Author's Note: Hello! So this is a revamp and rewrite to my story that I finished a few years back called Betrothed in Darkness. I really loved the story when I was writing it, but I don't think I really knew what I wanted from it or how to write it all that well. It's one of the first stories that I finished and that I was satisfied with. However, as I look back on it I see so much potential and how it could be better written and have a better plot and all that jazz. So I'm going to try again. Some of the chapters will just be edited a little, while others will be new additions or completely edited. So here's the revamp of Betrothed in Darkness. I hope you all will love this edited story as much as I do.
Summer 1996
The Malfoy Manor
A man met her at the door of the Malfoy Manor. He'd opened the door and looked down at the girl before him, placing her at around sixteen or so. Her skin was dark as cocoa and her eyes the very same color. She stood at a solid five foot five inches, however, compared to the man that was towering over her in the doorway she felt much smaller than that. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and fell about an inch on to her shoulder blade. She was dressed in all black, like all the others that had come to the door. After a moment, he allowed her to enter, and then guided her towards the hallway. The hallway he took her down was wide, long, dimly lit, and decorated in a lavish manner. A lush carpet covered the stone floor that had disappeared when they exited the foyer. The eyes of the pale faced portraits on the wall followed the two dressed in black as they made their way to the drawing room. The man stopped a few feet away from the door and gestured to the heavy door. Assuming that meant she'd have to go alone the rest of the way. After a short pause, the girl pulled the bronze door handle.
The drawing room was silent. The room's usual furnishings were pushed against the wall without care. The people that sat in the room watched her from their places at the long table in the center of the room; their eyes followed her as she approached the pale figure sitting at the head of the table. She walked slowly allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim light admitted by the dying flame in the marble fireplace.
"That's close enough," a high, clear voice said from the head of the table.
The girl stopped and bowed to the owner of the voice. "Yes, My Lord."
"Miss. Zabini, I must admit that it's a surprise to see you here. I never thought that I'd see you kneeling before me," the pale white skinned man said quietly from his chair. Two of the younger people at the table exchanged looks. "However, I do admit that I am impressed with you. You will be a nice addition to the cause. That is of course, if you meet my standards." One unnaturally long, thin finger pointed towards the door and it swung open quickly. "Mr. Flint, bring in Ms. Cuffe," he demanded in a high voice. A moment later, there was a middle aged brunette woman shoved into the room and the door slammed shut behind her. Flint held the woman's wrist as he guided her to a spot near the Dark Lord. The tall man released his hold on the woman, and she crumpled to the ground with a soft thud. "Thank you, Flint, you may take your seat next to the young Mr. Malfoy." The young man took his respective seat, and his eyes too fell on the girl.
From the corner of her eye, she could see 'the young Mr. Malfoy' as the Dark Lord had referred to him sitting next to her brother, Blaise Zabini. The girl could just barely make out the expression etched on to her brother's usually stoic face. In the darkness, she could see the concern in his features. Without turning her head, she strained to make eye contact with him, but her attempts were in vain.
"This is Ms. Claudia Cuffe, she's a writer for the Daily Prophet. A woman that truly doubted my return," he allotted time for murmurs of disapproval. "She said that there was 'no possible way that the Dark Lord could have returned'," he said quoting her directly. The pale skinned man pulled his wand from his robes and it pointed at her. Without the Dark Lord uttering a word, the woman started to scream. Her cries were blood curling, and the young girl flinched at the sound. The Dark Lord dropped the curse and spoke to the writer, "Do you doubt me now?" he hissed. The woman whimpered in response, shaking her head franticly. "Ms. Zabini, I don't believe in letting nonbelievers live. Do you?"
"No, my Lord," she replied keeping her voice even despite the fact that her hand was shaking, even if it was ever so slightly.
"Well, take your wand and do what needs to be done."
"Yes, my Lord," the girl said. Swiftly, she stood from her kneeling position and reached into her robes taking a moment to steady her hand. As she pulled her wand from her robes pocket and started towards the woman, the Dark Lord snatched it from her hand, "Ebony with a Pogrebin hair core; rare indeed. This isn't an Olivander's wand."
