Forget

Draco was the last to get off.Platform nine and three-quarters was deserted.Except for the dull roar of the train from time to time, there are only a few lonely wall lamps emitting faint light on the ancient walls.Draco stood still for a while, and walked all the way out of King's Cross Station without stopping.

Probably because of Christmas, there were very few Muggles waiting at the station.They cast probing glances at the well-dressed and alone teenager, but Draco paid no attention.Without turning his eyes, he walked like the wind through the streets decorated with Christmas lights, until the roads became narrower, the people were fewer and fewer, and the lights were getting dimmer.The wind flapped his black cloak, hunting in the air.

Stone Owl Lane.

This is an ordinary alley on the streets of London.Dilapidated, dilapidated, like all abandoned ghettos.The stone road in the alley has been exposed to wind and sun for many years, and it has cracked into large and small broken stones.The houses on both sides of the alley were low and old, and the owners of the houses had long since disappeared. Only the ruins of the walls stood crookedly in the night, like disgusting spirits.

The alley is full of garbage, and there is still a suspicious smell in the air.Draco couldn't help frowning, and raised a hand to cover his mouth and nose.

"Hey, look who's here." Bellatrix Lestrange's sharp voice came from the other side of the alley.It wasn't long before Draco caught sight of her contorted face beneath the mess of hair.Bellacritus was watching him with an exaggerated smile, twisting and approaching like a snake. "Isn't this my lovely little nephew with half Black in his veins. You're looking more and more like your mother, except for the nasty hair." Bellatrix's fingertips came from Draco's face. Swiping across, the disgust on his face couldn't be concealed. "Same hair as your hapless father."

Draco endured the urge to turn his face away, without any ups and downs in his tone: "Is mother okay?"

"Okay, very good. I took care of her myself." Bellatrix smiled sharply, blew on the back of Draco's neck, and said in a low voice, ghastly. "As long as you don't spoil the master's good deeds like Lucius, she can live a long life." Bellatrix changed her tone and became very angry. "The master trusts me so much that he even chooses me to keep the most important things... But that idiot Lucius, it's all because of his failure, the master hasn't summoned me for a long time. Hmph, am I only worthy to pick you up, a brat? .”

If it was half a year ago, Draco would have been irritated by her long ago, but at this time Draco just looked into her eyes calmly—at least on the surface: "If we don't start again, the sky will be dawn soon." Yes. Aunt Bella."

As if on purpose, he bit the word "aunt" very hard.Unsurprisingly, the anger in Bellatrix's eyes grew heavier.Bellatrix squeezed his arm tightly with one hand, as if to crush him.Immediately, a feeling of dizziness hit Draco like a flood, and Bellacritus' eerie whisper lingered in his ears: "If it wasn't for Narcissa, I would have killed you, you and Lucius .”

Draco closed his eyes.

Apparate.

When Draco opened his eyes, it was the old house in Little Hangleton that appeared in front of him.He subconsciously stroked the branded left arm, and the pain of being burned by the fire came back from his memory the moment he saw the house, as if it happened yesterday.

Bellatrix pushed him from behind. "Come in."

**

"I remember that Bojin gave you two things." The grown-up hissed as he tapped his withered fingers on the armrest, his eyes wandering around. "Where's the other one?"

"Professor Slughorn's room." It was still the cold floor, Draco bowed his head deeply, but his back was extremely stiff.Even he couldn't tell whether it was cold or fear. "...it was put in during detention."

"Do you expect it to be successful?" The adult paused, then drew out his wand and rubbed it lightly.

Draco dared not speak.He didn't know what to say.The shadow of that necklace still engulfed him deeply as if seared in his memory, in every way.

"It's okay, after all, you are still young." The adult didn't seem to have any intention of being held accountable.But before Draco could heave a sigh of relief, the wand in the man's hand suddenly flicked across the air. "But if you fail, you will be punished."

A green light flashed, and Draco immediately fell heavily on the cold floor as if he had been kicked in the chest.A piercing pain immediately swept through the whole body.

Draco had thought that the time of the branding was the ultimate pain, and now he knew he was wrong.

If it is said that the pain when marking the Black Demon Mark spread from the arm and burned throughout the body like fire, then this time, it was more like the pain that came from the depths of his heart, pecking at his nerves and devouring his body. Rationally, he felt that the bones in his whole body seemed to be knocked off one by one, and the bone marrow flowed out and mixed with the blood, rampaging all over his body, until it flowed back into the brain, like a sharp knife trying to pierce the top of his skull.

