"Lucius, you can't allow him to do this. Not to my son, to OUR son!" I was kneeling on the floor, listening to my parents' whispers through the keyhole in the large, oak door of Father's office. My heart twinged as I realized that Mother was sobbing.

"Narcissa, what do you expect me to do. I can't just walk up to the Dark Lord and tell him what he can and cannot do. That's just suicide, and it would do nothing to help our… predicament." What predicament? Why were Mother and Father speaking this way? What was the Dark Lord planning to do with me? Fear gripped at my insides when I thought of what fate might be awaiting me.

"But Lucius, I couldn't stand it if something were to happen to my baby boy. He's our only child. We have to protect him!" Mother's voice broke as her sobs became louder and louder. "I know: we should just run away! We could go somewhere that no one would think to find us. We could change our appearances!"

"You know that would never work. It wouldn't matter if we turned ourselves into Muggles, he would still find us. Surely you know the power he possesses. There is no escaping the Dark Lord when he wants something of you." I heard Father sigh loudly. I desperately wished I had the courage to bust the door open and ask my parents what was going on. But, I knew Father would be furious that he had been lurking about and eavesdropping. Eavesdropping was one of the only things that Lucuis seriously got angry about. In Father's eyes, it was the same as lying.

"We must proceed with this meeting. Draco has to do what the Dark Lord asks, and we must act normally." At this statement, I heard Mother completely break down. It wouldn't have been necessary to eavesdrop to hear Mother's crying now.

"F-Fine. But I need to go. I have to t-talk to someone. To make sure Draco st-stays safe. I have to leave anyway. I can't be here when he comes." Mother's soft footsteps started getting closer to the office door. So, I leapt to my feet and bolted down the hallway to the staircase.

I raced up the two flights of stairs and closed the door after I entered my room. My plush, green emerald bed suddenly became very inviting so I plopped down onto the soft comforter. I was suddenly in a daze. What in the name of Merlin's beard were my parents speaking of? What did they know about my future that I did not? Apparently, I was going to have to meet with Lord Voldemort, and I never, ever wanted that to happen. But what did the Dark Lord want with me, Draco Malfoy, a sixteen-year-old, sixth-year, Hogwarts student?

Father suddenly opened the bedroom door, and I could see the strain in Father's usually imperceptible visage. The lines in his forehead were deepened and his face seemed to age twenty years with all the worry. Father shut the door behind him, crossed the room, and swiftly sat in the large, silver armchair across the room. I made myself sit with a blank face so that he wouldn't know that I heard the previous conversation.

"Father? Is there something wrong?" A chill went down my back and the hairs raised on the back of my neck as Father looked into his eyes. I saw something that I had never seen in them before: fear and desperation. We sat for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably mere seconds. It almost seemed as if the clock on the wall was ticking at an eighth of the normal speed. The silence was almost unbearable.

"Draco, I have a very grave, and important issue I need to discuss with you." Father paused and averted his eyes from mine. "The Dark Lord has requested a meeting tonight. And-" He closed his mouth and looked back into my eyes. "And you are to be present at this meeting. I'm sorry Draco, there's nothing we can do to prevent this."

I did not realize that I would be lost for words. I had already heard this conversation once. However, hearing it from Father confirmed that it was real and I was not just having a nightmare. Father just kept staring at me, waiting for some response to his overwhelming news. I squeezed my eyes shut, remembering the only other time I had been required to meet with the Dark Lord: my initiation into the Death Eater ranks. It was the most terrifying and painful night of my entire life, and it still haunted my many recurring nightmares. As I opened my eyes, I saw Father still patiently staring at me. I finally opened my mouth to speak, but still could not articulate my thoughts. So, instead of an actual response, what came out was was more like, "I- What- Why?"

