* A/N: I made some changes to this chapter though not very many. Please enjoy :3
Prologue
Scorpius walked hesitantly down the dark corridor, his heart thumping erratically against his chest. It was not the dark that influenced this reaction in him; in fact the darkness was the only comforting thing on his journey.
He welcomed the darkness as it reminded him of the places he grew up in; the manor which he assumed had very few windows altogether and the Slytherin dungeons where the only light source was the fire that burned an abnormal emerald green.
It was the realisation of what was about to happen that pressed down on him. He was not used to such a range of emotions flowing through him all at the same time. He was not used to fear, or guilt or anticipation in such great quantities. It was alien to the cool confident Slytherin.
As Scorpius ran his hands over the intricate patterns on the wall he was just able to make out the silhouette of none other than his childhood friend, new found fuck buddy and future wife (according to his grandparents) Ivanna Goyle, the one who had invited him to this 'ceremony' in the first place.
Out of the shadows another figure emerged. Scorpius didn't have to concentrate on it for too long before he knew it was his grandfather, the infamous Lucius Malfoy.
The eldest Malfoy arched his thin White eyebrow "You're late!" His words were spoken in the usual monotone, a voice which Scorpius grew up listening to.
Scorpius could come up with no excuse, "I-I'm sor-"
"Enough!" his grandfather interrupted, "we have no time for excuses, it's time to start your initiation!"
And with that Scorpius felt a cool hand snake around his shoulder; Ivanna had started to lead him into the hall.
Scorpius started to shake. He knew that this wasn't what his late father had wanted for him, but he knew that he had to do this. He had to prove that he wasn't a coward like his father.
On entering the room, Scorpius noticed that he knew every single person there. Most of the younger witches and wizards were fellow Slytherins, the others being graduates that had recently left school, the elder wizards were all friends of his grandfather, and, Scorpius guessed, previous Death Eaters. No matter how unique each face, they all wore the same knowing smirk almost as if they were one being. It made Scorpius feel nauseous.
"It's time!" stated Lucius, to the room full of people. The elder Malfoy practically shone with pride. Scorpius wondered if he had looked like this when Draco had his initiation.
Scorpius and his grandfather moved to the centre of the room whilst everyone else formed a circle around them. The amusement spread throughout the room un-nerved Scorpius almost to the point of him running away from his duty. Almost.
Lucius Malfoy put his wand in the air and whispered an unfamiliar spell in a sinister voice; "Morsmordre" smoke slithered out of the tip and formed the shape of a skull. The rest of the Death Eaters followed his movements pointing their wands, instead, at the skull, which started to open its mouth. Scorpius watched as thick dark smoke in the shape of a snake billowed out of the now open jaw of the skull.
Instantly Scorpius knew this sign. It was the dark mark. Something he had been taught to fear by his parents and his school and now it is something he is being taught to respect by his grandfather and his peers.
The elder Malfoy tugged Scorpius's arm and brought the tip of his wand to his forearm. As the wand was pressed more firmly into his skin, Scorpius could feel a searing pain shoot through his muscles and watched as a faint outline took formation. Looking up again he noticed that the dark mark was fading slightly. It didn't take long for Scorpius to realise what was happening, this was far darker than he had hoped it to be.
Once the smoke version had almost cleared a ferocious pain washed through the younger Malfoy. Falling to his knees, his arm still clasped in his grandfather's vice like grip, wishing he had not given in and that he was far, far away from here.
"It is done." it was spoken gruffly; no trace of the warm man Scorpius had grown up with was left in his voice.
After wrenching his hand back, Scorpius noticed the mark as clear as day suddenly starting to fade until it was merely a light shadow on his arm.
"What? Why did it disappear?" he worried. Had he gone through all that pain for nothing?
Ivanna stepped out from the circle; her ice blue eyes glinting in a menacing way, the sneer on her face looked pitying and regal. "Aww! Little Scorpius is confused!" she mocked. The whole room laughed with smirks on their faces. "You have not yet completed your deed." she slipped an arm around his shoulder and hissed into his ear "We all have one..."
Scorpius turned and looked her in the eye confused but it seemed that it was not her job to answer this time.
"Scorpius, you are aware of the Weasley/Potters correct?" he nodded slowly at his grandfather, not thoroughly understanding why that idiotic family were relevant, "and you know the part they played in the war?" Scorpius once again nodded. "Then you will be aware of what would happen if one of them were to be killed... by one of us?" Scorpius' eyes bulged as he took in his meaning.
"You mean to say that I-I h-have to kill one of the war heroes?" he stuttered, there was no way in hell that he would be able to complete such a task.
"Not exactly. You have to kill one of their children."
Scorpius' mouth hang wide open as he realised what he had gotten himself into. "But-but I can't!"
"And why is that?" his Ivanna growled whilst digging her crimson talons into the flesh of his shoulder through the thick black material of his initiation robes.
"Now, now Ivanna. You must calm yourself. He will do what I ask of him" Lucius directed his gaze towards his grandson, "- won't you?"
Scorpius felt his throat constricting and gulped, his adam's apple bobbing. "Yes" his voice came out raspy. "But who would it be? We have not decided yet have we?"
"That's up to you to decide," whispered Ivanna as she ran one of her long fingers over his masculine jaw and placed a kiss on the shell of his ear.
His grandfather somehow knew what had been said, "However, it must be the offspring of one of the trio, preferably one of Potter's."
Scorpius felt his stomach hit the floor. Although he had never actually had a full conversation with any of the Potter/Weasleys he had always thought kindly of them. Their antics never failed to amuse him - though he tried his hardest to seem disapproving of their boisterous nature in front of any of his peers.
"But-"
"No excuses Scorpius!" Ivanna snapped, noticing his sudden discomfort with the situation "the death of one of those brats will cause the biggest outrage amongst the wizarding world!"
"And you must make this decision alone, my son," his grandfather joined in, "it will prove your loyalty to the cause and when HE returns he will hold you in the highest regard!" there was a look of manic pleasure upon Lucius' face as he said this..
Scorpius squirmed on his spot, his father always taught him to hate the animal that had ruined his adolescence and controlled the view of people towards his family. That had been drilled into his head until his father had died when Scorpius turned seven. The death of his father was something he didn't understand. It was so unexpected and mysterious that aurors tried to investigate it but they could come to no conclusion. Scorpius had been too young at the time so he had never really thought about it.
"So you have to bring a member of that filthy family to the manor at the end of next year and it has to be at their own will, we need you to persuade your victim to trust you so that their own family turns against them. This will make them feel guilty enough to seek revenge," Ivanna said, breaking Scorpius' train of thought ", or die trying!"
A deep evil laugh passed through the room.
Lucius placed an arm round his grandson "Only then will you get the mark my boy." It was said in a reassuring manner but Scorpius didn't feel very assured.
* A/N: I am really sorry for not updating this sooner but I have had a lot going on in my personal life recently and I just couldn't find the time to write.
I hope you like the improvements I made to the chapter (though there aren't many)
Please Review, I would love to hear any criticism though don't be too harsh :)
