Sound the Bugle

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sound the bugle now - play it just for me

As the seasons change - remember how I used to be

Now I can't go on - I can't even start

I've got nothing left - just an empty heart

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Come Draco, it is time."

Draco nodded mutely, offering no resistance as his father led the way to the deepest dungeon of Malfoy Manor. Why should he? He had nothing left to live for. All his hopes, his dreams for the future were gone, buried alive in an instant. The moment Ginny left him.

Looking back, he realized that he had probably deserved it. After all, he had lied to her the whole time. But he had meant to tell her the truth. He had meant to tell her that he loved her for who she was, and wanted to be with her because she made him a better person. Better than he had ever thought he could be before.

Yes, at first it had been a joke. A horrible joke. He was supposed to lead her on, make her fall in love with him, and then crush her like a bug. That's what he was supposed to have done.

But he hadn't been able to make himself do it. After he had gotten to know her, after they had become friends, the joke had seemed much too cruel. It couldn't bear to go through with it, but at the same time, he didn't want to stop seeing her.

So he kept the charade up among the Slytherins. Pretended it was all just an act; that his heart didn't start pounding faster the moment she entered the room, and that the way he stared at her, longingly, lovingly even, was just for the sake of playing his part.

Draco knew differently though. The way he felt, and acted when he was around her was real. As real as she was, as real as Hogwarts, as real as the very air they breathed.

He had loved her- he still loved her-, but she had found out. Ginny had overheard the Slytherins talking about it in the library, and that was when Draco's world had fallen apart.

She'd confronted him about it of course, the day it had happened. She said that she had wanted to believe that it was a lie, that she really did mean something to him, but when she saw his face she knew she had her answer. It had been a trick. And she'd walked straight into it.

Draco remembered the look on her face when she'd realized what it meant. She had looked so sad, so hurt, as the tears poured down her face that Draco had almost broken down and cried with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm a soldier - wounded so I must give up the fight

There's nothing more for me - lead me away...

Or leave me lying here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He tried to explain things to her, to make it right, but she would have none of it. She wouldn't even listen. And after all, why should she? He had betrayed her, and she was too upset to even think about giving him a chance to explain. She probably figured that every word that came out of his mouth was a lie now. She probably hated him.

Draco's thoughts were broken as they entered the dark, cold room that was Malfoy Manor's largest dungeon chamber.

Already, everyone was gathered for the ceremony. Now that Lucius and his son were there, the only person missing was the one who would perform the ceremony. Lord Voldemort himself.

Draco paused at the doorway, hesitating. This was it. His last chance to turn around and run. His last chance to rid himself forever of his father and Lord Voldemort, the harsh master who would rule him completely if he let him. He would have no life of his own anymore, surviving only to serve the Dark Lord, and do his bidding.

Though it was not normally a destiny Draco would have chosen for himself- especially after he had met Ginny and learned that life could be better than it was in the hell-hole he had called home for seventeen years- it was the only one he had left now. And he would have to accept it. Gracefully, if at all possible.

He stepped into the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sound the bugle now - tell them I don't care

There's not a road I know - that leads to anywhere

Without a light I fear that I will - stumble in the dark

Lay right down - decide not to go on

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was chilly down here, the air was damp, and a small breeze seemed to be blowing in from somewhere, though Draco could not tell where.

In the middle of a room was a raised platform, it's wood surface worn with time and age. It looked out of place in the great room; lonely. There was no other no other furniture in sight.

The platform was where the ceremony would take place, Draco observed. It would be the spot where Lord Voldemort, his soon-to-be master, would bestow upon him the mark that would show the world the cause he followed. It was a mark that would haunt him until his death. It would mark him once and forever as a servant to the Dark Lord, without any will of his own. It would enslave him.

While the thought made him shudder, he could still think of no real reason not to take the dark mark. At least then he would have a purpose, a sense of being. Not this endless wondering, like a ship lost on the ocean that had been his existence for the weeks after Ginny had turned away from him.

And it was a perfect day for the ceremony: Christmas. It would be "the best present he would ever receive", his father had told him earlier. And while he hadn't disagreed with Lucius, Draco had had his doubts.

At the time, he'd wondered what he would be doing if he and Ginny hadn't broken up. If he had told her the truth before she found out on her own, and explained it to her. Would she have believed him?

Draco was almost sure she would have, but now he would never know. And that was probably best, he tried to assure himself. What had happened had happened, and there was no way to fix things now. Merlin knew he would if he was able too, but he wasn't. Not even magic could change that.

The time for thinking of the past was over. There was only his future in front of him. The chance to live for something again, and fight for something. Even if Draco didn't particularly agree that it was the right thing to fight for. There was no turning back. He had made his decision, or rather, his father had made it for him the night he came home from school for Christmas holidays. And depressed as he was, Draco had accepted his fate without a thought.

A low sound filled his ears, and Draco raised his eyes towards the platform. There was a visible shaking in the air, a sensation one could feel in their very bones. The Dark Lord was coming.

A bright flash of light, and then he was there. Voldemort stood on the platform, his red eyes glowing in the gloomy lighting.

"Where is the boy?" His words were straightforward enough, getting right to the point.

Lucius motioned for Draco to step forward, and he did so, showing no sign of nervousness. He was resigned to his fate, it would happen, whether he wished it to or not. What point was there in being nervous?

The Dark Lord turned to face him, his gaze taking in every inch of Draco's form. He nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, he will do nicely. I am pleased Lucius."

"Thank you, Milord," Lucius said, bowing in return.

"Come here boy. Draco isn't it?"

Draco nodded, stepping up onto the platform as he was instructed. "Yes, Milord."

