1) This fic will get dark, assume the following triggers: smut, non-con, dub-con, graphic violence, torture, death. Please do not read if those things will squick you out. I will not be posting individual chapter warnings for chapters 11 and on.

2) Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harry Potter world, all bow down to the queen JK Rowling.

Draco awoke with a start and a groan. He felt like he had been in a hippogriff stampede, everything in his body hurt. His head was pounding, and his mouth was dry and scratchy. What had happened? He wasn't sure he remembered. He knew the Dark Lord had called him to a meeting. Was that yesterday? Or the day before? He couldn't quite remember. Did he receive the Dark Mark? Draco wasn't sure if he even wanted the Dark Mark. With some trepidation, Draco raised his left sleeve, and was greeted by smooth pale skin. No Dark Mark in sight. Draco sighed in relief. At least he hadn't been tied to the Dark Lord yet.

Gathering his will, Draco heaved himself out of his large bed. He was in his bedroom at Malfoy Manor that was comforting at least. He wobbled as he stood up and noticed his hip and thigh were covered in dark, dried blood, and there was a large, dark stain in the center of his white sheets.

Maybe that explained some of his pain? What in the hell had happened to him? Draco moved stiffly toward his en suite bathroom. Once there, he stripped and looked in the mirror.

"Oh shite," he said aloud with some shock looking down at his hip.

On his right hip was a large, crescent shaped bite, still oozing blood. Draco could practically count the teeth marks the bite was so vivid.

"Shite, shite, shite!" Draco hobbled back into his room and headed for his bookshelves. He grabbed The Essential Defense Against the Dark Arts book from his third year at Hogwarts. He flipped quickly to page 394 to read about werewolves.

"A fresh werewolf bite will bleed for several days, most heavily the first day, and taper off as it heals. The bite will almost always be a crescent shape and turn silvery as it finishes healing. There is no known cure or treatment for a werewolf bite." The book fell listlessly from his fingers and landed with a thump on the floor.

Fucked, I am completely fucked. Scenes from the last week started filing into place.

Draco walked into the drawing room at Malfoy Manor, his head high and his face a mask of well-bred imperiousness.

The Dark Lord was sitting at the head of a long table, his pet snake Nagini was slithering along the floor, winding herself around the chairs. The rest of the Dark Lord's inner circle was also present, including Aunt Bella, on the Dark Lord's right hand side. She was looking at Him with adoring eyes. The rest of the Death Eaters present were studiously avoiding the Dark Lord's gaze. Aunt Bella was the only Death Eater to escape capture from the debacle at the Department of Mysteries three weeks ago. Draco's father and the rest of the Death Eaters who battled Potter and friends were in Azkaban.

Draco bowed deeply to the Dark Lord, his blond fringe falling over his eyes, "What may I do for you, my Lord?" Draco straightened and smoothed his hair back from his face. He clasped his hands behind his back, ever the picture of pure-blood, well-bred elegance.

"Draco, my ssson," the Dark Lord hissed, "I am afraid you will be punished for your father'sss missstakesss. He hasss disssappointed me, deeply. I had warned him of the consssequencesss of hisss failure." The Dark Lord cast his red-eyed glare around his table of followers before landing heavily on Draco.

"Yes, my Lord. I will accept any punishment you see fit," Draco lowered his eyes. He really hoped it wouldn't be the Dark Mark. Draco loved both his parents, he would do anything to help ease his father's burden with the Dark Lord, but that didn't mean he wanted to serve the maniac. He had been hoping that due to his age he could get out of service entirely, but now it seemed that was unlikely. Damn my father.

"Fetch Fenrir, Bella. He will help me punish your nephew."

Double fuck, Draco thought as Aunt Bella left the room. The Dark Lord summoning Greyback could mean nothing good. Maybe Greyback had a muggle for him to kill as a part of his Dark Mark ceremony? Not that Draco particularly wanted to kill a muggle. Aunt Bella had been trying to corner Draco into accepting Unforgivable lessons from her. His mother had been helping him dodge her efforts, but if that's why Greyback was being called, he may be in trouble if he couldn't manage the killing curse. Draco was thinking hard and almost missed the Dark Lord's next statement.

"I have a tasssk for you Draco, I want you to kill Dumbledore thisss year. You are a sssmart boy, I am sure you will be able to accomplish thisss in a timely manner. If you can manage thisss tasssk, you will have the honor of joining my ranksss next sssummer."

