Danie woke with a start. She glanced about the dark room, not sure what had woken her. Her small room was clean, quiet, and undisturbed. There were no shouts, no screams, and no flying spells. It took a while for Danie to make sure that nothing had happened yet. Even after she was convinced nobody dangerous was in the house, she got up and redressed in loose, comfortable clothing. She walked quietly onto the landing in jogging pants and a shirt that was much too big for her. She listened there for a moment, making sure she could hear her orphanage-mate's soft breathing. Again momentarily satisfied, Danie headed downstairs.

The first floor of the orphanage was divided up between a living room, which was also considered the gaming room, the dining room, the kitchen, and a single bathroom. From the bottom of the stairs, Danie could see the door right across from her. She headed to her right, into the white and blue cleaned colors of the kitchen. She put a tea kettle full of water on the stove and clicked on the gas fire. While she was waiting on a stuffed, leather chair, she noticed that it was bitterly cold. So she grabbed her long coat from the coat hanger near the living room door and, finding a convenient pocket on the inside of the coat, slipped her wand inside.

A few minutes later, the pot started to whistle shrilly. It was cut off abruptly as Danie turned off the gas. The girl poured the hot liquid into a traveling cup and put a tea bag in it, to soak. Her tea finally finished a few minutes later, (sugar, honey, and cinnamon added) Danie waited. What had felt to her like no time at all in the dream seemed ages to her while she was awake, her senses on edge for the smallest of sounds or movements. She sipped at her tea, her eyes on the door. She had only just let her eyes drop to examine a knot in the wood table in front of her when there was a faint click at the front door. The door swung open silently as Danie took another sip of her tea. Several figures shuffled into the house. Danie counted eight dark figures. There were low murmurs from the group, and as Danie had neglected to turn the lights on, they knew nothing of her presence yet.

"...why would he send us to such a despicable place? It's full of muggles. I could hardly think a valuable witch would be hidden here." Said one man, and the picture of the slightly jumpy, nervous man came to Danie's mind.

"Do not doubt the Dark Lord, Wormtail." This voice was harsh, and it was only just recognized as that wild-looking woman.

"I'm not!" Protested the first, his dark form drawing up indignantly and his voice rising shakily.

"Let's be quiet now, shall we?" the sleek voice of Lucius Malfoy came through the darkness. "Lumos."

A bright light flared through the lower floor. Danie, crouched in her chair, lifted up her hand to shield her eyes from the glare. She heard a disturbed shuffling and deduced that people had noticed her presence, and were startled by it. She lowered her hand to find most of the cloaked wizards before her pointing their wands at her. Lucius was not pointing his wand at her, however, and merely seemed puzzled.

"Danie?" he glanced around the area. "This is where you live?"

"I told you I lived among muggles, sir." Danie took another sip of her tea, trying to think of which pointless question to ask in order to convince them that she knew nothing, or at least very little, about why they were here. But she was spared striking up a conversation by one of the Death Eaters.

"Who is she?" The insane woman, a haughty look to her, seemed to be surprised anyone Lucius knew was here. Now that she was in a better light, Danie saw that she looked as if she had once been beautiful and full. Now, however, her cheeks seemed slightly hollow, robbed of life which they could not replace. Danie only now remembered her as Bellatrix Lestrange.

"This is Danie." said Lucius calmly, looking around the area. Evidently, he thought someone else might be strange enough to be up in the dead of night. "She is a friend of Draco's, and has neglected to visit our house over the summers lately." he added as if to blame her, but he smiled.

"Forgive me, sir. I had things on my mind."

Lucius walked further into the house, towards Danie. His movement seemed to give the others permission to explore. They shuffled through the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen. Danie noticed Fenrir moving slowly but surely towards the staircase that led upwards. Bellatrix followed Lucius and looked at the TV contemptuously.

"Are there any other witches in this house, Danie?" asked Lucius, his gaze intent upon Danie. She felt he knew the answer before she gave it.

"No... Is that why you're here?" Danie kept a careful watch on all the guests. She glanced once at Bellatrix and was surprised to find that the woman was looking at her with more curiosity and respect than before. That is to say, her view of Danie seemed to be neutral instead of disgusted. Fenrir was still edging towards the staircase, his nose twitching slightly as though catching an interesting scent.

