Picking up the Pieces

Draco Malfoy was trying very hard not to flinch. Hell, he was feeling hard-pressed not to break away from the circle and take off running. The only reason he didn't was because he knew his father wouldn't hesitate to stop him with a hex before he took a single step. As it was, the look in his father's eyes when Draco had refused to join in the "fun" promised Draco it would be a long, and probably painful, weekend. If he made it home at all.

He was here tonight for "initiation," far earlier than any of his classmates. His father was sure he was ready--this was the day he had been training for since he was six, building on principles that had been drilled into his head for as long as he could remember. As a "favor" to his faithful servant Lucius, the Dark Lord had allowed Draco to attend tonight's festivities. Afterwards, it was to be decided whether or not he was worthy of wearing the Dark Mark. Rumor had it that those the Dark Lord did not brand were tortured and killed by the Death Eaters. Draco almost hoped that was the case; it would be better than what he would suffer at Lucius' hands if he disappointed his father.

Draco had walked into this with the naiveté of a child; he thought it would be fun to torture Muggles. Just like a game, right? After all, they weren't important, not like his pure-blooded ancestors. Before tonight, he had never really thought of anyone other than pure-blooded wizards to be people; they were just a separate, inferior race. As he and his father had made their way toward the designated spot, Draco was floating on an adrenaline high, excited about the prospect of watching Muggles suffer, of being responsible for making them suffer.

Since he was not a Death Eater (yet), he was wearing a set of his father's old robes. His mother had promised to take him shopping the very next day for robes of his own, and she was already planning a celebration for the following weekend, cleverly claiming it was in recognition of Draco's achievements in OWL's. Here in the circle, the other Death Eaters stared at Draco as they hid behind their masks. They all knew who he was and why he was there, despite the disguise. They were studying him, waiting with baited breath and wanting to see how he would act. He was convinced that several of them would be happy to see him fail so they could parade their own Junior Death Eaters in at the next gathering and show that they were better than the Malfoys. Not knowing exactly who was staring at him made Draco uncomfortable. No one was speaking above a whisper, and especially not to Draco, at least not until he had proved his worth. No matter these were the same men who had passed in and out of Malfoy Manor his entire life, praising his early achievements and slipping him spell books of illegal curses before he ever entered school. Only one dared to even acknowledge his presence. Moments after they arrived, one of the Death Eaters on the other side of the circle did a double take, and then strode over to where Draco and his father were standing.

"What is he doing here?" the newcomer hissed. Draco immediately recognized the voice of his Head-of-House and mentor, Professor Severus Snape.

"Afraid he is going to prove you trained your replacement?" Lucius sneered, referring to Snape's position as Potion Master for the Dark Lord. Draco could hear the laughter underlying his father's words.

"He's just a child!" Draco didn't know whether to be offended by the statement or amused that someone would dare speak to his father in that tone of voice.

"Do not presume to tell me how to raise my son," Lucius replied coldly. "He--"

Whatever Lucius was about to say was forgotten as the Dark Lord came into the clearing. Trailing behind him was his huge pet snake, Nagini, and his pet Death Eater Peter Pettigrew. Draco's thoughts about the conversation were quickly replaced with frightened awe of being in the presence of the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord did not acknowledge Draco as the Death Eaters gathered around him to hear of the night's plans. A family in Surrey had been pleasantly surprised earlier that day when their eleven-year-old had received a letter of acceptance to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Death Eaters were to "persuade" the family that it was not such a good thing that their child was a witch.

The Muggles' home was set back in the woods just slightly, far enough back that no one would have been able to hear the numerous "CRACKS" generated by the Death Eaters as they Apparated into the clearing behind the house. Draco wondered vaguely if anyone was close enough to hear the Muggles' screams, but realized his father and several others were casting surreptitious spells along the borders of the clearing, presumably to deflect the magic detectors used by the Ministry of Magic as well as create a sight and sound barrier around them.

Looking around, Draco noticed he could recognize a few of the other Death Eaters by the way they walked. Professor Snape was no longer with them, having returned to his potions lab to finish work on a particularly volatile potion he was brewing for the Dark Lord. Apparently, he and the Dark Lord had made this arrangement before the meeting because there was no argument or even discussion from either of them when Snape backed out of the circle and Disapparated shortly before the others did. At the time, Draco assumed Snape would be disappointed to have been left out, but now he was hoping that if he did fall into the service of the Dark Lord, maybe he could get trained as Snape's assistant so he could avoid these gatherings.

Draco was mentally exhausted from trying to focus his thoughts elsewhere while he pretended to be enthralled in the proceedings of the Death Eaters. It had not been difficult at first--when they started torturing the father. In fact, Draco had laughed along with the other Death Eaters in response to the man's screams. Draco wasn't sure exactly when his feelings had shifted, but suddenly the scents of blood and fear had made his stomach protest violently and he was trying not to gag as he shook his head vigorously when the Death Eater nearest him indicated he should take a turn in the part-magic, part-physical abuse of the man. Lucius had glared at him, and although Draco could only make out his narrowed eyes through the slits in his mask, he felt the anger radiating off his father in waves. Draco had clenched his fists and forced himself to quit trembling and focus on the horrors displayed in front of him.

