preparing for his own funeral, despite being tasked to ensure Dumbledore went to his. His hands shook as much as they did now and he was still struggling with his shirt. It wasn't tucked in and the buttons were in the wrong holes but he didn't care. Neither did Bellatrix it seemed because she was heading out the door. Draco slipped his bare feet into his dress shoes and followed her.

"Aunt Bella, where are we going?" he asked as they made their way down the halls and staircases of the dimly lit mansion.

"Don't be scared, Dray-key. Just follow me." Draco cringed whenever Bellatrix called him that but he didn't have the courage to confront her about it.

Bellatrix led him down to the cellars underneath the Manor, opened the metal gate, and gestured for him to enter. His footsteps weren't the only sounds echoing along the columns of the chamber. He heard the subtle drops of liquid and the dragging of chains along the floor. Draco didn't realize he stopped until Bellatrix poked her wand into his back. He jumped and turned around in shock. His aunt merely smiled as she swaggered past him and walked deeper into the chamber. Bellatrix disappeared around a column while he stayed put.

"Crucio!"

The incantation of the torture curse echoed along the walls, followed immediately by the screams of pain exerted from a man. Draco instantly felt shivers run up his spine and he sucked in a breath. The shouts and cries would have roused everyone in the house but the Silencing Charms cast over the room prevented it. Draco took several reluctant steps forward until the columns no longer restricted his view from what his aunt was having 'fun' with.

Thomas was the name of the man currently kneeling before Bellatrix. Draco knew him because he once played Quiditch against him. He was the Hufflepuff captain when Draco first started as a seeker.

Thomas' wrists were held to the ground by chains conjured up by Bellatrix's wand and he was thrashing around as the woman standing above him intensified her assault on his body. Blood coated his face and dirt stained his clothes. His jacket lay forgotten at the foot of a pillar. It was a distinct brown colour and Draco immediately surmised that the unfortunate soul under his aunt's foot was an Auror.

"He's a loud one, isn't he?" Bellatrix cackled as she nudged the Auror with her toe. He was on his knees before her, clasping her robes with desperation.

"Please, stop! Please! I'll tell you what you want to know!" he shouted as tears poured down his face. Draco reckoned his aunt must have tortured this man for hours before waking him. Bellatrix backed away from Thomas and swiped her hand over her skirt, fearing his dirt-smeared fingers had soiled her robes.

"Silencio," Bellatrix uttered as she flicked her wand and his pleas fell silent. She turned to Draco who stood frozen as he looked upon the Auror. "Do you know why you're here, Draco?" she asked. It took a moment for him to respond and he merely shook his head. Bellatrix pouted mockingly, mimicked his response, and approached him. "This doesn't remind you of anything?" Bellatrix whispered as she paced around him. His gaze met the crazed woman's as she stalked him like a predator stalks its prey.

"Once upon a time, there lived an ugly, old man by the name of Dumbleedore… " Bellatrix chanted as if she were telling an age-old fairytale. "He was so vile and ugly that the Dark Lord ordered him dead… " When she was behind Draco, she slowly closed the gap between them. "But when the time came, the boy chosen to do it… did not do it. And why is that, Draco?" she asked as she leaned up to his ear. Her breath blew across his neck, which caused him to shiver and swallow audibly.

"Because I-"

"Hm?" Bellatrix interrupted. Draco's response was a mere whisper and she wanted him to say it loud enough for the whole world to hear.

"Because I couldn't do it," he stated shakily and Bellatrix could sense the weakness in his voice. That was why they were here: To purge him of that weakness.

"You're wrong, Draco. You wouldn't do it, but you can… now," Bellatrix said with a smile. His eyes widened with dread. "We're back where you started," her voice was a whisper, "And all you have to do… is kill him." She gestured to the prisoner kneeling before them.

Thomas had a Silencing Spell cast on him so he could not make a sound but he could still hear their conversation. He trembled with fear at the knowledge that this moment might be his last.

"I… I didn't bring my wand," Draco stuttered.

"Yes you did," Bellatrix whispered and he recognized the feeling of his hawthorn wand sliding into his hand. She had taken it from his bedside table just before she woke him. "So… What do you say, Draco?"

"Th… thank you?" Draco muttered over his shoulder and Bellatrix laughed at his response.

"You're adorable! No! The spell, silly! You know it, don't you?"

Bellatrix pushed his elbow and guided his arm to aim at the intended target. Almost simultaneously, the breathing of the two males quickened with apprehension and time slowed between the three in the room.

"Who is he? What did he do?" Draco asked and Bellatrix shook her head as if the answer was as clear as day.

"That doesn't matter."

"Yes it does," he quipped back and his aunt just sighed.

