Chapter 1 ~ Snakes and Scars
"Follow me through the trees,
The twisting vines and falling leaves…
I know not what lies down this path,
But danger's sure for those who stay back…."
Danika's melody lingered on the balmy night air, getting lost in the whispers that were growing louder and more panicked some distance away. Danika, who had been sitting against a gravestone, got up into a crouching position, sticking her head out from behind the marble. She strained to hear what the strange voices were saying.
"Surely someone has brought me a recruit tonight. Nagini smells new blood, and it is young… Or perhaps we have an intruder."
The voice was eerie; it struck the very core of Danika. I have to leave - NOW, she told herself, and began inching away with as much stealth as she could manage. She did not hear the call for a search, so the next thing to happen was a total surprise.
"Petrificus totalus!" she heard someone yell, causing her body to seize up. Helplessly, she fell onto her side. "It's an ickle child," cooed the same voice that hexed her; a woman. "'Ello, beauty," the woman said with a sort of wicked curiosity. Ministry posters told Danika that the woman standing over her was Bellatrix LeStrange. Danika's throat clenched; she suspected a night of pain, suffering, and quite possibly her own demise.
"Bring her here, Bellatrix," the cold male voice demanded. Danika realized with ultimate horror that she was listening to the voice of Lord Voldemort. Oh hell, she thought, oh hell, oh hell… Gods, no! Of course, all Danika could do was allow her rigid body to be levitated toward the group of black-robed witches and wizards. "Welcome," Voldemort said silkily, unbinding her body and dropping her to the ground. Danika immediately scrambled into a kneeling position, giving Voldemort a loyal bow. Several Death Eaters gasped, including Bellatrix. "What is this?" he asked with dark amusement.
"I humbly wish to serve you, my lord. It is by lucky chance I found you tonight, as I have always hoped to." Danika bowed ever more subserviently.
"She is surely lying!" hissed Bellatrix, but Voldemort threw up a hand to silence her.
"Of course she is, Bella," he snapped, causing Danika to wince. "You and I both know that no one can lie to me. However! We can still use her. Yes, I think the Imperius curse will do well for her. And if she does not deem useful, we can easily dispose of her."
"It would be an honor to serve you," Danika said as bravely as possible, but Voldemort gave her body a nasty shock with his wand.
"Whether you will be truly faithful or even remotely useful remains to be seen. In the meantime, I think I shall arrange a proper punishment for you for speaking out of turn. You are a fledgling until you prove yourself a worthy follower, and you are not to speak until spoken to. You would do well to be thankful I am being as merciful as this. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lord," Danika replied quietly, still staring at the grass beneath her. Her body was still, though inwardly she was trembling. Any punishment the Dark Lord chose would surely ruin her.
"My lord…" A voice came from Danika's right, and her eyes widened. She knew that voice. She had known it for six years. The voice belonged to a man she had grown to admire and respect. The figure who spoke stepped forward and removed his mask. From behind a flash of cold silver came the face of Severus Snape. Danika paled and stifled her gasp, looking downward once again. Holding onto the ground made her feel safer.
"This student of mine may be acting quite foolishly, but she is, "he paused, taking a moment's hesitation to look down at her with a slight sneer, "a talented witch nonetheless. She would make a good follower with the proper training. I have overheard her speaking to fellow classmates about her interest in the Dark Arts, and I do believe any doubt she may have about serving you is simply due to nerves. I admit she may be getting a bit ahead of herself by trying to join our cause so soon. But I digress, my lord, I can keep an eye on her while at school and prepare her for serving. The more allies of ours within Hogwarts' walls, the better."
Voldemort rolled this over in his mind for a brief moment, then addressed Danika once again. "Stand," he commanded. Obediently she stood and forced herself to look into his glittering, baneful eyes.
"Danika, you are to serve me until you draw your last breath. To show loyalty to me at any cost."
"Yes, my lord."
"Give me your arm," he instructed. Danika obliged with her left arm.