Draco was gob-smacked, he just barely managed to keep a stoic face. How in the bleeding hell am I supposed to do that?!

Aunt Bella and Greyback walked back into the room, Aunt Bella grinned maniacally, and gripped Greyback's wrist.

"My Lord, I have brought you the werewolf," Aunt Bella said breathlessly. Greyback scowled at the back of Aunt Bella's dark head and ripped his arm out of her grip.

Greyback was intimidating, he stood at almost two meters and was easily twenty stone. His black hair had fat dreadlocks brushing his shoulders. He had dark eyes with winged brows. And when he sneered you could see his pointed teeth. He was very unkempt in his personal hygiene, Draco thought, he could smell Greyback from where he was standing six meters away.

"Excellent, thank you, Bella. Fenrir, you know the young Malfoy heir, do you not?" Aunt Bella skipped back to her seat at the Dark Lord's side, making puppy eyes at Him.

Greyback grunted his acknowledgment.

"Good, I want you to bite him on Tuesssday. That isss the next full moon, isss it not?"

Draco was shocked, of all the things he imagined the Dark Lord was going to punish him with, becoming a werewolf wasn't one of them. Triple fucked.

"He isss sssmart, ssso Bella tellsss me. He could become your Beta."

Aunt Bella appeared shocked as well, "But, my Lord, are sure..."

The Dark Lord quelled Aunt Bella with a look, "Luciusss, my mossst ssslippery friend, mussst pay for hisss failuresss, what better way than to make hisss ssson live with the consssequencesss?"

The threat was very clear to Draco. Draco gulped, he did not want to become a werewolf, he did not want to be bitten by a werewolf, and he certainly did not want to go any closer to Greyback than he already was. Better a werewolf than dead, Draco. Let's just figure out a way to survive and we'll deal with the implications later. Thinking quickly he asked, "My Lord, I will accept this punishment gladly, however, how will you ensure that Greyback does not kill me?"

Greyback tossed a glare and a scowl at Draco.

"Excellent quessstion, Draco. Sssee Bella? Your nephew isss a man and can handle himssself. Ssseverusss, do you have the Wolfsssbane ready?" The Dark Lord leveled his red eyed gaze at the Potions Master of Hogwarts.

"Of course, my Lord. Greyback has taken a dose every day this week, I have watched him to ensure he takes it." Severus Snape looked from the Dark Lord to Draco. Snape's mask was too good, Draco couldn't see through it. Snape looked as blank as ever. He's my godfather, how can he stand this?

"The Wolfsssbane will ensure that Fenrir isss of sssound mind after hisss transssformation. Once he hasss bitten you, sssomeone will pull you to sssafety." The Dark Lord focused on Draco once more, tapping his long fingers against the table.

"Yes, my Lord." Draco did not want to be bitten by a werewolf. Hold it together for a bit longer, then you can freak out.

Greyback didn't particularly look like he wanted to bite Draco, he sneered in Draco's direction.

"As you wish, my Lord" Greyback growled out.

Tuesday had arrived quicker than Draco could have imagined, he was dreading this day. He really did not want to be bitten by a werewolf and he did not want to become a werewolf, but he couldn't figure a way out of this mess. If he ran, his mother would be killed, and probably his father as well. He couldn't risk either of their lives, regardless of how stupid he thought his father was for getting involved with the Dark Lord to begin with. He hadn't even given any thought to the task the Dark Lord had assigned him. The looming threat of the werewolf bite was consuming him.

Draco spent the days leading up to Tuesday looking for anything he could find related to werewolves. He pulled all of his Defense Against the Dark Arts books to see if he could find anything more that he didn't already know. He didn't find anything. He had searched the Malfoy Manor library as well, but the library seemed to be lacking in any werewolf literature or books. What good was having a three story library if it didn't hold anything worth reading! He was frustrated that he couldn't find anything and he was angry that this was going to have to happen in the first place. He cursed his father for the thousandth time that week.

The day of the bite, Draco spent with his mother in her rooms. Pacing and worrying about what was to come that night. His mother tried to assure him that both of his parents would love him regardless of his status as a werewolf. Draco was pretty sure his mother would always love him, he wasn't as sure about his father. Ever since the Dark Lord came back, Lucius had been cold and demanding toward Draco. Gone was the father who was open and loving within the confines of the family home. Nobody would have described Lucius Malfoy as open and loving in public, but at home, he had always been a great father. Encouraging Draco to do better, but understanding his son's limits. Playing with his son in whatever game Draco had been interested in at the time. Tucking him in at night, reading him a bedtime story had always been Lucius' job. Draco's entire childhood had been spent looking up to his father.