"He's an Order member and a blood traitor. Kill him!" She gripped his arm firmly toward Thomas, who now had fresh tears rolling down his face.

"I… I can't." Draco shook his head as his own tears threatened to escape.

Suddenly, he felt stinging pain at the back of his head as Bellatrix yanked him by his hair. "Now, you listen to me, you pathetic little boy! I'll kill you right now if you don't do as I tell you!" Bellatrix prodded her wand into Draco's ribs and shouted the Cruciatus Curse. He cried out as fire and electricity burned through his nerves, and he fell to his knees under her grasp. "Do you remember what I told you?" Bellatrix yelled in his ear. His eardrum rattled in alarm. "You either kill or be killed! Do you understand me?"

He whimpered something under his breath and she leaned in to hear it. "It's not the same. He's unarmed."

"Get up. Get up!" Bellatrix pulled him back onto his feet and pushed him toward the victim. Draco squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he was somewhere, anywhere, else and this was all just a bad dream, but it wasn't. He knew it because he could feel Bellatrix's tight grip on his hair and her wand poking deep into his jugular.

When he finally opened his eyes just a bit, the first thing he saw was the Auror's understanding look.

Thomas understood that Draco was not a willing participant in this situation either and that there were some good people on the Dark Lord's side, but they couldn't do anything. Draco was at wand-point and Thomas knew that if Draco refused to kill him, Bellatrix would kill them both. Thomas realized he was destined to die but he still had a chance to save a life. To save Draco's simply by reassuring him through this process. It was a completely selfless sacrifice that would haunt Draco with guilt forever.

Draco looked upon the face of the man he was about to kill and under all the blood, dirt, and tears, Thomas had hazel-brown hair, fair skin, and striking blue eyes. The Auror's appearance as he nodded slightly in consent was seared into the back of Draco's mind forever.

"Avada Kedavra."

That was the moment when Draco Lucius Malfoy became a Death Eater. The Dark Mark he received a year before was the beginning and all that time, he knew killing someone was the final step. He believed there was no going back. Should the war end with the defeat of the Dark Lord, he believed he would be sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss.

However, that was not going to happen. Bellatrix was right: It was a kill-or-be-killed scenario but it wasn't between a soldier on one side facing a soldier on another because the world was not that simple.

Throughout all of sixth year, Draco was conflicted with the choice between killing Dumbledore and being killed by the Dark Lord. The question of life or death rested on his shoulders once again but it was the choice between killing Thomas and being killed by Bellatrix. Draco was a murderer, but what separated him from Bellatrix was the fact that he was forced to kill and he did it just to survive. In a situation like that, someone always had the final decision to end evil where it began. Bellatrix could've let Draco sleep but she chose to do evil instead.

Draco and Bellatrix were separated by a thin red line. An obscure boundary between many aspects of the world: the sane and the mad, life and death, war and peace, happiness and sorrow, hate and love, and in this particular case, good and evil. Draco had crossed it when he killed Thomas because, through the evil act, he had finally discovered a glimmer of goodness within him.

He became a murderer but he wasn't evil. If killing someone was evil, how else could he be rid of people like Bellatrix or the Dark Lord? By putting them on trial and locking them up? Bellatrix was free and she was exerting her terrible vengeance on society. She was still alive and Draco was a murderer because the wizarding society had lost itself in corruption and naive perceptions of justice.

Draco reasoned that people like Bellatrix shouldn't be imprisoned but killed otherwise they would continue to plague society with their evils. Due to misguided perceptions of right and wrong, people were too cowardly to kill those responsible for all the devastation and chaos in this world. Because of that, Draco was forced to suffer. Because of that, Thomas was dead.

The condescending irony of this moment wasn't that Draco proved to be one of the first to learn and accept this truth. It was the fact that Hermione Jean Granger ended up being the very last. The most important lesson–the lesson of evil and how to deal with it–is one you will never learn in a classroom or under a vast ocean of textbooks and scrolls, but on the battlefield facing death every minute of every day. You could never fully comprehend this reality until you realize you were slowly losing everything you held most dear and it was all because you were too scared to kill someone. It proved to be Hermione's most difficult subject to grasp, but she would pass the test… eventually.

Draco's throat was constricted by anguish as he stumbled out the doors of the Manor. He looked up at the blackened sky and felt his tears being washed away by the heavy rain. He ran into the darkness wanting to get as far away from the Manor as possible and calm his hysteric mind. Throughout the night, he let his emotions consume him whole, embraced it because deep down he knew he was still human and still had a say in his life. When dawn arrived, he had settled on a new path: to do everything he could to be free of the Dark Lord and find salvation for himself.

