There were a dozen or so people in the room. At a glance, Will recognized none of the Death Eaters except Draco.
Draco waved to Will in greeting. Among this crowd of Death Eaters, the boy was practically a blank slate. The worst thing he had ever done was get into a fight with Harry and the others in his first year.
Will nodded back and walked over to him.
Come to think of it, outsiders probably saw Will as an upstanding, high-achieving Hogwarts student too.
Well... probably.
Will sat down beside Draco, which seemed to put him a little more at ease. Draco looked extremely nervous. He was not ready to share a room with these Death Eaters.
In fact, Draco had spent the entire summer on edge. The Dark Lord himself was living at Malfoy Manor; his father was one of the Dark Lord's chief lieutenants, running errands for him; and strange people came and went from their home every day.
All summer, Malfoy Manor had been full of Death Eaters, with not a good wizard in sight.
And the most serious problem was that Draco was a mole. A mole who was not especially skilled at Occlumency.
It was strange enough for a mole to have the enemy's headquarters in his own home. Luckily, Draco had not come face-to-face with Voldemort all summer, or his cover might well have been blown.
"What are you doing here?" Will patted Draco on the shoulder, helping him relax.
"My father told me today to take part in the operation." Draco glanced toward Lucius by the door. "From what he said, I think it was his order."
Will smiled and patted Draco's shoulder again, his voice fervent. "You should feel honored, Draco. This is your chance to devote yourself to the