Father

Harry stared. He couldn't help it. Of all the things he had expected to see tonight when he, together with Draco Malfoy, suddenly had been propelled into this dark musty room, it sure as hell wasn't this. Malfoy, who had served as a focus point on the spell that had brought them here, was now lying in a heap on the floor, mere inches away from the hem of Voldemorts robe.. The five Death Eaters that stood scattered in the room all had their eyes on their Lord. Voldemort was vivid, looking down at the young Malfoy who was panting from the spell that moments before had struck him.

Harry had, of course known of the spell that would allow Dumbledore to track Malfoy, but never had he thought that this would be the consequences. Dumbledore had assured him that the spell was very old and seldom used, and it was unlikely that Malfoy would notice it. The fact that even Hermione looked puzzled, when she had heard the name, had assured him. And Malfoy apparently hadn't noticed it. But now Voldemort had.

When the Dark Lord had heard the alarm that had warned of intruders, he had cast several complex spells that Harry never heard. But one of them had made Malfoy glow an eerie red. Malfoy had had about time to blink before he was hit with the spell that had him crashing to the ground. Voldemort was now standing over the boy snarling. He diverted his red eyes to one of the Death Eaters at Harry's right.

"Take the boy, be ready to Apparate with him to the meeting point," he spit, pointing a long bony finger at Harry.

The alarm that had alerted them all to the arrival of the Auroras was still ringing and shouts from the Auroras, down what Harry guessed was a hall, could now be heard, otherwise silence reigned. The man in the white mask grabbed a hold of him and dragged him to his feat. His sore body protested. All eyes were fixed on Voldemort as he made a loop that positioned him a few more strides away from Malfoy. Draco lifted his pale face as Voldemort came to a halt, wand outstretched.

"You messed up boy and failures are always punished. Avada..."

Harry would never understand how the man had time to act. Everything happened so fast.

As Voldemort spoke the killing curse a shadow stepped between it and Draco. Green light flashed and died, leaving the body of the Death Eater to hover in the air before it fell. Long strands of silver hair cascaded out of the hood of the robe and as he hit the ground the mask that had concealed his face rolled away over the floor. Harry found himself staring into the dead eyes of Lucius Malfoy. Time slowed for a moment and Harry thought that now Draco too would know what it would be to live without his father. And then Voldemort laughed.

"So, you actually had it in you Lucius."

He chuckled and turned to the rest of the Death Eaters, ignoring Draco that now was mutely staring at the corpse of his dead father. Harry emptily looked at the young Slytherin and thought that he never would had wished this upon anybody, not even the arrogant Malfoys. "Now Apparate!" Voldemort commanded.

Pops were heard as Voldemort and the remaining Death Eaters started to disappear. A sense of panic flashed through Harry, but at the same time as the man holding him prepared to apparate away, the doors burst open. As the Auroras filled in Harry managed to tear free from the grip on his arm. The hooded man swore, but was left with no other alternative than to apparate away without the black-haired youth. The Auroras were left starring at him, the now weeping Draco and the lifeless body of his father. As Harry looked at the now still face of one of Voldemorts most prominent Death Eaters, a man that had killed women and young children, merciless and in cold blood, and who had laughed at his own pain and humiliation, he couldn't help but wonder. Had this man really loved his son?