Hermione Granger sat at her desk late on night finishing off the last of her Arithmancy homework and as she rolled up the parchment, she couldn't help but think about the events of a month ago when she along with Harry, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna went to the Department of Mysteries to rescue Sirius. Of course, the whole adventure turned out to be a trap set by Voldemort; Sirius was never in any danger. Voldemort had tricked Harry into thinking that Sirius was being held against his will to try and remove the prophecy and Harry, being the hero he always was just had to go even when she persuaded him not to. He never fucking listens to me, he always has to be Mister Courageous! Hermione thought bitterly. If he wouldn't have gotten so high strung and just listened! Better still, if he would have gotten off his ass and tried to put some effort into Occlumency; Sirius would still be alive!
Hermione, though still upset with Harry for rushing to judgement and endangering her life as well as others (though she would never tell him) suddenly wondered how he was doing right now. She hadn't heard from him all summer and she thought that he seemed a bit withdrawn the last week or so of term. Of course he would still be mourning for Sirius she thought to herself again; he probably still blames himself for his death. Hermione snorted when the last thought crossed her mind and she felt sick with herself; but she couldn't help it. Harry was the same way at the end of their fourth year when Voldemort returned, he could not stop blaming himself for Cedric's death. She knew better than that, though; Cedric's death was not his fault, it was Voldemort and Wormtail's fault, he was just being noble when he suggested that they tie for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, there was no way for him to know that it was a portkey; no way at all.
As much as Hermione or anyone else for that matter tried to point this out to him, he would just withdraw and continue on insisting that it was still all his fault somehow. That's just terrific! So Harry is supposed to be the one who defeats Voldemort once and for all? The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord can't even stop feeling all miserable and sorry for himself for one fucking minute! Hermione again felt sick with herself as these new thoughts crossed her mind. She had known all about the prophecy and what it exactly meant ever since Dumbledore had told her on the last night of the term; she had insisted on finding out what it was that Voldemort wanted so badly. Hermione was brought out of her thoughts by a knock on her bedroom door; "Hermione, dear? It's getting pretty late; you should get to bed." came the gentle voice of her mother. "Ok, mother; I'm just finishing something up first." "You mean you're not done with your homework already?" joked her mom. "Very funny, see you in the morning!"
Far away from Hermione's bedroom, something sinister was brewing. "My lord, you wanted to see me?" came the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy from behind a solid stone door. "Yes, Lucius; do come in" called Voldemort from his position by the fire. "It seems that you were quite lucky to escape from Azkaban, wasn't it?" "Yes, I must thank you for the timely revolt of the Dementors." said Lucius, now bowing in front of the chair in which Voldemort sat. "It was no problem, for they are our natural allies. Now to business; as you know, you and your fellow minions bungled the plan to get that prophecy which I have desperately been seeking. Do not worry Lucius, I do not blame you. In fact I think I may have found a better solution to our problems and I do believe that I know of a way to further bring about Harry Potter's downfall; as well as garner more supporters. I may have also found an alternate way to learn the prophecy." said Voldemort as he gave his wand a flick. Two blurred images floated in front of the two and steadily became clearer; Voldemort spoke again. "Lucius, I do believe that you may know these two?" he asked, staring at a mirror image of a sleeping Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. "The red-haired one is a Weasley; a family of muggle lovers if ever I saw one! The other one is Hermione Granger, a mudblood and a close friend of Harry Potter; but I don't understand, what do these two have to do with anything?" "These two will prove to be key in Mr. Potter's downfall and I believe sooner, rather than later they will provide a great helping hand."
Ginny Weasley lay silently in her bed contemplating over the last month and wondered how she could have talked herself (and Harry) into going with him to the Ministry on such a ludicrous hunch that he had. He knew that Voldemort was trying to trick him! Didn't Moody say something about a connection between them? What a damn fool Harry was to let himself get tricked! She thought silently to herself; upstairs, she could hear Ron snoring away and wondered how on Earth he could sleep so soundly and peacefully in times like these. Hermione had told her all about the prophecy that Voldemort had tried so hard to get over the last year and she again began to stare blankly at the ceiling; it just figures that Harry would be the only one who could defeat Voldemort, he can't even stop feeling so damned sorry for himself. He always feels that everything bad that happens concerning Voldemort is his fault! Surely she didn't feel remotely sorry for herself after Voldemort had possessed her four years ago, but then again, she didn't know what she was doing.
