Chapter 1
The meeting came to a closing at last. All those who had arrived earlier this evening were now readying themselves to leave. Through the great structured doors of Malfoy Manor, footsteps echoed simultaneously before slowly drawing away from the dining hall. Bellatrix, who was currently living here in her sister's manor, stayed behind. Not much had happened this past hour, it had just been the usual talk, not particularly interesting, but Bellatrix had done her best to hold keen attention upon the Dark Lord. After all, tension was coming to a slow build in the wizarding world, this wasn't just mere child's play anymore.
New Death Eaters were being recruited daily. Those worthy were sent first to Bellatrix. Undeniably, the witch had a strong sense of judgement in such areas of importance. Voldemort himself entrusted her. Tonight it would be held upon her to lead another raid with a small group of newcomers. From there it would be decided who's to stay. The others would be weaned out into the lower ranks. Amongst the five recruits, there was only one girl that Bellatrix knew of. Ruby, her name was.
Ruby spent months preparing for this very night. She was more than well aware that it would be Bellatrix that she needed to impress. Spending hours upon hours practicing what she deemed to be the most useful offensive and defensive spells, Ruby was now able to cast them not only quickly, but most even nonverbally. In the back of her mind, she kept the knowledge that her gift of being an animagus could be favourable in the right situation.
Currently, Ruby was with the other recruits. She was dressed in black trousers, easy to move in; and a black blouse that was forgiving when it came to some of the more difficult wand movements needed to cast powerful spells. She had no intention of taking any risks tonight that could impair her chances of being chosen by the Dark Lord's second in command. Over top of everything, Ruby wore a cloak of regal violet, so dark that it nearly appeared to be just as black as the rest of her ensemble. Bellatrix would be appearing in front of the group any moment now. Although calm on her exterior, inside, Ruby's heart was beating rapidly.
Dressing in her usual form fitting attire and mentally going over the plan she had, it occurred to Bellatrix that tonight she had to keep a keen eye upon those under her wing, and make sure her voice, as well as the words it carried, would be clearly heard. This was the first time each newcomer would be drawn into the field.
With a loud cracking sound, the infamous death eater appeared into the sights of the five recruits. Ruffling her hair, the woman surveyed the small crowd, deciding that they might just be promising. The first introduced himself as Damien. He was a taught young man, held together well. The next were a pair of twins, brother and sister. To the right of them stood another, much younger than the rest. Then there was one under a dark coloured cloak.
Bellatrix took a stride closer to the group and folded her arms over her chest, "Well, well, well.. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen."