The Winding Road

The Winding Road
by: Raina Malfoy and Taye McAdams

Prologue: Where it all began

The doorbell rang throughout the empty halls of Malfoy Manor. Lucius put down his newspaper and walked towards the door. Knowing who was there, Lucius Malfoy opened the door quickly so he would not make his guest wait any further. Upon opening the door, he heard the familiar maniacal laughter that could only belong to one person. Lord Voldemort greeted his faithful Death Eater as he stepped over the threshold and into the Manor.

"My Lord, how can I serve you? Please, sit down." He led Voldemort to an empty chair in the parlor, but Voldemort walked towards the dining room. "Would you like some tea, my Lord?" Lucius looked for his house elves, but none were to be found.

"Lucius, I do not have time to have tea and crumpets!" He slammed his pale fist upon the dining room table. "I come here only because I must. I have found the perfect job for you and your son," Lord Voldemort said, glancing around the house.

"My Lord, I thought we agreed that Draco wouldn't be allowed into the inner circle until after he left Hogwarts," Lucius said, knowing he would be punished for questioning the Dark Lord.

"I have changed my mind. He will help with the new project. I hope that is not a problem. Well, even if it was, we need him for this project. He is the only one we can trust that has access to Hogwarts and that daft Dumbledore," Lord Voldemort spat. The mere mention of Dumbledore's name made his veins run cold. He quickly sat down.

"What is the new project, exactly?" Lucius asked uncertainly. He also took a seat.

"To finish what we have started." He looked around the empty manor. He picked up the newspaper Lucius had put down earlier and read about the Death Eaters that were captured. He threw the newspaper with disgust. Suddenly, he sprung from his chair. "We will rid the world of Muggle lovers and Mudbloods. Everything that is not pure must be exterminated."

"Do you have a plan for killing that many people without arousing suspicion?" asked Lucius. He also raised from his chair.

"Simple really. Make it seem like an accident. If nothing out of the ordinary were to happen, then no one would have a reason to blame us for the accident. The best way to ensure victory is to wipe out the entire family in one try. If we don't, then the survivors will contact the Muggle police or Dumbledore, and we don't want that."

"Of course, my Lord."

Grinning, Lucius turned toward the mantle and picked up a collage of pictures, most of which were of his only son and heir, Draco. He turned back towards Voldemort and pointed to an individual that was in the background of one of the pictures.

"This girl's family is the first to go," Lucius said.

"What makes you think you have the authority to say who goes first?"

"Look who the girl is." Voldemort smirked and his eyes lit up as if they were set on fire.

"Ah, yes," Lord Voldemort hissed. "This is going to be fun."