The dull sound of footsteps stepped over the spiral staircase that went deep into the ground, and the faint candle light on the wall reflected two figures of about the same height, one after the other walking towards the deep underground.

In the corner of the staircase made of rough stone, the head of a mouse poked out, and by the blue candlelight on the wall, it seemed to see the faces of the two men under their hoods, and the mouse quickly retracted into the darkness, and left silently.

The former figure paused, a glimmer of light flashed in the blank eyes under the hood, she waited for a moment to confirm that the mouse had disappeared into the corner, took a deep breath and stopped, the latter figure seemed a little absent-minded, they almost collided,

"Mother?" Draco. Malfoy's voice came from under his hood, and he seemed to be a little confused, but when he was woken up early in the morning and brought to this strange place by his mother, he was naturally puzzled.

"Wait—wait, don't say anything you don't have to say." Talking naturally is Narcissa. Malfoy,

This member of the old Black family, like every member of the family, most of them are good-looking, and they have that nobility-like elegance that no one can imitate, as if they were born with elegance,

But at this moment, her face under the hood did not have the calm arrogance of the past, and she could only keep her tone stable despite her best efforts, but the melancholy look on her face and the panic flashing in her eyes revealed her true thoughts in her heart,

Narcissa knew that she had violated the will of "the man who could not be named" by giving such a warning, but so what?

Lucius's operation in the Ministry of Mysteries failed, even if he was rescued later, the status of the Malfoy family had plummeted with them, and the only thing she was glad about was that she had her back to Draco, so she still had time to hide her anxiety and anxiety in front of her son.

"I don't understand, Mother." Draco. Malfoy looked away from the serpentine candle holder on the wall, "Why... We're going to be here early in the morning?"

"We're here to meet some people...... Or rather...... See a man." Narcissa vaguely reminded her son that she couldn't say more, Draco didn't have a way to protect his mind,

"Is that the one? Mother?" An abnormal flush welled up in Draco's pale face under his hood, and his tone was urgent, asking in a trembling excitement, "Have I been drafted?" It's a dark devil—"

"Stop," Narcissa turned and sternly warned her son, "that's not something you should imagine—"

"All you have to do is listen, that's all," Narcissa softened, but continued to emphasize, "Don't say more...... Just - listen."

Narcissa turned around and continued to walk down the spiral staircase, Draco following her mother until they had reached a straight corridor,

They went straight through one door after another on the left and right sides of the hallway, each with a thick iron chain.

Draco stopped suddenly, he felt that he could faintly hear some wailing, this discovery made him shiver, he licked his lips a little nervously, and then quickened his pace to keep up with his mother, but the inexplicable cold still lingered in his heart, until they came to the end of the hallway, which was the only door that was not chained,

Narcissa tried her best to put away her emotions, so that her eyes became blank again, and she raised her hand and knocked on the gray wooden door,

The moment the door opened, Draco's mind instantly imagined several scenes behind the door, and the hint from his mother excited him,

What would the room behind the door look like? Draco thought it might be like his father's study.

The man may be sitting in a large seat, coldly and haughtily waiting to receive him,

Should I fall down before him, pledge my allegiance and try to claim the highest glory?

"Draco."

The pain in his shoulder and his mother's warning woke Draco from his imagination, and he found himself standing in the middle of a large room,

There were high-backed chairs lined up on either side, but they were almost empty, and there were many people in the room, a few people were sitting on chairs, and many more were standing around these seats.

Draco felt a lot of staring, unsettling whispers and rude laughter reaching his ears, his mother's hands still on his shoulders, which reassured Draco a little,

"You're Malfoy's son?" A lazy voice sounded, and Draco shivered inexplicably, and although he had never heard it, he knew in an instant who was speaking,

It was a tall, pale man, with a face as smooth as a snake, and his crimson eyes were looking at him through the cracks, Draco had to grit his teeth to stop his trembling lips from fear, and his mother pinched his shoulders, reminding him that he had to reply as soon as possible,

"Yes...... Yes," Draco replied, stammering out the next sentence, "My name is Draco."

"Very well, Malfoy's son, Draco," the man said softly, "Now, I hope you're not too stupid, do you know who I am?"

Draco heard his mother's rapid breathing, and the hand on his shoulder,

"The Dark Lord—" In silence, Draco spoke, "You're the Dark Lord."

"Good." Voldemort said, looking up at everyone in the room, a smile on the corner of his mouth,

"You were born from Malfoy and Black, both of our famous pure-bloods," Voldemort seemed satisfied, "Needless to say, well-educated, I think you'd be a Slytherin?"

"Yes, I am," Draco said immediately,

"Very well, so as a purebred with a prominent birth—presumably you would be the leader of Hogwarts?"

"Yes, in our Academy—" Draco replied with a blushing face and pride,

"I mean school—" Voldemort interrupted Draco in a languid tone, much to Draco's confusion, "not in the academy."

"I've heard one thing, Gryffindor for the last few years?? , has almost taken the position of leader in Hogwarts," Voldemort's eyes flashed sharply, "Slytherin has also fallen over the years."

"That's because the teachers are biased," Draco said indignantly, "I've always wanted to kick Potter out of school or get them deducted—"

The crowd around them made a variety of voices, some appreciative, but more disapproving, laughing,

"Our little friends think it's Hogwarts and they're making a little report to me?" The man's crimson eyes flashed with an elusive light, and Voldemort's words caused almost everyone in the room to laugh,

"I heard you don't have a good relationship with the famous Harry Potter?" As soon as Voldemort spoke, the laughter in the room disappeared instantly,

"He's nothing remarkable." Draco finished speaking, and suddenly felt the pain in his shoulder,

?

