Chapter Two: The Dark Mark

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" A wispy voice hissed irritably.

"My lord, she didn't seem to be a threat; she still doesn't, she's faithful to you. Her father, Evan Rosier, he was nothing short of loyal to you as well." Barty Crouch Jr. replied earnestly.

Barty knelt down to the large chair near the center of the room; in front of it stood a large fireplace, though no fire burnt there. The room was cold and uninviting, almost as cold and uninviting as its occupants; curtains blocked any light that may have seeped in front the dreary outside and dust covered every inch of the room. This was Riddle Manor; the current headquarters of Lord Voldemort himself.

"I cannot be sure; you will bring her to me!" said the same irritable voice that seemed to struggle with every word.

"I will, my lord." Barty replied genuinely.

"Good!" It screeched back.

"And if she isn't worthy, my lord, what will become of her?" He asked softly.

"Then she will die." The voice said coldly.

The sun peered in through a tiny crack in the curtains; Scarlett began to stir, slowly waking until she sat up in bed quietly. Her roommates, Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode still slept soundly in their beds as it was only four in the morning. Scarlett braced herself off the bed, deciding to go down to breakfast early.

Her footsteps seemed to echo throughout the entire castle as she walked briskly down the deserted corridors. As she entered the great hall, only three other students were at breakfast so far; the golden trio. They sat on the other end of the hall, stopping mid-conversation to stare over at Scarlett. The second she met their gazes, their eyes quickly dropped to their plates as they continued their conversation in hushed whispers.

"Rosier, why are you up this early?" Professor Moody asked her.

Scarlett looked up, surprised to see him standing next to the Slytherin table where she sat. Directly behind him she could see Harry looking at her with a confused expression, Hermione looked over and matched it before Ron turned himself around to stare as well. Scarlett shot them all a look of pure disdain and hatred until they turned around abruptly.

"I wanted to get some reading done before class sir." She replied calmly.

"Is that right? Come with me; I have something for you." Moody said before turning to leave as she followed closely behind.

They went up to the familiar Defense against the Dark Arts classroom and he went behind his desk, pulling an old black book out of a drawer. He looked it over before handing it to Scarlett. She rubbed the dusty cover before reading the faint text on its front.

"The Darkest Forms of Magic: Curses, Hexes, and Incantations"

Scarlett looked up at her professor; curious as to why he would be giving her this. She knew the real answer, of course, or at least hinted at it. He was a death eater, and she was sure of it. That didn't quite satisfy why, but she supposed it had just been because she was so close to the truth already, that it would be practical to gain her trust and support. She was immersed in a slight daze for a moment, forgetting they were still in the same room.

"Sir, this is…" Scarlett began softly before he finished her sentence.

"Forbidden at Hogwarts? I know, but you've shown a peculiar interest in it." Moody continued.

"Thank you sir." Scarlett said eagerly as she put the book in her bag.

She went ahead and sat down in her usual seat; class would begin in a few moments anyway. Professor Moody left the room as she removed her DADA book from her bag, along with some parchment and a quill. Students began to file in, and eventually Pansy came to sit down next to her, bouncing happily with every step.

"Draco told me he loves me this morning!" She shrieked, despite trying to whisper discretely.

"And then you'll get married, have plenty of babies and decay together!" Scarlett teased back, though gripped by slight sadness, realizing that probably wouldn't be the case for either of them.

"Oh someday you'll understand." Pansy said lightheartedly.

Scarlett laughed, but was silenced by Professor Moody as he walked into the classroom.

"Rosier! Detention tonight at eight." Moody said angrily.

"But sir…" She began softly.

"You were talking in my class; you will serve detention!" He spat back.

"Sir I have prefect duties." She said sharply.

"Then I suggest you discontinue this argument, or you'll be staying later." He said.

Scarlett scoffed and looked down at her parchment; she didn't understand. Nearly everyone else in the room had been chatting among themselves; Potter and his trio all seemed to shout at the top of their lungs as the bellowed their latest Quidditch strategies. She figured he may have just wanted to make an example out of her, but then asked herself why, when he had been nice to her before; so much for gaining her trust.

….

Scarlett walked up long spiral staircase to the Defense against the Dark Arts room; Moody was nowhere in sight, so she walked through the dark room and sat down at a desk near the front.

"Lumos." She spoke softly as the tip of her wand illuminated her surroundings.

She looked around at the rooms furnishings, but it all looked so unfamiliar in the dark. The room seemed to radiate an eerie glow as her faint light reflected off the surfaces of several objects. She began to hear footsteps in front of her and looked up to see a man come out from the shadows. He smirked at her, and she immediately recognized him as the same man she had seen that night at the Quidditch world cup; he had the same mop of brown hair, the same sinister smirk, and the same air of near insanity.

