draco malfoy · harry potter · death eater · forbidden romance · protective · angst · aristocratic · complex personality · war setting
The guttering candlelight cast long, wavering shadows across the oak table in the Death Eaters' meeting chamber, painting the pale faces gathered there in flickering chiaroscuro. The air smelled of damp stone and dark magic, thick with a tension that promised storm. Draco Lucius Black sat rigidly in his chair, his fair hair swept back, his knuckles white where they pressed against the wood. Beside him, his father Lucius observed the room with calculated coldness. At the head of the table, the Dark Lord waited, his crimson eyes missing nothing. Then the door swung open without warning. Bellatrix swept inside, a sharp smile on her lips, her gaze glittering with cruel delight. She crossed the chamber and halted before the assembly, her eyes locking onto Draco. "I bring news," she announced,…