"Oi! Are you going to come down for breakfast or are you just going to lie in bed all day?" came Ron's voice the next morning. "Just a moment, Ron. I'll be down in just a minute, let me get dressed." Ginny replied; "Suit yourself" said Ron. I swear, that brother of mine can be such royal prat sometimes thought Ginny bitterly. She was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts by a sharp rapping on her window. "It's a bit late for owl post isn't it?" Ginny mused to herself while she walked over to the window to let the owl in. Almost immediately, Ginny sensed that there was something evil about this owl; it could have been that the owl was completely jet black in color or it could have been the way that the owl took a couple of menacing swipes at Ginny's hand as it took flight again out of the open window. As soon as the owl was long gone, Ginny turned over the envelope and her suspicions about that owl were confirmed; the envelope was sealed shut with the Dark Mark. Words utterly failed Ginny at that particular moment; she contemplated on what she should do. Should she tell her father who worked at the Ministry? Should she write to Dumbledore and tell him about this particular post? This is stupid! Ginny thought to herself; perhaps the owl had mistakenly delivered another Death Eater's letter. However she turned the envelope over again and got the shock of a lifetime when she saw the address written in black ink:
Ms. Virginia Weasley
The Burrow
Ottery St. Catchpole
This has to be some sick joke; or better or a nightmare! Ginny thought to herself as she finished getting dressed. She would think about that letter for the time being; she would not touch it. But, the letter or whatever else it might be was addressed to her; she made up her mind as she walked downstairs to breakfast: she would open the letter. Meanwhile, in a little suburb just outside of London, Hermione Granger was awakened by a similar sort of rapping at her window. "Alright, alright! I'm up!" she said irritably as she walked over towards the window with a couple of knuts to pay the owl that delivered the Daily Prophet. The only thing was that the owl was not delivering the Prophet, in fact; the owl looked nothing like any delivery owl she had ever seen. It was sleek and jet black and had a definite feeling of evil to it. It hooted menacingly and clipped her hands in rather less than a playful motion. "Ouch! That hurt!" cried Hermione as the owl soared imperiously out of her now open bedroom window.
At first, Hermione was not sure as to what she should do. Should she open the letter clutched in her hand or should she write to Dumbledore; she had a very sneaky suspicion that this letter could not be anything good. She looked at the address and saw to her horror that it was addressed to her; she had hoped that the owl had somehow got the letter's recipient mixed up with her somehow. When she turned over the envelope to open it up, she received such a horrible surge of dread and suddenly felt as though she were going to vomit right on her bedroom floor; it was sealed with the Dark Mark. I have to tell Dumbledore as soon as possible! Hermione thought to herself, but another feeling of panic shot through her; I don't even have a fucking owl!!! How in the bloody hell am I supposed to contact Dumbledore? I can't just bloody well pop into the fire either! Quickly, Hermione got dressed and decided that she would open the letter later. Little did both Ginny and Hermione know that opening the letter as they had planned would completely turn their lives around forever.
"Ginny! Oh, there you are; I was starting to wonder if you would ever come down to breakfast." Mrs. Weasley said while embracing Ginny in a tight, motherly hug. "Mum, get off; I'm fine!" Ginny snapped rather harsher than she had intended; "sorry, mum; I've just been in a bad mood." she quickly apologized. "Oh dear; it's ok. I know you're still a little bit upset about Sirius's death, but it will all be ok." stated Mrs. Weasley sympathetically. It just figures that she would miss the point entirely! Ginny thought to herself I'm actually not that upset about Sirius; I didn't even know him until I met him last summer. I just refuse to accept the fact that the wizarding world's only hope to defeat Lord Voldemort lies solely upon the shoulders of a boy who can't seem to stop wallowing in his own god damned self misery. Ginny put on her best sad face and replied "I know mum, but I just feel so awful for Harry; he doesn't have any loving family left." Mrs. Weasley thankfully did not pursue the subject any farther and went back into the kitchen to continue washing the dishes from family members who had already had their breakfast.