"Yes, that is why we're here." Perhaps Danie's nervousness showed, because his voice had become gentler, more coaxing to try and pull her out of the shell she was quietly creating around herself to hide her feelings, weaknesses, and thoughts.

"Why so many? One simple witch seems hardly enough for a full gang of Death Eaters to be sent after."

"Well," Danie could tell he was picking his words carefully," the witch we're looking after isn't just any normal witch. She has a very strongly connected past with the Dark Lord."

Danie removed her eyes from Fenrir to look at Mr. Malfoy. He seemed to be examining her as much as she was examining him. However, she did not ask anything else. Asking anything to do directly with Voldemort was dangerous territory, and she wanted to be underestimated. The truth was that the simple description fit her fairly well. She was highly adept at magic, mastering a number of difficult spells that most wizards don't even attempt, just like Voldemort. She spoke parseltongue and once had a conversation with Nagini, Voldemort's own snake. She was also notably born with very fair hair- so fair it could be called white. Danie, however, hid her hair color with a simple, on-going spell, and let nobody but Dumbledore know about how adept she was at magic.

"Danie..." Mr. Malfoy again called her attention. "You had mastered becoming a Wolf animagus by your second year; you saved my son by using that form." There were a few murmurs among the Death Eaters that heard. A second year mastering being an animagus was unheard of. "Then, you soon said to Draco that you were going to try and master another form." There was silence for a small while. "Dannie, how many forms have you mastered?"

The air was unusually tense. Whether or not she was Voldemort's daughter seemed to rest on her answer here. She surveyed the few Death Eaters she could view through the door that opened between the living room and the dining room. After taking another drink of her tea, she shrugged.

"Just the two." This was a lie, no matter how she tried to convince herself otherwise. She had mastered three forms- wolf, snake, and hawk- and was now working on a fourth as a sort of hobby when she got bored of other things. However, even if that answer was not quite what Lucius had hoped for, the answer seemed to confirm the question he had not asked. Lucius looked at Danie for a while, and then held out his hand, just as he had done in the vision.

"May I see your arm, please?"

"Which one?" Danie did not pause this time. She had set down her cup and set her fingers together in a very Dumbledore-ish motion.

"Your left."

Danie pretended to hesitate, pretended to wonder what this had to do with anything, and then began to extend her left arm. A creak sounded to her right, and her eyes snapped to the stairs. Fenrir had stepped on the third step, which had something wrong with it, seeing as it was the only one who creaked at all, much less so loudly.

"Fenrir." Danie's voice sounded harsh to herself. "If you head anywhere up there, near the kids who are sleeping, undisturbed by werewolves, I will be expelled from Hogwarts for the sole reason of cursing you so badly that you will henceforth be only capable of babbling and vague hand movements."

Danie did not know whether it was the aggressiveness of her voice that made Fenrir stop and look back, or what she threatened to do. But he did smile like she had seen before, while she was dreaming. She did not smile back. She was quite serious; she would jinx and curse him into being mentally retarded if he attempted to get anywhere near her family, and she would not feel sorry for being formally banished from Hogwarts.

"You wouldn't. You'd get your wand smashed into two, and then you'd be as good as a Squib!" he laughed harshly, but ceased quickly. Whether it was because Danie had smiled or because Lucius had shot him a warning look, Danie was not entire sure.

"Get down here, Fenrir. The Dark Lord has not asked for you to kill tonight; nor is it within our mission."

"Oh, just a little nibble." Said Greyback, smiling sickeningly. "There are some right little ones up there, not even worthy of a meal."

"Perhaps you would prefer to think you are a five-year-old girl, Fenrir?" Danie's voice would be polite, except for the undeniable coldness of it.

Fenrir looked from Danie to Lucius, and then finally skulked down the stairs after a nod from one of the Death Eaters, muttering.

"Now then." said Lucius, turning to Danie, who offered her arm again. Danie had decided against casting a limited Disillusionment Charm on that area of her arm. Pretending she did not have the Mark would seem more suspicious and shameful than admitting that she had it and that she had had no interest to search after her father. She saw the same reaction Lucius had had in the dream. He seemed happy yet fearful. At the sight of the Mark, Bellatrix smiled widely at Danie as if seeing her in an entirely new, and kinder, light. Danie made sure that her expression remained unchanged. This made her look like she was still in a bad mood because of Fenrir's tastes.