Voldemort took her tender flesh into his cold, scaly hands. "Perhaps you were right, Severus. She knew which arm to give me. Either she made a lucky guess or she will in fact make a very dedicated Death Eater." Danika forced a sort of proud smile onto her face, though dreaded what she knew was coming. Voldemort pressed the tip of his wand firmly to her forearm. Danika managed to utter only a small indication of the intense pain coursing through her flesh. The skin of her arm writhed with black agony until the Dark Mark was complete. Voldemort looked down upon the fresh symbol fervently, then turned to Snape. "Severus, she is your responsibility at Hogwarts. Be sure she is soon ready to fully serve."
"Yes, my lord," Snape agreed, bowing. Voldemort turned to Bellatrix again.
"Bellatrix, I am assigning you to miss Shirefin's punishment." Bellatrix, of course, looked absolutely delighted. Another figure that had been standing next to Snape came forward and touched Danika's shoulder. Pulling off her mask, Danika immediately recognized the witch that had been beneath it. "My my, Danika… We had no idea you had aspirations to follow the Dark Lord. I'm glad our Draco made a friend in you after all." Danika simply nodded in thanks, unable to say anything of substance.
"Touching, Narcissa," Snape interjected. "Miss Shirefin, I do hope you appreciate the weight of your situation." There was a hint of something secret in his expression that Danika couldn't quite place. She was not given a chance to reply to him however; Bellatrix grabbed Danika's hand and dragged her away from Severus and Narcissa. Danika could almost swear she saw pity in Snape's eyes as she was pulled from them.
"Enough blathering! The Dark Lord wishes for me to punish you and return before the end of the meeting."
"So it'll be quick, then?" Danika asked hopefully. Bellatrix simply responded with a harsh cackle, apparating them away from the Death Eaters. They landed in front of a house that was once as immaculate as it was grandiose, but now gaunt and starved for maintenance. "Welcome to my humble abode," Bellatrix said gleefully, pulling Danika inside. She had considered, for a very brief moment, trying to jinx Bellatrix and attempt an escape. Danika knew deep down however that it would end badly, as Bellatrix was far more advanced in magic than she.
"What are you going t-" Danika began to ask, but her voice got caught in her throat. She found herself in a sitting room that had been transformed into a torture chamber that rivaled those of the Medieval era. "No…" she whimpered, but all Bellatrix could do was squeal with delight at the prospect of torture. A new determination to escape grabbed a hold of Danika. But before Danika could reach for her wand, Bellatrix flicked her own, sending Danika hard against the nearest wall. Four sets of manacles wrapped around her wrists and ankles, firmly chaining her in place. Danika watched angrily as Bella spun around with unbridled exaltation, as if this were all a game. "What to do, what to do with ickle Danika?" she said after she stopped spinning, twirling her wand like a baton in one hand and tapping her chin thoughtfully with the other.
In the best seductive voice she could muster, Danika replied "You could let me go and I could make it worth your while." Her attempt at a sexy proposal was weakened, however, by the nervous, simpering laugh that followed.
"Oooh, flattering as that may be, don't you realize my husband Rudolphus may object? Or maybe you just helped me decide your punishment, dear one," she cooed, swaying her hips as she sauntered over to Danika.
A wave of nausea swept over Danika as she realized she had foolishly sealed her fate by putting an idea in Bellatrix's head. Oh Gods, what have I-? Before she could even finish her thought, Bellatrix flourished her wand at the chained girl, a sick, smug grin on her face as Danika now stood there nude. The reaction was immediate. Danika's entire body tensed, as if she were trying to turn herself inward to cover her nakedness. Tears that had not yet fallen stung her eyes. Bellatrix studied her face, relishing every wonderful moment of Danika's shame and misery. She moved in on Danika, head bent low and eyes wild; her fingers curled like a predator.
"Naughty little girls should learn not to meddle in adult affairs and practices," she whispered into Danika's ear. Danika shivered fiercely, her insides twisting from the anticipation of her inevitable suffering. Her side then erupted in pain. Bellatrix had dug her long, sharp nails into Danika's hip, dragging them down and tearing open her pale skin. Danika did her best not to yell out, to not give Bella the satisfaction. Her resolve was quickly broken with a hard thrust into her center. She screamed then, the sound of her torment reverberating off of the walls. Bellatrix grinned dangerously, taking her bony fingers and knife-like claws out of Danika. "This will not end quickly" she said, her voice thick and lusty.