When the father was too weak to make a sound, much less move, the mother had been brought out. The horrors inflicted on her were made worse, in Draco's mind, by the fact her husband lay on the ground mere feet from here, nearly dead but conscious enough to know what was happening to his wife. They both knew the other was there, was hurting, and they both wanted to help, or at least comfort, the other, but were unable to do so. The woman had been passed around for the enjoyment of several of the Death Eaters, including Draco's father, amid various curses when she became too feisty or too lifeless. Draco was not invited to join in this time, for which he was thankful. He knew he would never again be able to look at his father, or any of these other men he had grown up admiring, without feeling revolted. He was currently contemplating how many showers he was going to have to take just to feel clean. Even though he had not done anything except stand there, he felt contaminated.

The mother was now lying in a crumpled heap at the feet of a man Draco had recognized earlier as Parkinson. She was on the opposite side of the circle from her husband. The simple fact that they were separated made Draco realize how powerful mind games were, and that the other Death Eaters must be as adept at playing them as his father was.

The night was pierced by the high-pitched scream of a young girl as she was dragged into the clearing. Draco's heart stopped. He knew that this was the mudblood, the young witch who had been accepted at Hogwarts. She was small for her age, and Draco could imagine her getting lost in the sea of students at Hogwart's. Her long, silver-blonde hair, almost the same color as Draco's own, was in complete disarray, and her sleepy-scared eyes indicated she was unsure if she as still in bed dreaming a nightmare or if she had actually been dragged into a real-life one. She looked...innocent. Just like all the other first-years. Just like Draco had been once.

And so now Draco was fighting the urge to run. He was hoping to wake up and find himself in the cold comfort of his rooms at Malfoy Manor.

"Draco."

Draco jumped at the hissed whisper from the Dark Lord. His eyes widened in fright and he stepped forward with a slight bow of subservience, short fingernails digging into the palms of his clenched fists as he tried to keep his voice from wavering. "Yes, my lord?"

"You have not participated tonight. Perhaps she will be more to your liking?" the Dark Lord inquired silkily, gesturing with his long, pale fingers to the trembling girl being held up between two of the Death Eaters. "I usually prefer the young, delectable ones for myself and Nagini, but in this case I think we'd all like to see what the little Prince of Darkness is capable of."

The little girl stared wide-eyed at Draco. He shuddered violently, fighting to keep from throwing up everything he had eaten for the last week, and shut his eyes briefly. He felt a sudden rush of cold as his father stepped up behind him. "Do not embarrass me!" Draco could hear the not-so-veiled threat but barely had time for it to register before Lucius shoved him towards the girl as she was released from the grip of the two men that had held her. Draco caught her as she stumbled, and she looked up at him, directly into his eyes. He could see confusion in them warring with fear, but more unnervingly (and most importantly to him) was the fact that they were the same color, the exact same color, as those he saw whenever he looked in the mirror. I can't do this, he thought wildly. I can't, I can't, I can't. He looked back at the girl and leaned down, blocking her face and his words from the view of the others. "Listen, can you run?" he whispered softly. At her slight nod, he continued, "When I tell you to run, we're going to run. Together. Head for that open spot to the left. Stay in front of me but try to stay close so I can protect you. If I fall, keep going. Don't stop, don't look back, and don't trust anyone you meet. Understand?" She nodded again. "Good."

Draco straightened and looked around quickly, sensing the growing anger and impatience from all around him. From the corner of his eye, he noticed someone Apparating just outside the barrier the Death Eaters had created. Aurors! They were just as dangerous to Draco as the Death Eaters at this point, but he bargained they may be able to provide the distraction he needed. He saw three more Aurors appear beside the first and decided to take a chance. As the first Auror crossed the place where the Death Eater barrier had been, Draco leaned down to the girl once more and ordered, "Run!" He spun her around and pushed her in the direction he had indicated earlier. He ran closely behind her, shielding her body with his, bracing himself for the spell he was sure would take him down from behind but it never came. The pounding of his heart reverberated in his head, drowning out the chaos behind him, so he glanced back, holding his breath. Apparently, his flight had provided sufficient distraction for the Aurors to swarm in on the circle of Death Eaters. A blur of colors crossed the clearing as spells were cast between the sides. Draco noticed the Dark Lord had already Disapparated, leaving his followers to their fates. He saw his father go down and his step faltered, but he knew that if he went back he would be killed by the first person to spot him from either side.

He and the girl reached a small stream and the girl slid on the rocks. Draco caught her just before she hit the water. Looking behind him again, he decided it was unlikely they were being followed or they would have been caught already. He hunkered down and told the girl to get on his back. He waded out into the middle of the stream and headed against the current, thinking vaguely that this would mean they were not leaving a noticeable trail of footprints for someone to follow (never mind the fact that if they were being followed the trackers would be using magic!). He trudged upstream until he could no longer hear anything from the direction they had come from, and then crossed up the embankment on the other side. They had apparently reached a Muggle playground of some sort. Off to one side there were several benches and several bushes clumped together. Between the bushes was just enough space for the two of them to sit. Draco decided that was probably best so that they could remain hidden while he thought of what to do next.

Draco let the girl rest against him as they situated themselves between the bushes. She shivered, whether from the cool night air or from the shock settling in Draco wasn't sure. He thought briefly about casting a warming spell, but remembered that outside the protection of the unplottable Malfoy Manor, underage wizardry was tracked on some level so it probably wouldn't be a good idea. He settled instead for a quick spell of conjuring up a blanket which he draped over the girl as she leaned back against him and drifted off to sleep.