The rain drummed against your window, washing away all that was bad. There could be nothing to see from miles, and lest someone came this way by mistake, nothing should go amiss. Streaks of red ran through the gravel in the road, off into the ditch. It could have been perceived as the clay from the dirt that was so rich here, but to the trained eye it was obviously something much different, much more sinister.

Venir mauvais las enfants de le lumiere

You sang to yourself as you watched the lightning in the distance strike horizontally across the grey and pink horizon. The rain was the one thing sure to distort any image, even when you were staring right at it. With everyone in this world drowning in their own naivety, insisting that nothing truely terrible could happen, especially to themselves, most things on this earth were already distorted, even without the rain to wash away even the largest of sins.

Dans a royaume de enchantement

The red stream was meshing with the water now, the heavy torrents of rain were going every which way and the trees were blowing. Unfortunately that was all you could see, but that was what you were used to. Memory is a curious thing, you thought to youself, some things were just blown away just like the leaves on the trees. Some, however stuck with you like a bad disease.

Venir Mauvais las enfants de le lumiere, le temps de venir de jouer

This house had been like a prison to you, night and day, never leaving except for the worst of times; times you would give your soul to forget, but also times that you lived for. The rain continued to splash against your window and to your dismal pleasure, the red in the road was gone now, the rain was too heavy for it have not to. They conducted this quite well, always watching for weather patterns before striking, or perhaps causing the weather to change to their liking and then waiting until the moon was gone so there would not be too much light but just enough, especially with the lightning. They knew that the lightning could cause people to see things, flashes of things that were not there in reality.

Ici dans mes jardin de magie noire.

You stoped singing, it sounded too macabre and eerie, even coming from your own voice, you didnt even speak greek, but you remembered it from when you were a child. It didn't seem so sinister then... did it? Or could you merely not remember... The rain continued to stream down the window, refusing to die down. You got up from the windowsill and laid on your bed staring at the ceiling and tried not to think. Not to remember, but more importantly not to forget.

It had been earlier that you had gotten the letter. Another letter actually, the same writing, the same style, the same concept. Another job. Why couldn't anyone else do it? Why did they have to burden you like this? On the other hand, you loved the adrenalin rush, the feeling of being outside of this retched house for at least a few hours even if you were just waiting...watching. 'He could have done it himself, all he does is give out lousy orders, for once he should get out here and take care of it himself' you thought shivering once you were outside. A lightening bolt struck down some twenty feet away. "Fine fine.. I'm going, bastard." You muttered to noone but yourself. You seemed to do that a lot, being couped up in your room for so long having noone but the mice to talk to unless you were in a meeting, or on a mission. You walked for a couple minutes, out into the middle of the road and laid down and waited. If the wrong person should come upon this they might think you were crazy but you knew noone else would be coming this far out into the middle of nowhere, not unless they had a reason. The rain was pouring heavily, just as it would be hours from then. You waited. After a few minutes you heard the familiar popping sound of someone apparating near by. You took out your wand, as slowly as possible, just like you were trained from birth.

"Ouvrir Lacerer" you whispered as quietly as you could. A long pencil thick slash appeared on your leg and you began bleeding immensly. You were used the pain, it numbed you. You hated it, you loved it, the kind of pain you loved to hate and hated to love. You stashed your wand back in the pocket of your jeans and slowly started whimpering, your voice starting to get louder so the 'intruder' could hear you more clearly. People were all the same, so easily manipulated. So easily controlled. Someone had tought you that once, and it stuck, mostly like the bubonic plague stuck with Europe over the centuries.

"Who's there?" the person that had apparated whispered through the rain; if you hadnt been waiting for their voice to come, you would have never heard it.

"Help me... please... anyone" You said in a voice a little over a whisper, authentically. You doubted even someone as in distress as you were pretending to be could have done a better job. It was natural though, as demented as it sounded.

"What happened dear?" The man asked you, when he spotted you lying in the middle of the road. "Who did this to you!"

"Oooo .. cloaks... black.. ahhh..." You moaned, feigning dizziness, from lack of blood.

