I'll Still Orbit You
Draco wakes up even before the sun has risen. It’s dark outside, but he knows from the way his eyes snap open that he won’t be able to fall back asleep. He’s not quite sure how he fell asleep in the first place.
Today he is attending a Death Eater meeting for the first time.
___
The dark-haired professor steps outside, his cloak whirling around as he turns to shut the door. He’s not one to attend these informal, almost barbaric meetings, even before the arrangement with Dumbledore, but there is something he can’t get out of his mind.
One Month Prior
Spinner’s End is as quiet as ever; children no longer run up and down the street as they once did, decades ago. A hand touches his shoulder, so lightly he isn’t sure if it’s real, until he spins around to face the man staring back at him.
“What are you doing here?” Snape asks, his voice nasally and low. He’s not one to be taken by surprise, but he never would have expected to see Lucius here.
“I’m going to begin Legilimency and take the boy to a meeting this summer.” Lucius speaks quietly, his mouth barely moving as he talks.
“There hasn’t been a formal ‘meeting’ in decades,” the professor snarls back. Both of them can hear the air quotes around ‘meeting’, even if he doesn’t make any physical motion to show them.
Lucius peers down at him, his jaw tightening. “Are you suggesting I shouldn’t bring him?”
“I’m not suggesting anything.” Snape turns to directly face him and takes a step forward. He drawls the next word slowly. “Why?”
“You have been keeping an eye on him. I’m concerned he may not live up to… expectations. I wanted to know any observations you may have made. Any concerns I should have.”
“I’m not asking why you’re telling me. Why are you doing this?” Snape’s voice grows. The difference is almost imperceptible, but there is something in the way he stands that appears almost angry.
Looking almost uncomfortable, Lucius shifts the wooden cane in his grip. “He needs to be prepared in case-”
“In case?” Snape says, tilting his head forward and narrowing his eyes, “You sound almost afraid. Are you afraid, for our lord’s return? Using the boy as a shield is low, even for you, Lucius.”
Lucius sucks in a breath between his teeth and laughs disbelievingly. “As a shield? You can’t possibly think Draco could ever protect anyone, especially not me.”
“You should prepare to fight for our lord. Not to protect yourself from him.” He turns his back to Lucius and walks up the driveway, locking his door behind him. By the lack of footsteps behind him, he doesn’t bother to cast a protection charm.
Placing his hands on a countertop and leaning forward with his head bowed, Snape closes his eyes to think. He expected this, just not so soon. He had only begun treating the boy more harshly at the end of the school year, how far would Lucius go through his memories? There hadn’t been enough time to train Draco in Legilimency before the year had ended, not safely anyway. The boy was struggling enough as it was. A twinge of guilt runs through the professor, though, as he remembers his words. Physical contact was too far, was it not?
He clenches his jaw and straightens. If any disloyalty were found out, any hint of being soft, he would be in grave danger; Draco would both be in grave danger. Dumbledore and the entirety of their world’s balance depended on his ability to act as the traitor and the enemy. There is no space for morals here.
Present
He hasn’t visited the Malfoy Manor in quite some time, and neither have the Malfoys hosted nor attended a Death Eater meeting in quite some time. To his knowledge, the average gathering takes place in some shady bar once every few months (and consists of a few ‘loyal’ members crowding around a rickety table to whisper about the possible ways to gain Voldemort’s favour, when or if he returned).
As the gates creak open, the lanky, calculating man enters the premises. It’s just as cold as he remembered.