Again, Father let out a loud sigh and then continued, "He requests that you be present at this particular meeting because he wants-because he has a mission for you to fulfill." The tone in Father's voice changed, considerably. It became a panicked and rushed response, which I had never heard come out of Father's mouth. Father was always the picture of cool, calm, and collected, under any circumstance. So it was understandable that my fear escalated. "Draco, you must do what he tells you to do. If you do not fulfill this mission, I am afraid he will kill you. You must do this, son. When you hear what the job is from him, do NOT object. Do not show apprehension or fear in your face, you must keep your expression blank. You must use the Occlumency that I taught you, because he will try to penetrate your mind as well. Please Draco, do what he asks. Your mother would die from grief if the Dark Lord killed you. And I would as well."

Father abruptly stood up from the plush armchair, crossed the room, and wrapped his arms tightly around me. The escalation of my fear, this time, caused my heart to clench unbearably and tears began to well in my eyes. Father was not known for his affection, so the verbal admission he just made and his arms wrapped around me made my mind wander to the horrible things that would await me when I failed. "I just want you to know that I love you, son. And I will never forgive myself for bringing you up in this world. It is a terrible fate to have fallen upon you."

I was at a complete loss for words. The rest of the color drained from my already pale face. I am sure that my face was now the shade of snow. Father had actually voiced his love for me. My mind was still running through all the torturous methods of death that would befall upon me. Then, I began to think about what the mission was actually going to be. It would probably involve doing something immoral. It took all of my control to keep the tears welling in my eyes to fall in front of Father. He would not be enthused about his son crying like a little child. I finally choked out, "I love you, too, Father. It is not your fault for this mess. I know that you only did what was necessary to keep our family alive. I would have done the same had I been in your position. I just wish there was another way to deal with him."

"Don't say things like that Draco. The Dark Lord could have any number of measures to listen to our conversations." Father whispered this sentence to me.

"Of course, father. I'm sorry I didn't think of that. Could you please leave now? I need some time to myself." Father walked over toward the door. He paused abruptly, as if he was going to say something to me, but then proceeded out of the door.

I cast a silencing charm on the door and buried my head in my hands. I finally allowed the tears to freely fall down my cheek. I did not want to do anything that the Dark Lord told me to do. However, I knew that there was nothing that I could do to stop it. I had to accept the fact that this quest, whatever it happened to be, was mine to fulfill. If I did not succeed in his demands, I would be killed without a second thought. The Dark Lord cared nothing for anyone on this Earth, so why would he care about an inadequate sixteen-year-old boy, especially considering I was the son of the Death Eater that embarrassed him.

After a few minutes, I sat up and wiped the tears from my face. There was no reason to weep over the eminent assignment anymore, so I walked into my bathroom to clean myself up. I splashed water in my face and then practiced keeping my face perfectly emotionless. I also stood and stared into the mirror as I practiced the Occlumency Father taught me. The most important thing for the meeting tonight was to make sure that Voldemort would not be able to read my thoughts. Finally, I believed that I was ready, or as ready as anyone could ever be, for the arrival of Lord Voldemort.

"Thank you, my friends, for joining me for this very important meeting." Lord Voldemort was sitting at the head of a very long table in the Malfoy Manor. Almost every Death Eater had assembled for this particular meeting. I found myself sitting near the middle of the table. My head was bowed, and Mother and Father were on either side of me. Mother was secretly squeezing my hand under the table. Father would not approve, but it was holding me together during this atrocious event.

Voldemort continued his speech, "This meeting is a very important meeting for one of our newest members." Voldemort took a pause and looked around the table, finally setting his eyes on me. My heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest. I was finally going to discover the destiny that the Dark Lord had planned out for me. Frankly, I did not want to find out what my mission was going to be. I secretly wished that he would just move his eyes to another newer member and give them the mission. However, I knew that he would not do that. He now had a grudge against my father for getting caught at the Ministry last year, and this was the perfect punishment.