Voldemort nodded in acknowledgement, then turned to the crowd of death eaters who had been waiting patiently for their master to speak. "This boy, Draco Malfoy, is about to be given my mark. It will signify him as my faithful follower and servant."

This was what they had expected, and they remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"However, what most of you do not know, is that not only will Draco become a death eater, an honor in itself, but he will be my apprentice as well.

An excited murmur rose up around the room at this, and even Draco looked up in shock. It was something he hadn't expected. His father had only told him he was to be given the mark, and Draco had thought that he would be left alone with his father, a part of the circle, but not important. This was a surprise, and not a welcome one.

As Voldemort's one and only apprentice, a lot more would be required of him than he had expected. Who knew what kind of horrible things he would have to do? He had known that he would hurt people, had known that he would have to become evil to survive in the world he would be placed in, but now much more would be required of him.

All of a sudden, an image flashed into his head, so vivid it could have been real. It was from about a month ago, when he and Ginny were still just getting to know each other.

"Draco?" She had asked him one day when they were taking a walk out on the grounds, her silky red hair whipping about gently in the breeze.

"Hmm?" he had replied, too concentrated on observing every feature of her face that he almost didn't realize that she had spoken.

"Are you even listening?" she had asked him then, obviously noticing that he was distracted, but not knowing why.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and forced himself to focus. "Of course I'm listening," he assured her. " I'll always listen to you."

At the time, he had been thinking about how nice it was just to hear her voice, not about what she actually said, but now it came back to him in a startlingly clear way. "I'll always listen to you," he had said. But he hadn't.

Ever since he had left school, her voice had been in the back of his mind, softly begging him not to do this. Not to throw his life away like this. Until now, he hadn't even deigned to acknowledge its presence.

Now, with the threat of an existence worse than death hanging in the air around him, Draco heard her voice quite plainly, as if it had been yesterday.

" You aren't like your father, Draco. You don't have to follow the path he made for himself. You're your own person, you should make your own."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then from on high - somewhere in the distance

There's a voice that calls - remember you are

If you lose yourself - your courage soon will follow

So be strong tonight - remember who you are

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the Dark Lord finished his little speech with the other death eaters, he focused his attention once more on Draco.

"Are you ready?" he asked, more as a matter of ritual then actual concern for the answer.

Draco could only stand silently, a thousand thoughts rushing through his head as the Dark Lord approached.

Ginny, with her brilliant red hair tied up neatly in a braid, sucking a sugar quill as she studied in the library, where he had watched from a corner, hidden from sight.

Ginny, laughing as they made their way down a familiar path on the grounds, one that they walked together often.

Ginny, as she beamed up at him as they sat together on the grass after their first kiss, her eyes shining with happiness.

The thoughts kept flashing through his mind, one after another, over and over again, each one happier, more wonderful than the last.

Draco was so absorbed in remembering, that he failed to notice when his arm was taken and stretched out in front of him. And when the tip of a wand was placed against his forearm, right below his wrist, he was lost in the midst of another vision, this one more serious than the others.

"Do you love me, Draco Malfoy?" Ginny had teased him one morning, as they sat alone in a secluded spot of the gardens.

"You know I do," he had told her, his voice full of love and passion. To prove it, he had cupped her face gently in his hands and lowered his lips to hers.

She smiled at him, her eyes filled with love and happiness. Then that had faded. "Do you-are you.." she had tried to ask him.

"What?"

"Are you going to be a death eater?"

The change in subject was so sudden that Draco had looked at her, frozen in surprise. "Can we please talk about something else?" he had requested, but then, seeing the look on her face, he had given in. "No, of course I'm not going to be a death eater. Why would I need to, when I have you?"

He had tried to laugh it off then, tried to make her forget the whole thing with a kiss, but she was being stubborn.

"I might not always be around, you know," she had told him, her expression somber. "What would you do then? Ignore everything that you've come to know is right and true, and go back to the way you were before?"

He hadn't even had to think about the answer. "No, I wouldn't. With or without you Ginny- but it better be with you- I wouldn't just lay down the things I've come to believe in for nothing. I stand by them now, and I always will. I am not my father."

The last part he said more softly than the rest, though just as firmly, talking more to himself than to her.

"I hope so," had been her whispered reply before she put her arms around him and pulled him into another kiss.

Instantly, Draco knew exactly what he had to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ya, you're a soldier now - fighting in a battle

To be free once more...

Ya, that's worth fighting for

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco snatched his hand away hurriedly as a small tingling started in his arm. Jumping off the platform, he raced for the door, running faster than he ever had in his life.

At first, everyone present was too shocked by the suddenness of the situation to do anything, and he managed to reach the door without being thrown back. The sound of it slamming behind him seemed to wake them up, but Draco was almost to the top of the stairs by the time he heard their angry shouts and heard the door swing open behind him. Before anyone could send any spells his way, he had rounded the corner and pulled his own wand from his pocket.

"Accio, broomstick," he whispered as he ran, heading for the first room with a window.

He reached it quickly, but because of the fact that he was moving, precious seconds were wasted as his broom tried to find him. Finally, right before the angry crowd reached him, his broomstick flew into his hand and he pushed off from the window.

Draco heard the sound of curses being thrown at his hastily receding form, but he was already too far away for them to hit their mark. It was kind of ironic, but Draco had to thank Lucius Malfoy for always giving him the newest, most up-to-date broom models.

Draco flew away from the root of the only existence he'd ever known besides Hogwarts, out into the night, without once looking back. He didn't know where he'd go, or what he'd do, but for once in his life, he felt free.