The whole process didn't last long, but it was enough.Draco thought he could smell death.All the strength in his body was drained.The other Death Eaters in the room looked at him like a disobedient stray kitten or puppy, and even the air seemed to be full of schadenfreude.His eyes were terrified and helpless, he was panting heavily, and there was a salty bloody smell in his mouth.Big cold sweat continued to trickle from the already drenched blond hair and skin, and even formed a small puddle on the floor.He curled up sideways on the cold floor, the biting cold invaded his whole body, but he didn't even have the strength to stand up.

"I seem to have forgotten to ask a little question." Voldemort had already walked to his side, looking down at him, his voice was as cold and hoarse as usual: "Who are you loyal to?"

Draco looked at the wand pointed at him, swallowed the saliva and blood in his mouth, and tried to stop his voice from trembling: "Allegiance to... your... master..."

"Very well. I hope you can remember this sentence and engrave it on your bones." Voldemort seemed to be quite satisfied with his timidity and answer, turned around and walked back to his seat, and then acted like nothing happened just now keep asking. "Do you remember the task I gave you last time?"

"Remember, Master." Draco wanted to stand up, but he just managed to support his upper body with a lot of strength.

"It's not fair to others that you get marked without doing anything." Voldemort reached out and stroked the snake that was entangled at his feet. "So, you have to do that with your own hands. I will send people to assist you, and you need to think about how to welcome them. Do you understand?"

"Understood, master." Draco replied with his head bowed.

**

assist?Probably surveillance.

Draco lay on his big soft bed, staring blankly at the high ceiling.

He clearly knew that all the Death Eaters who received the "Dark Medal" had blood on their hands.Only him... because of punishment.

Yes, punishment.

Draco closed his eyes painfully.That adult transferred the anti-Lucius to him as well.Giving him the Dark Mark wasn't about picking servants, it was presumably just about torturing him, making him miserable, and forever engraving the word "loser" on Malfoy for all to spurn.

He remembered being dragged drowsily by Bellatrix on the way home, but he still heard Bellatrix's sneer.She laughed and said to herself, "Want to know what spell the master used just now? Maybe you can ask cute little Longbottom why his parents have been lying in St. Mungo's for so many years." .”

Cruciatus.The Unforgivable Curse.

He happened to know this curse, and for a moment he seemed to think of the spiders that the false professor who taught Defense Against the Dark Arts in the fourth grade took out, and the twitching legs of those spiders were all in front of his eyes.

"Draco." The door was pushed open slightly.Draco opened his eyes and saw Narcissa pushing the door and walking in.He tried to sit up, but Narcissa took two quick steps and gently pressed his shoulder. "You don't need to get up, just lie down. What happened just now... I heard about it."

Narcissa's face became even more haggard, her eyes were red, it was obvious that she had just cried.Her hands slowly slid down Draco's shoulders, rolling up his sleeves with some trembling, the black mark on the pale skin seemed to inhabit it like a soul.Narcissa sobbed silently, tears fell from the red eyes and fell on Draco's arms drop by drop.

She seemed to have a lot to say, and after moving her lips for a long time, she asked softly, "Does it hurt?"

Draco felt a gentle tap on the softest part of his heart.He smiled from the bottom of his heart, and replied softly, "Just a little bit."

**

Although Narcissa wished he could stay home for Christmas break, Draco decided to return to school early.He really couldn't bear to watch Narcissa haggard day by day but could do nothing, not to mention that Bellatrix was still living in his own home, like a bomb, who would blow him to pieces at some point.

What's more, he has other things that he must return to Hogwarts to do.

For example, finding a secret path that no one knows about.A secret passage that allows the "watchers" to enter Hogwarts.Although he didn't know what terrible things would happen to the "monitors" who finally broke into the coveted Hogwarts.

He dared not think.

Professor Slughorn's little Christmas dinner is held on the last day of the holidays.Draco sat in the shadows in the corner by the window, watching the red lanterns hanging in the corridor, and the "elites" of the Slughorn faction rushing to the dinner under the lanterns passing by one after another.

Then he saw Harry Potter.Together with that crazy Ravenclaw girl, they walked towards the banquet hall talking and laughing.

Draco's eyes dimmed a bit.The moon came out outside the window, but he still sat in the shadows.

A corridor separates the two worlds, half dark and half light.

Tens of thousands of miles apart, so close, so far away.