"No." My voice was cold. My aunt Bellatrix had my arm wrapped in a vicious grip, and her knife was at my neck. Yet I managed to protest. Bellatrix smiled harshly and dug the knife slightly into my skin, drawing another thin line to match the others. I tried not to gasp in pain.

"Oh, you will say yes soon." Bellatrix hissed. "The pull of the Dark Lord is too strong for a blood traitor's daughter like you." Yes, that was why Bellatrix had dragged me from my flat in the middle of the night- to make me join the Death Eaters. "The Dark Lord will rise again," Bellatrix continued. "And when he does, those that join him will be strong." She moved the knife a little more, and I watched as fresh spots of red blood appeared on my skin.

"Why do you want me anyways?" I spat. "You just said I'm the daughter of a blood traitor, for Merlin's sake!"

Bellatrix's eyes flashed, and I had enough bad childhood memories to be afraid. "Because," she almost growled. "Because the Dark Lord needs servants that are…" she seemed to search for the right word. "Disposable." She cackled, like the witches in old muggle films. "And you, my dear Nymphie, fit the description perfectly."

I snarled. "What happens if I say yes?" I questioned.

"Why, first your family would receive a generous gift of 1,000 Galleons. Then the Dark Lord will send you out on dangerous, normally life threatening quests that he thinks are below him and his top Death Eaters. You will probably die within a month. If you die, your family will receive another 1,000 Galleon gift. If you live past a month, you will get rewarded with 500 Galleons for yourself and 1,000 more for your family." Bellatrix smiled in what she probably thought was a comforting way- it looked like she was being strangled.

"And if I say no?" The pull of the money was strong, but I was no money-blinded idiot.

Bellatrix's face resumed its normal scowl. "Then I slit your throat and see if your blood is too dirty for the job."

I laughed harshly. "And soil Narcissa's precious marble floors? I'd think not."

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed. "I think I will." She dug the knife deeper into my skin. The pain was unbearable, and it took all I had not to burst into tears and give in. Bellatrix moved the knife a fraction to one side, and a trickle of blood dripped from my neck and down my shirt.

I began to furtively struggle in her grasp, trying to work my arm down to the pocket in jeans were I had stashed my wand. Bellatrix's eyes were focused on my neck, not my arm, and I managed to grasp the top of my wand- or where the top of my wand had been. My fist was full of air. "Darn it." I muttered under my breath. I was an Auror and I totally forgot to grab my wand. Idiot. There was one thing left I could try. Remembering when my Defense teacher had preached about wandless magic, I stared at Bellatrix. All I needed was for her to get off of me- a simple push.

I breathed in, stealing myself. I pulled up every memory of Bellatrix that made me mad I could find, and turned them into what I thought of a as a pulsing ball of hatred. I pushed it from my body the same moment Bellatrix drew her knife all the way across my throat. I watched as she flew from me and hit the wall. Her head flopped to one side as she sank into the grasps of unconsciousness.

I felt like joining her as blood spilled down my front, but I dragged myself to the door of Malfoy Manor and staggered like a drunkard down the stone steps and out of reach of the protection wards. I Apparated quickly to St. Mungos, slipping into the dark waves of sleep in the process.