"No, my Lord; it's from Alivan's in Wales." The Dark Lord handed her wand back to her and she took it, before continuing her journey to the woman. When she got close she could hear her whimpering softly. Her brown hair was matted with blood, and dried blood was on her face. Her nose was at a strange angle and her lips were swollen. Obviously a victim of torture.
"Do what you please with her," the Dark Lord said from behind the girl.
She nodded and pointed her wand at the woman before her. She thought angry thoughts, and then shouted, "Cruico." The woman screamed in pain again, squirming on the ground. The young Zabini dropped the curse and looked at the woman, and the woman stared back in utter surprise. She couldn't believe who her assassin was; a sixteen-year-old girl was sent to kill her. Behind her, from what seemed like a million miles away, the Dark Lord cackled, bringing her back to the task at hand. Feeling the tiniest bit of sympathy for the woman, the girl gathered the courage to say the two fatal words: "Avada Kedavra." There was a blinding flash of green light that collided with the victim's body. The body was launched into the wall behind it and then fell to the ground, as limp as a rag doll. The girl lowered her wand.
"Very good, Ms. Zabini. No hesitation when killing; it will save your life in a battle," the Dark Lord said coolly. "I'll accept you as a spy at Hogwarts. I've been told that Dumbledore is going to hire an old friend of mine, Horace Slughorn as a Professor. I'd like you to get close to him, as I did. He likes the intelligent ones. Do that for me?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"This meeting is dismissed; we will meet again at my call."
As the girl started away from the Dark Lord, her new master, he touched her shoulder. Even through her robes she could feel how cold and heavy his hand was. His touch sent a chill through her entire body. The young Zabini turned her dark brown eyes up to his cat-like slits. "Don't let me down, Ms. Zabini."
"I won't, my Lord."
He nodded to her and then dismissed her. As she walked out of the door, she felt a hand gently grab her wrist. Startled, she turned to see who had grabbed her. The offender was her brother, Blaise Zabini, his dark eyes were full of worry. She easily removed his hand from her wrist and gave it a brief squeeze. However, the concern seemed to intensify. The fact that her hand was shaking again probably did nothing to calm his worries. Beside her brother, stood his close friend and resident of the Manor, Draco Malfoy. His grey eyes were cold as usual, but there was something hiding behind them. Maybe worry that he shared with her brother.
Before any of the three could speak, Draco's parents and the Zabini's, well their mother and her newest husband, had appeared before them. His parents, as usual looked tired. Having the Dark Lord living in your home couldn't be easy. Her mother on the other hand, was poised and calm. There was no true expression on her angular face. Her new husband, husband number seven, look fairly unconcerned with what was happening. "May I have a word with you two?" Lucius Malfoy asked. The female Zabini pointed to herself and then Blaise did the same. Lucius shook his head. "No, her and my son," he corrected. "Come."
The two followed Lucius and his wife, and her guardians to the Malfoy study. The door was mahogany with a bronze handle and heavy like the door that led to the Drawing Room. The group entered the messy study slowly. Mr. Malfoy took the seat behind the mahogany desk and his wife stood behind the tall black leather chair. Ms. Zabini and the young Malfoy took the two seats in front of the desk, also black leather.
"Adrienne," Lucius started, his eyes falling on the dark skinned girl in front of him. "Draco," he continued as he turned his eyes to his son. "We, your mother, Kya, Dante, and I, have come to an agreement. Adrienne, you know that your family is losing some stature in the Wizarding world. Draco, our family has lost some of its stature, as well. All due to the association of our families with the Dark Lord. However, both of the houses, still have more stature than any other pure-blood family in the European Wizarding world. So in order to get more power, to keep our names in the mind of the Dark Lord, the two houses shall become one. Draco, you are now betrothed to Miss. Adrienne Zabini."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I normally do my AN's here. However, I figured that it was important to do the one at the top. This chapter isn't a huge change from the original chapter. Say hi if you're a returning reader. I'd love to know that you all followed me over! If you're a new reader welcome! Let me know what you think!
~ Nikki