Now that the Dark Lord was back, that man was gone. Draco didn't have the courage to ask his mother if this was what his father was like during the First Wizarding War, he was afraid of the answer. If this was his father in wartime, is this personality the fake one? Or was it the loving father Draco remembered from his childhood the fake? Draco didn't know, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. There was a good chance that his father wasn't going to survive this war, and if that happened, Draco would be the head of the Malfoy family. Something he knew he wasn't ready for. His father hadn't really started going through the family businesses and accounts with him. He was supposed to have started that this summer.

More worries for Draco. Head of the family, managing Malfoy business interests, upcoming werewolfness, killing Dumbledore, maybe becoming a Death Eater, starting his sixth year at Hogwarts. The list seemed impossible for Draco to manage. He continued pacing and fretting.

At moon rise, Snape knocked on the door to his mother's personal sitting room. He was there to escort Draco to the dungeons where Greyback had been locked up for his transformation. Snape looked severe, his dark hair swung forward as he bowed his head. He clasped Draco's shoulder in a show of support.

"I know this is difficult, Draco," Snape began, but Draco cut him off.

"I do not need your comfort. I am a man and will take my father's punishment like a man." Draco shrugged Snape's hand off of his shoulder. Draco heard his mother sigh behind him.

"I'll need your wand, Draco."

"What? Why?" Draco asked suspiciously. No good could come from not having his wand.

"You are about to be bit by a werewolf, on the Dark Lord's orders, you must not fight back. If I have your wand, you will not be able to injure one of the Dark Lord's favorite Death Eaters," Snape explained silkily. He managed to keep the annoyed tone out of his voice, which Draco appreciated. Had Draco been thinking clearly, he would have realized this. Draco turned back to his mother and handed her his wand. Snape might be his godfather, but he trusted his mother. Narcissa wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Be brave," she whispered.

Draco pushed past Snape and proceeded ahead of him toward the dungeons. Snape followed behind, matching Draco's pace.

Several hallways and staircases later, Draco and Snape were standing in front of a cell in the dungeons with a pacing werewolf in it. Greyback was a monstrous wolf, he had black shaggy fur and yellow eyes. Draco could hear each thump of one of Greyback's huge paws as he paced the dirt floor of the cell. Greyback was calmer than Draco thought he would be, the Wolfsbane, his mind supplied. Draco had assumed he would be facing a wild and raging beast. This looked like a calm predator, you could see his intelligence in his piercing gaze. It certainly didn't make Draco feel any better, he was still terrified of being bit. Greyback howled making Draco flinch and take a step back, almost stepping into Snape. The Dark Lord turned a corner at the howl and stopped beside Snape, Draco looked at him over his shoulder.

"Draco, we will both be here to ensure that Fenrir doesss not lossse control. Asss sssoon asss he hasss finished biting you, we will ssstun him and pull you to sssafety."

Draco breathed deep, closed his eyes, and squared his shoulders to the cell, "I'm ready."

Snape unlocked the cell with a flick of his wand and shoved Draco inside before quickly slamming the cell door closed again and locking it. Greyback paced in front of Draco for a few moments. Draco's mind was completely blank, he was terrified, but held himself absolutely still knowing the Dark Lord was watching him carefully. Greyback howled again. Then he sniffed all around Draco like a dog would sniff a newcomer, circling him. Once Greyback was behind him the second time he reared back and pushed Draco to the dirt floor of the cell, surprising Draco. Draco flipped onto his back quickly and looked up at Greyback. Draco could see each of the werewolf's pointy yellowed teeth, saliva was dripping out of the corners of the beast's' mouth. Draco cringed back, bringing his hands in front of his face as if to ward the werewolf off. Then Greyback struck, he ripped Draco's robes, and bit him hard on the right hip. Draco threw his head back, arching his back he screamed. Oh gods, oh gods, this fucking hurts! Then everything went black.

Draco shook his head, clearing it of the memories. He felt nauseous, as he stepped into the shower. Draco stood under the spray a long time, watching his blood mingle with the water and go down the drain. Once clean, he bandaged his seeping wound the best he could and dressed. Walking back into his bedroom he called for his personal house elf.

