Accidental Affection

1 - A New Reign of Terror

Footfalls echo through the darkened corridor of Malfoy Manor. It would be empty all but the single figure of a woman, whose hair flies behind her with the air she creates from her quick pace. Had it not been for the crazed features upon her face, she would have been quite lovely, with long black curls that fell down to her midback and equally dark eyes.

Although she had been wanted by every wizard, her face had been plastered on every paper, on every corner, yet she smiles. Not a pretty smile, or a smile of content, but a smile that the devil himself would be proud of. Her hands placed firmly on the double doors, she pushes them open dramatically entering the study. Her sinister laugh fills the ears of the three figures in the room.

In the corner, Draco jumps as the double doors of the study slam open. He had been expecting his crazed aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, but her entrance was nothing short of dramatic, and that he had not been expecting. He was unsure what he had expected, maybe for her to apparate right behind him and chuckle that same chuckle that made his skin crawl. Or maybe a hex on one of his parents, just for the fun of it. But this dramatic, but not so dramatic entrance had caught him off guard.

There had been a change in Lestrange since the death of her lover, Voldemort. Although the Dark Lord never admitted it, there had been something between the two of them. Love? Maybe not, for these two souls were incapable of love. Lust perhaps? The concupiscence of sexual attraction? Or, perhaps, the salacious desire for power and corruption? This, Draco was unsure of, but one thing he was sure of, was the absence of love, although he had second-guessed his thoughts, for he himself was unsure what love was. He had been positive that this was something that even he had not been able to experience.

"Bellatrix," the tall slender pale woman greets her sister. Her blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun.

"Narcissa," Lestrange rounds upon her sister, a smile plastered to her face, eyes still wide and crazed.

"What made you call for this urgent meeting?" Draco's father, Lucius, now speaks, his arm wrapped lightly about Narcissa's shoulder.

"Ahhhh," Lestrange's eyes pop, a smile spreading across her face, stretching her facial features tight over her facial bone features, her finger pointing straight in the air. "I'll need the assistance of a few friends for this." With a wide smile, she reaches into her black robe, pulling out her wand, placing it tenderly upon her forearm.

Draco flinched, his hand covering the heinous skull adorned with a serpent tattoo on his opposite arm, his teeth clenched, trying not to make a sound. The sensation intensified as if a flaming dagger was carving into his arm. Lestrange took in the faces of the Malfoy's and let out a cackle of pleasure for what she had caused. A small noise escaped Draco's lips, it never hurt this much when the Dark Lord had beckoned.

Lestrange eased up slightly, "You like it? I thought we might need some extra assistance for those who have forgotten who their master is! Most have gone into hiding, some ignored the calls of the Dark Lord. But this, they cannot ignore. It will continue to burn until they arrive." She smiled, what would appear as an innocent smile for her before adding, "I am quite pleased with it."

As she spoke dozens of black wisps fill the air as fellow death eaters apparate into the study. Lestrange's hands clasp together at the pained faces of the new arrivals. Familiar faces begin to fill the room, faces Draco had hoped to never see again.

"What's this?" Gregory Goyle approaches Draco's right.

Draco shrugs, briefly looking at his friend from Hogwarts. He had grown a lot, beefier than what he had been in school, however, based on appearances the intelligence of Goyle seemed to have remained the same Draco thought to himself.