"Alright. Is everybody ready?" Remus Lupin asked as a dozen Aurors gathered in a sitting room with haste. All of them were noticeably fidgeting. Some had an intense glare of anticipation carved on their faces whereas others looked uncertain as their eyes darted all over the room. This was the moment before the most unanticipated of battles. So unforeseen that all the suspense and emotion that preceded it boiled over with a vengeance as they hastily ready themselves. They held their wands at their sides and breathed deeply. Everyone nodded at Remus and he nodded back with reassurance. "You know the destination. If we go now, we can stop them. Three… Two… One."

Remus Disapparated with a pop and the others followed. They travelled through spinning vortexes before appearing in the entrance hall of the building. It was minutes to midnight but the extravagantly decorated hall was well lit and the sound of their arrival echoed along the columns of the centuries-old building. The Aurors ran and intercepted a group of Death Eaters as they tried to leave.

"Stop!" Remus ordered. "You're all under arrest for attempting to disrupt the secrecy of magic and destroying Muggle government property."

"Those laws no longer exist, Lupin," Severus Snape interrupted, referring to the fall of the Ministry five months ago. He raised his wand at Remus and said, "Stand aside now or we will all die!"

"I'll do no such thing. Not until justice is served, traitor!" Remus yelled before swishing his wand and a spell flew out to smash into Severus' Protection Charm.

The skirmish between the two groups began as spells were cast back and forth between the Aurors and Death Eaters. The battle spread throughout the hall and the casualties on both sides grew.

Severus knew they couldn't stay long. The chemical contraptions he placed in strategic places throughout the building would ignite soon and no one would survive. He Disapparated in a swirl of black smoke and headed for a nearby window a floor above. However, he was pulled down by the force of Remus' Anti-Disapparation Jinx and instead landed on a balcony overlooking the hall. Remus raced up the stairs to face Severus and a jinx flew from his wand to smash into Severus' shield once again. Remus' breath was erratic, his wand clenched tightly in his hand, and he was sweating heavily. Severus, on the other hand, stood as cool as ice with his wand at his side.

"Why did you do it, Snape?" Remus asked as he shook his head with grief. "Tell me! Why did you betray us? Why did you kill him?"

"He had to die, Lupin." It was true. Dumbledore had to be killed but for reasons Remus wouldn't get the opportunity to know. Anger seared through Remus' body and he shouted the Killing Curse. Severus narrowly dodged it. Protection Charms couldn't stop Killing Curses. Their exchange of spells and jinxes was quick and skilful but Severus was obviously the better dueller. Remus' concentration was overcome by anger for the man he was fighting and Severus sensed his vulnerability. Quicker than Remus anticipated, Severus cast a Disarming Spell and Remus' wand flew out of his hand, dropped down to the floor below, and left him defenseless. Remus stood before Severus with his arms hanging neutrally at his sides.

"Go on, Snape," Remus taunted. His voiced dripped with animosity. "I'm unarmed. Kill me… like you killed him."

Of course Severus hesitated. Remus was an invaluable member to the Order and, even though nobody knew it, Severus was still a spy working inside the Death Eater circle.

Before Severus could respond, a deafening blast erupted from deep within the building. The floor shook, the windows shattered, and fire burst through the doors of the chamber. A nearby explosion of sharp splinters and glass sent Remus flying back several feet. Severus had to get them out of there. The fire engulfed a majority of the building and the sound of explosions snuffed out the cries of people desperately trying to escape the carnage.

Remus was injured. Shrapnel had pierced his abdomen and blood soaked his clothes. He was either too weak or too surprised to stop Severus from hoisting his arm over his shoulder and dragging him to the shattered windows.

Remus quickly realized that Severus was going to throw him out the window and he started to panic. Severus was undeterred and pulled them both through the window frame. Remus yelled as they plummeted to the ground several stories below.

"Arresto Momentum!" Severus shouted and their fall was suddenly halted before they hit the pavement. The fires above them burst through the window immediately after they landed and both were relieved to have escaped what was guaranteed to be a painful, fiery death. Severus lifted Remus around his shoulders once again and dragged him away from the burning building as the sound of the Muggle fire and police departments began their steady rhythms into the night.

When Severus decided they were in the clear, he set Remus down and scrounged through his pockets. He sighed in relief when he found a Portkey hidden in Remus' back pocket. He placed it in Remus' hand, drew his own wand, and pointed it at his head.

"Obliviate," Severus incanted, erasing Remus' memory of him saving his life. Remus's expression had initially been twisted in perplexity, but it softened into mind-erased peacefulness. Severus finally removed the cloth from between the Portkey and Remus' grasp. Remus disappeared with a pop, leaving Severus to stand and watch as the fires from the explosion burst through the Big Ben and ascended into the darkness of the night.