For what felt like an eternity of agony, Bellatrix continued to ravage Danika's body with scratches and bite marks, infusing each one with dark magic so that the scars would forever stay.
"Please…. Bella, stop" Danika said weakly. She knew pleading was useless, if not a bad idea entirely, but all that her weary mind would produce were moans and begging. Nearly every inch of her body was covered in bleeding wounds from Bellatrix's punishment.
"I think that shall suffice. I'm getting tired anyway," Bellatrix said finally, swishing her wand and undoing Danika's binds. Her battered, pained body fell limply to the floor. Danika moaned pitifully, not wanting to move.
"We mustn't keep the Dark Lord waiting. I think he will be pleased with my handy work" Bellatrix boasted to the tangled mass of flesh slumped against the wall. Danika groped for her clothes, but Bella kept them out of her reach.
"Ah ah ah! How do you expect me to show off my talent if you cover it up?" Bellatrix cackled with a dark sweetness. She collected Danika's clothes with mirth and grabbed her by the arm. Danika practically wailed as they apparated back to the graveyard, her body not appreciating the effort. Once rejoined with the others, Bellatrix thrust the naked Danika into the center of the Death Eater's circle. Reactions of every sort could be heard from those surrounding her. Danika could swear she heard Narcissa gasp in horror.
"Unusual and cruel, as always, dear Bella," Voldemort said approvingly as he circled Danika's quivering form. Danika couldn't see Bellatrix, but she would bet her wand that she was beaming with pride. Bellatrix's blind loyalty, her unrelenting cruelty – all for the sake of earning Voldemort's praise – it was pathetic.
Snape came forward to speak. "Skilled as Bellatrix may be, my lord, you must remember that our little miss here is due back at Hogwarts tomorrow. Her other teachers, as well as her family, will want to know what happened to her."
"A prank," Danika croaked. "I'll… say someone jinxed me to make my skin look horrifically scarred. I'll find the cure as fast as I can so that it does not seem suspicious."
"Cure?" Bellatrix laughed mockingly. "Stupid girl, there is no cure! No healing spell nor potion exists that can cure those marks. You had better come up with something more convincing than a silly little prank jinx."
Danika began to shake again, but this time it was with rage. "You filthy retch! You cunt!" she screamed, turning on Bellatrix, wishing that she had her wand handy. "So help me, I will-"
"That is quite enough, Miss Shirefin," Snape interrupted her sharply, his voice was tired and irritated. "Bellatrix gives herself too much credit. I know how to brew a potion that will fix you. You will have to wait to receive it until after we return to Hogwarts. Until then, your prank story will have to suffice."
"Y-yes, Professor" Danika mumbled, still livid but not wanting to provoke Voldemort into giving her another punishment.
"Quite the unexpected turn of events," Lord Voldemort mused, looking to each Death Eater then finally back to Danika. "Bellatrix, give our newest member her clothes back. I think we have successfully put miss Shirefin in her place. As for the rest of you... remember what you saw here tonight. If there was ever any doubt that I am a merciful lord, know that you are wrong."
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After the meeting, Danika had slipped on her clothes as quickly as possible and fled before Narcissa or Severus could approach her. She spent the flight home shaking uncontrollably, and was never more happy to touch down in front of her home. She entered the house, slammed the door behind her, and leaned against it. She closed her eyes, sighing loudly.
"And just where have you been all this time? I've been worried sick!" came a voice from the kitchen. Demetri, Danika's older brother, entered the living room and stopped cold when he saw his sister. "Danika? Dear Merlin, what happened?!"
Danika groaned. She wasn't in the mood for this in the least bit. "I'm fine, Demetri. I just want to go to bed."
Demetri however, immediately ran to her side and began examining her wounds. "We need to get you to St. Mungo's right away!" he fretted, much to Danika's chagrin. "Please, tell me what happened."
"I - am - FINE, Demetri. It was a stupid prank some delinquent wizards in Knockturn Alley played on me. I tortured one into telling me how to fix it. He said the marks will go away in a day or two. Then he ran home to his mummy. The little bastard."