"Draco Malfoy, I cannot think of a person better suited for this mission. You see, I need you to dispose of someone for me." I kept the look of horror off of my face at this statement, but just barely. I had many years practice keeping a blank face; father always taught me to be emotionless, because it was the only way to survive in our world. My practice before the meeting also helped me keep calm. "I find that you are the perfect candidate, because you will be in the same building with him for a whole year. You have been with him since you began your journey at Hogwarts. If there is any person here that can get to Albus Dumbledore, it is you. The old fool trusts in you, Draco Malfoy. He would never suspect his life to end at your hands."

So my mission was to kill Albus Dumbledore? This assignment is cruel and unusual punishment; because there is no way that I can kill Professor Dumbledore. Most of the Death Eaters think that Professor Dumbledore is the worst Head Master Hogwarts has ever seen. However, I think that he is a great Head Master. I would never want to kill him, and I honestly do not think that it would be physically possible for me to kill him. Professor Dumbledore is one of the most powerful wizards that the world has ever seen. I was terrified now. There is no way in Merlin's name that I could pull off killing Albus Dumbledore. Mother's hand squeezing mine was becoming unbearable and I knew she was having a very difficult time keeping herself collected.

"I believe that young Draco, here, can finish this job for me, what say you?" There were many snickers around the table. There was not, however, one sign from anyone that I could complete this mission. They knew what I knew as well: this was just a mission of revenge so that Voldemort could kill me. My shoulders slumped just slightly and I resigned to the fact that my life was now over.

"Now Draco, I know that this mission seems a little, out of reach, shall we say. But I know that you will complete this mission for me. If not, I'm afraid the consequences will be dire. And no one wants anything dreadful to fall upon the Malfoy family." There was a terrible silence around the table. Then, Voldemort's face contorted into the worst smile I have ever seen in my life. It was like I could see the contents of his soul, or really lack thereof, in that one smile. It was very clear that there never was or never will be any good in the soul of the Dark Lord. His eyes were completely void of anything. It was like I was looking into a dark sea of abyss.

"So, Draco, I'm sure that you will take great care in completing this mission and will take all possible routes to extinguish Albus Dumbledore. I will have Severus watch over you to make sure you are doing everything you possibly can. If he reports to me that you are not doing everything possible, you will be most sorry. This meeting is over, thank you, my friends, for joining us for this joyous occasion."

Voldemort got up from his chair and drifted out of the room. I sat motionless in my chair until all but my mother, father, and Severus Snape had left the room. I had not noticed that Snape was sitting directly across from me at the table. Snape has always been my favorite professor at Hogwarts, and I knew he had an arrangement with Mother to protect me from any harm. When I started at Hogwarts, Mother stopped me and told me about Snape. She said that if I ever needed any help or if I were in danger, Snape would be there to protect me.

Snape then stood up, cleared his throat, and turned to Mother. "As I promised you, I will be here to help Draco in any way possible. I also have some information for you three, but I do not believe that it is wise to speak here."

Father nodded his head slightly and said, "I agree with you, Severus. Where shall we meet? The location?"

"Yes. I will meet you there at approximately ten o'clock this evening. You must make sure that none of the other Death Eaters realize where you are going. You cannot be followed, because if you are, our location will be compromised and our efforts will be in vain." With that, Snape turned toward the door and walked out of the room.

Mother, Father, and I stayed sitting at the grand dining room table. I was staring at a blank point on the wall, Father had his head in his hands, and Mother was looking at me.

I wordlessly stood up from the table and slowly exited the room. My shoulders were slumped in defeat. I was now left with the difficult task of dealing with my assignment and the knowledge of my ultimate demise. I was not ready to die: no one is ever ready to die. I very much wanted the luxury of being a normal sixteen-year-old boy, but that was never going to happen for me. As long as Voldemort was alive, there was no happy ending for me. As I walked, my surroundings blurred with the angry tears falling from my eyes. In that moment, I was determined to do whatever was necessary to defeat Voldemort. I had a few ideas to contribute to our conversation this evening. I was not going to kill Albus Dumbledore, because there had to be a way around it.