Draco stood against the balustrades of the patio overlooking the gardens of the Manor. Spring was a season of joy and happiness because it was the transition from the desolate winter to the fruitful summer. In that time, the foods of the earth grew and multiplied to nourish all living things. In contrast to all that, the conditions on the grounds of Malfoy Manor were deteriorated. Flowers and trees that usually blossomed this time of year were withered and grey, which instilled a sense of deathly sickness that made Draco feel a lot worse than he already did.

"MUGGLE PARLIAMENT DESTROYED. A NEW ERA BEGINS!"

That was the front page of the Daily Prophet. The newspaper sat on the table behind Draco and he ignored the sound of its pages flipping under the force of the wind.

In other news…

"UNDESIRABLE #1 STILL AT LARGE"

"Last sighted on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, Harry Potter is rumored to have recently been colluding with Xenophilius Lovegood: a deranged man who has written unfavorably towards the Ministry."

It was eight gruelling months since that night in the cellars of the manor and Draco couldn't forget it. How could he when Thomas' face haunted him consistently? Day-in, day-out, and well into his sleep, those eyes stared up at him. They weren't the only pair of eyes that pleaded for his mercy. On some unfortunate nights throughout the year, he'd be woken up by Bellatrix, taken down to the cellar, and forced to relive that single night over and over again. Many of the victims were not as accepting as Thomas was. Toping that off with the memory of watching his former Muggle Studies professor being devoured by a giant snake, Draco believed he had liable excuses for insanity. He could no longer count how many of those nights he had. Because those horrifying experiences constantly plagued his sleep, he couldn't distinguish between what was real and what was just a nightmare. It was all a nightmare and all of it was real. Regardless of whether or not he killed someone that night, he woke up early in the morning with a cold sweat and an aching restlessness that burdened him throughout the day.

Bellatrix insisted that Draco should stay home and learn rather than go back to Hogwarts for his seventh year. He was devastated when he learned that his parents had agreed. He wanted nothing more than to be away from his aunt but Lucius and Narcissa yet again chose the wrong path for him to take. Anger simmered inside him as he slowly realized that his life–this underworld of sadness and pain–was instigated by their decisions. Instigated by their ignorance and affiliations with dark witches and wizards.

Every day was torture for him. Breakfast with Bellatrix: a very heavy and agonizing hour with the most sadistic and evil woman one could ever know. Lunch with Lucius and Narcissa: Draco's father unceremoniously drunk his way through the liquor cabinet while Narcissa remained poised and speechless. Afternoon tea... with nobody. The arguments Draco's parents had after lunch continued on into the afternoon and he was left alone just as he was now. Dinner with Death Eaters: the final meal of the day that always seemed to shatter Draco's wavering resolve. The most fanatical servants of the Dark Lord talked about their day and how one properly arrests, tortures, and kills a Muggle-born, half-blood, or blood traitor. Pouring through the alcohol as well, all the topics of conversation eventually narrow down to the most gruesome fantasies and acts Draco could only come up with in his very worst nightmares.

Every now and then, he considered suicide. It seemed like the most logical way out of this hell on Earth and he would've liked nothing more than the bliss of leaving this world. He no longer cared and had lost all hope. Reality was a bucket of ice-cold water running down his back when he realized nobody was out there to save him.

"Draco?" his mother called out from the patio doors and he turned to acknowledge her.

"Yes, mother?"

"Your aunt is summoning you," Narcissa voiced elegantly as she strode toward him. Bellatrix never summoned Draco during the day and so he was fretful because he didn't know what to expect. Considering her nature, he knew that whatever it was she wanted him for wasn't going to be pleasant. How right he was.

Draco didn't respond and instead stood before his mother with a look on his face she barely recognized. It was the expression of a boy lost and without direction and it reminded her of how innocent he was as a child. Narcissa thought her son misplaced that innocence. When her sister spoke of the accomplishments Draco made down in the cellars of the Manor, Narcissa was devastated. For a while, she believed her son was slowly turning into a monster like so many other followers of the Dark Lord but he proved her wrong with that one look.

She walked up to her son, ran her fingers gently through his hair, and gave him a warm hug. She didn't want any of this for him and he understood that because he felt her sympathy through this embrace. He was still her baby and yet he was forced to experience all this. His mother knew he didn't want the future they were giving him but they had no choice. It wasn't fair.

Little did they know that what was going to happen within the next hour would change everything and significantly alter the course of the future. Not just for them, but for the world.

Author's Notes: There are literally dozens of tunes in each track that will develop and convey the varying emotions of each chapter. New themes for Voldemort and Death Eaters are significantly darker than the film series' music for the sake of contrasting the cheery goodness of the early Harry Potter themes, but many similarities can still be drawn. The Malfoys also have their own themes and in the center, to tie it all together, are Draco and Hermione's Themes, which are by far the most varied and distinguishable themes of the whole story.