Demetri looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, and Danika hoped her story was convincing enough. Finally, he shook his head. "I told you Knockturn Alley was a bad place to go, but noooo, you insist on frequenting that horrible pub or shopping around for cursed skulls or whatever it is you shop there for. I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner!" he shouted over his shoulder, storming back into the kitchen. Danika breathed a sigh of relief and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She wanted nothing more than to get at least a few hours of sleep before she had to get up and finish packing for Hogwarts. She could still hear the fit Demetri was throwing that she had missed supper.
"Don't get your panties in a twist!" she yelled down the stairs before slamming the door and flopping onto her bed. She thought she might start crying uncontrollably, overwhelmed by the relief of surviving the night and by the fear of being a new Death Eater. Instead, she fell into a deep sleep instantly. Sleep, however, was not merciful. She couldn't breathe as she felt a giant snake wrap itself around her torso and squeeze her ribcage. Danika gasped for air, and the snake loosened itself to whisper in her ear.
"Eternal servant…."
"No!" she choked out. "I'm not ready. I never wanted to serve to begin with. Please, no!" The snake slithered off of Danika's body, taking her clothes with it. She stood there alone, naked and afraid. "Not again," she sobbed as she wrapped her arms around herself, looking around her and seeing nothing but darkness. She sat down and drew her knees up to her chin, trying in vain to cover her nudity, when giant pillars rose all around her. The pillars all seemed to have faces, many of them ghastly or taunting. They sat in silence, but Danika had the impression that they expected her to do something. That they were judging her. Her scars began to burn, as if someone had infused them with fire. Danika gasped in pain, so loudly that she almost didn't hear the cawing above her. A giant raven circled overhead, then descended upon Danika. She covered her head protectively, but instead of attacking her, the raven landed on her shoulder gracefully and looked at her. Understanding, she met the raven's stare.
"You want to help me, don't you?" The raven stretched its wings and dipped its head downward.
"Wake up, Danika. You need to wake up."
"I know, little raven, I've been trying… But I seem stuck here."
"Raven? Danika, seriously wake up." Demetri was standing over Danika with a tray of breakfast. "I know you like to eat before you get ready in the morning, so I figured this would make things easier for you." Danika wiped the sleep from her eyes and was for once glad to have her brother wake her up early.
"Thanks, Demetri" she said tiredly, grabbing the tray and tucking in to her eggs and sausage with ravenous hunger.
Demetri sat next to his sister and watched her eat for a little while, until he finally worked up the nerve to ask what was on his mind. "Danika, are you sure last night was nothing? You seem… different."
Danika swallowed her bite of toast and looked up at Demetri thoughtfully. "Demetri. I love you. Don't ruin my breakfast." Demetri opened his mouth to protest, then slumped his shoulders in defeat and sighed.
"Suit yourself, Danika. I'm just trying to help." He got up and started to walk out, then turned on his heel. "But if you don't reach out to those who care about you, you are going to cause more problems for yourself. You don't want to end up like mother." With that, he exited her room. Under normal circumstances, Demetri's words would have stung. Right now, however, all Danika cared about was making it through her current crisis.
"Well bugger me," she mumbled into her tea.
The Hogwarts Express seemed so different from last year. It was darker this year, quieter. Either that, or she was imagining it. Danika found a compartment that hadn't been occupied yet and stretched out across the seat. Despite the heat, she wore a full-length cloak and leather gloves to conceal her scars. She had managed to find some makeup that covered the few marks on her face fairly well, though she still made sure to keep her head down and the hat she wore pulled down as she'd made her way through the train. Figures, that she couldn't find a bloody spell to conceal the ugly marks. Danika lazily watched the other students walk by her compartment. As Draco Malfoy walked by her compartment, their eyes met and there was a moment of shared anxiety. He knows, she thought. Hell, he was probably there and couldn't bear to reveal himself. Draco nodded at her and moved on, Pansy and Blaise in tow. Her cheeks reddened at the idea of him seeing her the way she had been, naked and wounded by his horrible aunt. Danika mumbled something nonsensical and bitter to herself, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She heard the compartment door open, but didn't bother to look and see who it was. The hands around her throat, however, got her attention. Her mind screamed for it to stop, but she was being choked too hard to utter more than a few gasps and squeaks. Her hat was tipped too far over her eyes to see her attacker. She reached up, feeling around for their face so she could maybe try to gouge out their eyes. Tears streamed down her face as everything started to go black…