"I'm sure you realized by now, you aren't here for detention." He said.

Scarlett returned this with a puzzled expression before he let loose a chilling faint laugh.

"I'm Barty Crouch Jr." He said with a smug smirk as he walked toward her slowly.

"Pleasure," She said back softly, "Why am I here?"

"The dark lord wishes to see you." He said simply.

"But he's…" She began before trailing off.

He didn't leave her time to finish, nor did he take the time to respond before he grabbed her arm and apparated them out to Riddle Manor. They stood at the front steps, and Scarlett took a moment to take in the scene. The house was high above the surrounding village as it was perched directly on top of a large hill to overlook a dreary graveyard. The house itself was magnificent, but easily looked abandoned; like no one had lived there in decades.

Barty led her inside hastily, guiding her up the stairs and through the dark halls. She could see a faint light near the end of a hallway as they climbed up the staircase; a man was bustling frantically about the room as a strange voice seemed to hiss at him angrily.

"Wormtail! Give me my wand Wormtail!" It hissed loudly.

"Yes, my lord, right away, my lord." He stammered back as he reached into his pocket with his trembling fingers.

The man took a wand out from his robes and bowed deeply as he extended his arm out in front of him. A small, withered creature that sat in the chair took it from him with its long, grey fingers and Wormtail immediately treaded back a few feet in fear the second the wand left his hand.

"Wormtail! Leave!" The creature hissed again.

Wormtail rushed out of the room before glaring at Barty on his way down the creaky steps. This prompted Barty to drag her inside, but Scarlett felt as though her feet were nailed to the floor and let out a slight gasp as she made her way into the room. Then it registered; she was about to meet the dark lord. This creature she had heard was Lord Voldemort himself.

"Come in front of me Rosier." Voldemort stammered.

Scarlett knelt down in front of the chair, bowing as deeply as she could possibly get as she kissed the hem the robes he was wrapped tightly beneath.

"You're much like your father." Voldemort said softly, "Rise."

Scarlett straightened herself up, though remained kneeling before the chair. She should have felt fear; and she did, thinking he might kill her, but the one thing she feared worst of all was proving unworthy of being in his service.

She could feel him push into her mind, but despite being skilled in occumency, she couldn't push him out. She fell slowly to the floor, having to brace herself on a small side table that stood next to the chair as she blacked out from the real world. Scenes began to flash through her mind before she even had time to process what she was seeing.

She could see her mother being dragged out of the court room; a dementor stood at the door to escort her to Azkaban as a ten year old Scarlett cried, burying her face in Narcissa's robes. The scene ended as quickly as it began, replaced by one of a Scarlett's first year at Hogwarts, the year after her mother's conviction. She was on the Hogwarts express, on the way to the castle as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley stood outside the compartment, asking if they would sit there.

"Scarlett Rosier." She said simply after nodding her head.

"Harry Potter." He said a little too proudly.

"Oh." Scarlett replied, uninterested.

"As in Victoria Rosier?" Ron said wide-eyed, referring to her mother, who had been put on public trial only the year before.

Scarlett nodded and Ron immediately began to talk to Harry in hushed whispers, but before she could see anymore, the scene changed yet again. As a second year she was walking down the corridors of the castle, two Gryffindor boys came up behind her, lifting their wands at her back, but before words could leave their lips she turned around and said, "Septum Sempra," causing both of them to fall back a few feet onto the ground in front of her. She smirked as blood quickly covered their robes, but the smile soon faded as students and teachers gathered around frantically; she was dragged away from the students by a furious Professor McGonagall until the scene faded.

In an instant she could see herself at the Quidditch world cup, laughing alongside Draco as death eaters burnt the campsite to the ground in front of them. Soon she was walking through the rubble, smiling wickedly until Barty Crouch Jr. loomed into view in front of her with the same smirk until the scene began to fade.

Scarlett was then brought to a conversation with Draco she had in the empty common room the day they returned to Hogwarts this year.

"Do you know what this means Draco!" She said enthusiastically.

"Scarlett, it's probably nothing." He replied.

"Your father wouldn't grip his arm like that if he wasn't in pain. He spends all of his time in his study, worrying about everything and anything. The Quidditch world cup attack. It all makes sense Draco. He's back." Scarlett said frantically.

"You can't be serious." Draco said.

"I am serious, you're a fool Draco. Your parents should be out there trying to find him, they all should." She continued a bit angrily before the scene ended.

She was brought to the day she first performed the cruciatus curse in Defense against the Dark Arts. The smile that twitched on the corners of her lips was nothing short of noticeable as she held the curse while the other students looked away in disgust.