"Tink!"

Tink popped into view, her large ears folded over, "Master Draco, what can Tink do for you?"

"Change the bed, Tink, and food, I'm starving, bring a lot. When I'm finished eating I want to speak with my mother, is she available?"

"Tink will check, Master Draco."

Tink flicked her hand and the sheets and blankets from Draco's bed rolled into a ball and disappeared. With another flick, new sheets appeared and the bed made itself. Tink popped out and a few moments later popped back with a large tray of sausages, potatoes, and a glass of pumpkin juice. Tink deposited the tray on a small table near a settee in front of the fireplace in Draco's room.

"Mistress Narcissa is in her solar, Master Draco," Tink relayed to Draco before popping out again.

Draco wolfed the food down. He was hungrier than he thought. Even after eating, Draco's head still pounded. Grimacing Draco grabbed his robes and headed to the solar to find his mother and his wand.

Upon reaching the solar, Draco breathed deep and opened the door.

"Mother."

"Darling, how are you?" Narcissa asked. She had a tea cup and saucer in her hand and set them down on the small occasional table next to her. She stood and walked toward Draco, hugging him tightly. She slipped him his wand as she backed up and looked up at his face. Draco could see that she was holding back tears as she brushed his fringe from his eyes.

"How long have I been out? Has anything happened?" Draco was shaking with rage. He searched his mother's eyes looking for answers. Draco was so upset he didn't notice that his mother wasn't the only person in the room.

"Draco, nephew, are you angry with the Dark Lord?" Aunt Bella was sitting in a chair facing his mother's chair, she turned her head and looked at them both. His mother patted his shoulders and returned to her seat, waving him over to sit next to her. Narcissa looked wan and pale. She had been taking his father's imprisonment hard. And the extra, unexpected and difficult houseguests were not helping.

Draco turned to Aunt Bella and gave her a slight bow, then walked and sat next to his mother's chair facing the door and Aunt Bella. Aunt Bella was a tall woman with a crazed look in her eyes. She had spent over 10 years in Azkaban that was more than enough time to turn anyone mad. Her black hair was sprinkled with gray and had a wild unkempt look about it.

"Aunt Bella, of course I am not angry with the Dark Lord. He is right to punish me for father's mistakes. I apologize for sounding angry. The bite hurts more than I expected and is making me grouchy," Draco lowered his eyes and clenched the fist that Aunt Bella wouldn't be able to see. He was spitting mad over being turned into a filthy half-breed. Stay calm, nothing good can come of getting angry in front of her.

Aunt Bella eyed Draco with some suspicion before nodding to him and picking up her teacup.

"The Dark Lord is creating a new kind of army, a werewolf army. Led by Greback, with you as Beta, if you can prove yourself to him," Aunt Bella sipped her tea. "Tell me, Draco, how does it feel to be a werewolf?"

"I haven't had much time to get used to it, truthfully," Draco gritted his teeth. He poured himself some tea and added a squeeze of lemon before taking a sip. "I am sure I will be able to prove myself to Greyback. I am eager to serve the Dark Lord."

Aunt Bella smiled at that and finished her tea.

"Lovely, Draco. Narcissa, we must speak again after dinner this evening." Aunt Bella stood up and swept from the room, banging the door closed.

Draco looked at his mother, she wouldn't meet his gaze. Fuck, I need to be strong for her.

"Mother," Draco grasped his mother's hands, causing her to look at him. "It'll be alright, Mother. I'm angry, and it hurts, but it's not your fault. I'll do what needs to be done. I'm a Malfoy." His voice was hard and cold at that.

Narcissa put her hand on Draco's cheek, "I know, darling, I am sorry. I don't seem to have much influence in the Dark Lord's circle. Bella has been keeping me informed, but..."

"I know, Mother, I'll be our eyes and ears. I will try and figure a way out of this mess for all of us, Father included."

Narcissa looked down again, before smiling tremulously at her son. She patted his cheek and picked up her teacup. Draco didn't even think to mention the task the Dark Lord had given him. He could see that his mother was straining at the seams. She did not need another thing to worry about. Draco was a man, he knew it, the Dark Lord knew it, he would handle his task on his own.

A/N: Freshly beta'd by the talented twztdwildcat!