"He's nothing remarkable?" Voldemort's soft repetition,

"Yes, I became a prefect last year, but he's nothing, and I almost kicked him out of school—" Draco said with some smugness,

"But just a few weeks ago, your father, with my loyal men, was lost in the Ministry of Magic, do you know whose hands Lucius planted it?" Voldemort asked quietly, Draco's lips began to tremble, he knew he had said the wrong thing,

"Master," Narcissa said, bowing her head, "I think Selwyn must also be held accountable for the events of the Ministry of Magic—"

"You crazy woman," a man shouted angrily in a chair not far behind Draco's left, "I wasn't part of that mission at all."

"Rose. Selwyn, master," Narcissa shouted in desperation, "Selwyn may have leaked our information to someone in his own family."

"I'm not familiar with my cousin's family at all." Selwyn roared angrily,

"That's enough." Voldemort said, "I know this has nothing to do with you, Selwyn."

"Thank you, all-knowing Dark Lord," Selwyn bowed, "I am your most loyal servant."

"But you now seem to be worthless except for loyalty." Voldemort said disapprerovingly, and this sentence drew a sneer from the wizards standing around,

"Please give yourself a chance to prove yourself, my master," Selwyn pleaded, ignoring those who laughed, "and I will bring my niece to you."

"If you go, you'll only make me a laughing stock." Voldemort said coldly, and this sentence drew more sneer,

"But actually, Rose. Selwyn is no longer our target." Voldemort's words brought the sneers to an abrupt end, and Selwyn looked stunned,

"I've got my most powerful servant to do this," Voldemort waved his hand, signaling for the nearest vacant seat, "If we do it right, we'll save many, many troubles, like Lawrence. Rovander is destined to be buried in Europe, and those members of the Order of the Phoenix who seek support overseas will also be found and killed by us one by one."

"As for you—" Voldemort stared at Narcissa, as if he saw something interesting,

"Lucius lost my things, right?" Voldemort suddenly asked without a head,

"What do you mean, master?" Narcissa frowned and asked, Draco lowered his head, he didn't dare to move, Narcissa squeezed his hand on his shoulder, signaling that his mother was lying,

"Oh? It's okay, I'll be asking Lucius when he comes out of Azkaban." Voldemort didn't continue to ask, but turned his gaze to Draco,

"Lord Voldemort has always been magnanimous, and I can give your father a second chance," Voldemort said in a cold tone, "but you need to fight for him, do you understand?"

"I...... Understood." Draco replied stiffly,

"So, you can sit there, Draco, and you sit next to him, Narcissa, we still have a lot of empty seats here anyway, don't we?"

Voldemort's words caused a buzzing whisper, and Draco could feel his mother's hands trembling, and he was uneasy and didn't understand what it meant,

"Master," Narcissa said, "Draco isn't—"

"I think you're right." Voldemort tilted his head, and the chatter around him stopped, and although Voldemort agreed with his words, Narcissa's body shook, fear eroded her body, and what scared her the most happened,

"Master, Draco is too young," Narcissa said in a blunt tone, making a final struggle, "He's going back to sixth year at Hogwarts, it's not a good fit—"

"It's up to me to decide if it's right for me, Narcissa." The corners of Voldemort's mouth revealed a cruel meaning, and Draco suddenly understood what they were talking about, and what those positions represented,

"Come to me, Draco." Voldemort stood up from his high-backed chair and ordered,

The room fell silent, Draco knew that everyone was watching him, and he forced himself to take the first step, and when he did, the rest of the story wouldn't be so difficult, right? Draco guessed, his footsteps distinct in the silent room, as he walked past one high-backed chair after another,

If there was a long table here, it would be a lot like the infrequently used conference room in his own home, Draco thought,

His eyes were a little glazed, and he didn't know if he was expecting what would happen next.

As he approached Voldemort's side, he met a familiar pair of eyes: Severus. Snape, the teacher who favored himself and liked his favorite,

He suddenly realized that he was not looking forward to what was going to happen next, and he liked the rich and peaceful life that had come before.

"I think you're familiar with him," Voldemort said ill-of-luck, "and you say yes, Severus?" This seat of yours was originally Lucius's."

"Congratulations, Draco," Severus' blank eyes fixed on Draco's gray eyes, "This should be the opportunity you've always dreamed of, the chance to be loyal to the Dark Lord, you've mentioned it to me several times, haven't you?"

"Oh?" A hint of satisfaction flashed in Voldemort's crimson eyes, "Raise your left hand, Draco."

Draco stiffened his left hand, Voldemort raised his yew wand with his long, spider-like fingers, bright green flames wrapped around Draco's left arm, the flames seeped into the robe like liquid, and large beads of sweat slipped down Draco's forehead,

Draco endured the severe pain, gritted his teeth and did not dare to scream, he had never felt so regretful, but in front of the Dark Lord, no one could help him, and in the future he had to work hard to please the Dark Lord in order to save his father,

In that dark green glow, a trace of sadness flashed in Severus's eyes, Draco realized what he really wanted before he became a Death Eater, but after Lily's death, he really knew what he wanted,

"Go back to your seat, Draco," Voldemort sat back in his seat, watching coldly as Draco struggled back into place with Narcissa's support, Voldemort flicked his wand and a long stone table went up,

"It's time to talk about some of the plans we should start with?"