"You…" breathed Bellatrix, "are the Dark Lord's child!"

Danie looked at Bellatrix for a bit. She looked at Danie like she was a coveted jewel, and Danie was starting to feel like she might be sick. She didn't know what it was about Bellatrix, but she did not like the lady. And she was not happy at the idea of being babied by the woman. So Danie sighed before saying, "What makes you say that?"

"The Dark Lord sent us here to find you." Lucius said. Bellatrix sat down on a chair near Danie's and watched the student adoringly. "He said that there was only one child as young as you who had the Dark Mark, and that the child was his."

"I can see why you are so certain."

"You think this is a joke?"

Danie turned to look at another Death Eater. The muggle home had not caught the wizard's attention for long, and the group was starting to stay in the living room. Fenrir was also in the living room, but he glanced at the staircase from time to time. For a moment, Danie paused to consider the new person.

"I hardly think a conversation of this gravity would be amusing unless I was in denial. And truth be told, I have… at least suspected this for a while now."

"You have?" Lucius looked surprised and Bellatrix looked proud. Danie fought the urge to throw up.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. I have. It didn't start out with this exact idea. I merely wondered who my parents were. I think I searched every genealogy book I could get my hands on for two years or so; without any results, of course. Every single book I looked at said that my mother conceived me on her own, without the help of a male. I know of only one book that gives the name of my father, and I've only discovered it within the last year.

"In fact, I think the Mad-Eye Moody fake came to visit only a week after I found out who my father was. I was still in shock, and I think he suspected something… But I suppose that didn't last very long. He either looked through the book and found out something or put the matter on hold. Anyways, I think he got caught soon after.

"Of course, the fact that I was," Danie hesitated, then decided to consider her company, "the Dark Lord's child was reinforced by the arrival of a dim Mark on my arm. The constant nervousness of Mr. Karkaroff confirmed, more than anything, another vague suspicion I had. By the end of last year, I was certain of two things. One, I was the Dark Lord's daughter and had no idea what to do about it. Second, my father had come at one of my most uncustomary confused moments."

There was a pause of silence as Lucius thought about this. Others, however, were obviously not such great thinkers. The female sibling, instead of listening intently and drawing conclusions about who Danie was, drove on with a question.

"So, have you decided where you stand? You have had plenty of time to think of this, after all."

Looking at this sibling, it was obvious that not all of the Death Eaters would covet Danie's appearance as much as Bellatrix. She didn't know whether to be happy or not about that. In answer to the question, however, Danie shrugged and made a noncommittal grunt. She then turned to Lucius and did her best to ignore the sudden intensity of the Death Eater's gazes.

"So now what, sir?"

"Now I ask you to come with us." Lucius smiled encouragingly.

"To join the Death Eaters and work under Lord-… the Dark Lord?" Danie ended her inquiry as politely as she could.

"Yes, Danie. The Dark Lord wants you to join him as the youngest Death Eater to date."

"I already am the youngest Death Eater to date."

"But you are not serving properly under him." stated Bellatrix, looking as if doing so was the greatest honor that could be bestowed upon someone. Danie again resisted the urge to gag.

"Perhaps I'm not eager to." Speaking quickly enough so that no Death Eater could interrupt her and taunt her about being scared, Danie brought up the subject so as to seem aware and not weak. "Excuse me for saying so, but can any one of you honestly say you don't shiver and shake while in his presence, even now? I know you're all aware that this is Voldemort we're talking about," The guests all flinched or hissed when his name slipped out of Danie's mouth. "but let me put it into my perspective. I haven't exactly been raised around a Dark Lord-loving family, nor is wizarding present in all of my lifetime, but from what I have heard of him, he is a man who has very singular thoughts in his head and is enough of a sociopath to kill without thinking twice about it. I have no doubt he would kill me or one of you for saying one small thing wrong."

"He wouldn't kill his daughter!" protested Bellatrix, sitting very straight in her seat. Danie turned to view her, making it obvious she thought Bellatrix either naïve or stupid.

"He'd kill his subordinates and the woman who bore his child. Why not his daughter?"