The scene ended and Scarlett felt herself being pulled from her mind as she regained a sense of reality. The memories she had seen were soon replaced by the familiar view of the dimly lit, dusty room of Riddle Manor. She clutched the table as she picked herself up dizzily, positioning herself back in front of the chair Voldemort sat upon. She regained her composure despite exhaustion and confusion, and bowed again to the dark lord.

"Hold out your arm." Voldemort hissed softly.

Scarlett did as she was told, rolling up her sleeve before extending her arm out in front of her willingly. She knew what this meant; she was finally going to become a death eater. She clenched her jaw in anticipation as Voldemort pressed his wand shakily to her forearm.

"Morsmordre." He hissed as the dark mark began to burn itself into her arm.

Scarlett retracted sluggishly and clutched her arm to her chest. She had never experienced such pain; a burning sensation seemed to well deep within her wrist as the dark mark slowly grew front a faint grey color to a deep black. The snake began to coil itself on her arm before fading back to the same state as the other death eaters marks and the pain began to fade slowly, though it didn't go away.

"You will help Barty in any way you can," Voldemort said, "You two will not fail me."

"Yes, my lord." Barty and Scarlett spoke in unison, both with strong determination.

"Rosier, you will tell no one of this. Not Draco or his family; no one. Is that clear?" Voldemort said harshly.

"Of course my lord." She replied.

"You may go." Voldemort said sharply as the filed out of the room.

On their way out, Wormtail rushed up the stairs to the dark lord, but not before glaring at the two of them. He stumbled on the stairs violently, prompting Scarlett to let loose a short, disdainful laugh. Barty just smirked at her before leading her out of the house briskly. When they stepped outside Barty didn't hesitate to push Scarlett against the cold stone wall of the house. She let out a faint gasp as his lips crashed against hers with a force so strong she could do nothing but melt into submission. His tongue grazed the bottom of her lip before she let it sweep inside smoothly. Her fingers entwined themselves in his hair as he moved down to kiss her neck, being far from gentle as he continued with the same force and passion.

Normally, she would never do this, but something about the air of control and dominance Barty possessed as he took her in the kiss gave her no room to object or break away. Scarlett let herself lose control as his fingers wrapped around her waist, traveling ever so slowly beneath her robes until they grazed the bare skin of her back. She shivered at his touch and he stopped to leave her in a daze, pressing his forehead against hers with a look of control that was almost deadly. A wicked glint shot in his eyes along with a slight flicker of his tongue until he spoke.

"I knew it." Barty said smugly as a wicked smirk took hold on his face.

"I…" Scarlett trailed off, still unsure of how to respond to him.

"We need to leave now; I'm sure it's passed curfew." He said, retaining the smug grin on his face.

"But, you're a prefect conveniently enough." He continued.

Scarlett nodded before he apparated them back to the castle grounds and into the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom where they had previously been. Barty walked briskly into a door near the front of the room without a word, and Scarlett walked slowly out the door, quietly walking through the castles abandoned corridors as she found entered the Slytherin common room.

"See Draco! She's right there!" Pansy said happily from her place on Draco's lap.

"Where have you been Rosier?" Draco said curiously.

"Detention, remember?" Scarlett replied calmly.

"For three hours?" He asked.

"Yes; apparently Moody feels talking BEFORE CLASS is worth three hours of detention." She replied angrily, remembering he couldn't know of the nights true events. As much as she wanted to tell him, the dark lord forbade her of it under the consequence of death.

"The old git, he probably just doesn't like you after you performed the cruciatus curse perfectly." Pansy insisted.

"Yeah, I guess so." Scarlett replied calmly before walking over to the chair beside them.

Scarlett sat herself down, trying to ignore the pain that continued to course through her arm since she first received her dark mark. She pulled out the book Barty had given her earlier that day and began to read, becoming completely immersed in the new curses and topics that she scanned over feverishly. Despite constantly immersing herself in her studies and reading numerous books on advanced magic, she had never come across anything as new to her as this had been.

"Rosier, what are you reading?" Draco asked curiously.

"A book on the dark arts." She said simply, knowing Draco was already aware of her interest in the dark arts; he had been too, after all.

"Maybe I can borrow it when you're finished." Draco suggested.

"Yeah, why not?" She replied calmly, though she was still unsure about whether or not she planned to do so.

As she read, she couldn't seem to fully focus; normally she would be ecstatic as she flipped through the pages, frantically trying to process every bit of information, but she found her thoughts directed toward Barty Crouch Jr. and the kiss they had shared at Riddle Manor. The scene played itself over and over again in her head until she found herself forgetting everything she had read.