"Can you stand on one leg? We can help you get into the house dear, is anyone home? Wouldnt they have seen you out here?"

"You know..." You whispered to the man violently "You really should try not to be so trusting, even of a 'little girl'" You said these last words slowly, putting all your weight on your 'hurt' leg and turning around to look at them full in the face. "Where do you're loyalties lay?" you asked brushing yourself off unnecessarily.

"What are you talking about? I..I don't understand." The man asked slowly, questioningly. You cut to the chase, you were ever one for such trivial questions.

"Will you join the Dark Lord or will you suffer the consequences. So much power could be given to you in the blink of an eye! Everything you could ever dream of could be yours! Or would you rather watch your family die.. right.. before.. your.. very.. eyes?" You took a step towards him after every word. Lightening struck somewhere near by, but you knew better than to break eye contact. It was all about control.

"Who are you!" The man asked foolishly, stepping backwards "I will not join He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! Never!"

"So you have decided to watch your family die? Your wife, Karen? Little Billy?" You asked him viciously, not blinking. Never lose eye contact. Ever.

"I... I can't.. I.. No! Don't kill them! Kill me instead! Let them live!" He pleaded. How foolish it looked to see a grown man cowering before a 17 year old girl, barely legal to live on her own. The power the Dark Lord had truely given you. He was cruel, yes, but for his loyal followers, his generosity could rarely be matched. You pulled out your wand. "Silencio!" You shouted towards the man to stop his mindless, incoherant babbling. When it came down for it, no mans pride could resist.

"Listen to me, swine, noone will have to die, all you have to do is join us! Think of all the possibilities!" You were too manipulative for someone your age. Too manipulative for anyone really. "Saigemente" you muttered. The bleeding on your leg immediately stopped. "Now what is your choice, I'm giving you this last chance, a chance you do NOT deserve. Which is it? Join or you and your filthy family dies!" You shouted at the man. "Finite Incantatum" you said. The man's silencing curse was lifted immediately. This was taking far too long, you'd give him 3 more seconds.

"Fine! I'll join you! Just please, don't hurt my family! Please!" he pleaded, hiccoughing slightly.

"You are either very wise or very foolish. Take this and you will be transported somewhere. I will not tell you where, just do as I say." You handed him a small pendant with a serpant on it. Ah a portkey, what lowlevel magic the Darklord was using. You supposed it worked though. Whimpering, the man took hold of it and was immediately sucked away into oblivion. Another soul saved. Or damned. Whichever came first.

You couldnt, no, didn't want to think anymore. It wasn't like you were scarred by this anymore. Afterall, this was just another episode that had left you mentally drained. You didn't look forward to getting out, but you didn't want to stay in this house either. All you were looking foward to now was the prospect of food. Oh it was so close to dinner you could almost taste the meat on your tongue. But you had to wait, noone ate before 'Him'. Mustn't be hasty, you didn't need anymore blood lost tonight. You laid back on the bed and twirled your wand in between your fingers. This was the first time you had looked at your hands since the 'incident' earier that day. Even though being out in the rain had washed away most of the blood that was caked on them from holding your "injured" leg, some had managed to cling on and now it was cracking and turning dark brown, clogging up under your fingernails. "Scourgify" you whispered and they were immaculent once more. This was starting to get boring. When was dinner going to be here. You had a right mind to barge into the dining room if you knew that certain death didnt await you. You would wait like a good girl until it was your turn. After all, you would be getting praised for getting another follower and you didn't want to ruin it because your stomach was getting angry at you for lack of food. Sometimes you swore it had a mind of its own. Finally after another quarter of an hour, a small house elf bustled into your room, cowering and bowing its head to the floor so its nose nearly scraped the dark mohogany wood.

"Master told Betty to fetch Miss Raine, he says its times for dinner Miss." The elf said, bowing again before backing out of the room leaving the door open for you. 'Finally' you thought to yourself as you made your way out of your room, stashing your wand in your pocket once again, and heading towards the dining room where a million wonderful smells filled your nose.