The Death Eater's silence was interrupted by Fenrir's laughing, bringing back a very vivid memory Danie had. She didn't let the anger pass onto her face, and instead kept it carefully neutral. If she lost her temper now, what happened in her dream would surely repeat itself. And this time, she would have no second chances.

"You have no choice." stated one of the siblings, seeming glad he could force the Dark Lord's daughter into a corner.

"There is always a choice." countered Danie, looking straight at the sibling. He seemed miffed that she didn't react with fear or anger.

"You would lose your wand, Danie. I don't want that to happen." Malfoy's silken voice almost made Danie want to nod and just go with them at his request. But she needed to make a point. Her father had no quarrels with killing people. Neither did she, if her life was in danger. But there was something more to Danie that they didn't know. She could fight with or without a wand.

"Like I said with Fenrir," Danie said, locking her eyes with Mr. Malfoy's. "I don't care about that."

"But… without your wand, you are not a wizard!" Bellatrix spoke up, seeming to hope Danie was joking or bluffing. Danie sighed.

"Well, I suppose that makes sense to you all… Especially when taking into account how little you know about me."

The Death Eaters didn't know what to make of it. Was this girl just stupid, or was she actually capable without her wand? Doubtful. No wizard or witch could perform magic without a wand. It was obvious, however, that she didn't want to go. Some of them were preparing to force her with a few spells and jinxes. Nothing too serious. Just enough to make her go along unharmed to the Dark Lord.

It was about that time that Danie gave another sigh, finished her tea, and rose from the chair. She moved beyond the Death Eaters into the kitchen, where she washed off her cup and placed it in the sink with the rest of the dishes. Yawning, she came out of the kitchen to look at her guests. They were all facing towards her. Bellatrix had risen from her chair. It was obvious that, although she seemed to covet the Dark Lord's daughter, she was determined to get Danie to her beloved master. Danie rolled her eyes when she saw hands creeping into cloaks to grab wands.

"I'm not willing to waste energy fighting you. So give me a bit, and I'll get properly dressed." She turned up the stairs and a last call was made over her shoulder before she entered her bedroom. "And make sure Fenrir doesn't come up here. If he so much as brushes against a door handle, I will be expelled from Hogwarts, and my wand will be broken."

In Danie's room, darkness lasted for only a second. She turned on the light that was next to her bed and set about dressing herself properly. She knew pureblood wizards generally hated muggle clothes, but there was nothing Danie could do about that. All she had were muggle clothes, so she at least tried to make them nice ones. Maybe five minutes later, Danie was wearing a black blouse, dark, neat pants, and her favorite pair of leather boots with her coat over the top. The girl kind of detested dressing up for her father, but it was better to make a good impression.

After writing a note to her orphan-mates and leaving it on her bedside table, Danie exited her room, left the door open, and came downstairs to her waiting escort of eight Death Eaters. Bellatrix seemed unsure about what Danie was wearing, and Lucius seemed to think she could've done better. The student raised a questioning brow at their looks, but they denied they were thinking anything and turned to proceed out the door and onto the pavement.

"Since you're not allowed to perform magic, a few of us will be flying with you on broomsticks." Lucius said, and with a wave of his wand, the broomsticks appeared. Danie just caught hers in time to not be smacked in the face. She looked around at the surrounding Death Eaters, most of which were preparing to go their own way.

"I see… So most of you were just extra muscle in case I went AWAL." Makes sense.

Most of the Death Eaters seemed unhappy about this remark and, after glaring at Danie, left in a swirl of what seemed to be smoke. Lucius caught Danie's attention, and he and another man took off into the air with her. She followed Lucius's lead, feeling that the man behind her was more meant to make sure she didn't run than keep her safe. But she didn't try to escape. It would contradict her act, frame her as a coward, make her an enemy… Well, the list went on, but anyone would get the point after a while. Escaping was ultimately a bad thing. She needed to go along with what she was being told to do, at least for now.

The scenery of rivers, cities, towns, and forests flew by Danie in a blur. The cold night air made goosebumps appear on her skin, despite the warmth her coat was providing for her. In Danie's mind, it didn't take very long for them to make it to the Malfoy's Manor, and they were soon slowing and angling so that they could land in front of the gates.