"Oh Ginny dear? I'm going to Diagon Alley today to pick up some new robes for you; but I'm afraid all I can afford is some second-hand robes." "Great, mum; thanks" said Ginny sourly. Why the hell can't I have new robes for a change? I am so fucking sick of second-hand crap and hand me-downs! Fred and George have a successful business; why the hell can't mum accept their money? Damn her pride! Ginny thought angrily; it was true that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was doing a terrific business, but Mrs. Weasley had always kept turning down gold from the twins when they offered it up. Ginny quickly swallowed the rest of her cereal and orange juice then quickly went up stairs to her room before anyone else could stop her. She wanted to open that letter up before anyone else could see it; where as half an hour ago, she was terrified of what the letter might contain, she now had a sort of morbid curiosity as to its contents. She strode over to her desk and took out a knife with which to open the envelope and began to read with a mixture of utter shock and a feeling of grim pleasure at its contents:
To Miss Virginia Anne Weasley:
Your presence is required at approximately 9:00 P.M. at the edge of the High Square on 26th July. Lord Voldemort himself has directly commanded your presence; he wishes for you to serve him and become a Death Eater. Do not tell anyone else about this note or you shall be promptly murdered. By opening this letter, you have bound yourself in a magical contract and will now be expected to follow it accordingly. Failure to do so will also result in your untimely death.
Ginny did not know what to make of this information. She read and re-read the letter to make sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her; she was requested by Lord Voldemort himself and he wished for her to serve him and to become a Death Eater? I may have jokingly tossed that idea around in my head; but I never really had any intention of crossing over to the Dark Side! Did Voldemort probe my mind or else see these thoughts float around? Ginny thought miserably to herself Now that I opened that letter, I'm bound to a magical contract and I'm expected to show up? Ginny spent the better part of the afternoon kicking these thought around in her head before she reached her conclusion. I might as well show up; I'm bound now, oh why did I open the letter? Never mind, I know now what I must do; I will become a Death Eater and I will loyally serve Voldemort she thought as a sinister smile spread across her lips At least I'll get some new robes for a change!
At that same time, Hermione had finally managed to get back into her room after what seemed like an eternity. Her mother had asked for her help in cleaning the attic as it was getting dangerously cramped and full of junk. It was very hot and dusty in the attic, but they had managed to have a bit of fun while they were working as they had come across a bunch of old photo albums from past family vacations. They spent the better part of a couple of hours looking through these photos and reminiscing. They had also come across an entire boxful of old schoolwork from Hermione's days in Muggle public school, as well as a book about the Salem Witch Hunt which also had quite a bit of information on different people from American Colonies who had been accused of "witchcraft and openly practicing Satanistic rituals."
Hermione's hair was still damp from the shower when she sat down on her bed and began to read the book. As she read through, she slowly grew sickened by the graphic illustrations that showed villagers subjecting those they deemed witches to not only torture but trials that only a witch could survive; such as burning at the stake or otherwise simply throwing the subject in question off a cliff to see if they would survive or fall to "a very untimely and honorable Christian death" as the book stated. Stupid paranoid Muggles! Hermione thought viciously; but at that moment, her attention was drawn from her book to the mysterious letter that sat upon her desk. She suddenly remembered that she had decided to open it and see what it has to say; so with a surge of confidence, she slowly crossed over to the desk and tore open the letter and began to read. As her eyes darted back and forth across the parchment, her mouth hung open and she could feel her heart begin to hammer against her chest. She re-read the letter to make sure it was not a sick joke:
To Miss Hermione Lynn Granger:
Your presence is requested at approximately 9:00 P.M. on 25th July at the edge of Camden Village square. Lord Voldemort himself has directly requested your presence at this time; he wishes for you to serve him and become a Death Eater. Do not tell anyone about this letter or you will be promptly murdered. By opening this letter, you have bound yourself in a magical contract and will be expected to follow it accordingly. Failure to do so will also result in your untimely murder.
Hermione quickly processed this information in her mind and wondered if she somehow shared a connection to Voldemort; had he probed her thoughts and sensed all her negative thoughts last night? After a few minutes, she had also come to her conclusion: I will shed my muggle upbringing and become a Death Eater; it just may be the winning side after all!