A/N- Again, my beta is too busy with real life right now to work on my chapters for me, so any mistakes in this are completely my own fault! Thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed/reviewed this story, and an extra special shout out to Wildravn, Dixie362, and kabg01 - you've all left me numerous reviews so far and I can't even explain how much it means to me!

I had to break the next situation up into three chapters (!) so this one is a little shorter than the others because this just felt like a good spot to naturally break it - if you all do an amazing job reviewing I'll post the next chapter sooner rather than later!

Thank you to my beta, Strotz, for everything, even though she's been unable to help me on the last few chapters due to the time of the year (Tax Season!) and KomeKozzy425 for being ever patient and helping me work out the holes in my plot!

Chapter Six

Everyone was sitting around the dinner table the night before Hermione's marking. It had been pushed back an extra week because Tom had to leave England suddenly with a few of his men – something about the Bulgarian government.

"I bought a new dress for you, Hermione," Narcissa said into the silence. "For tomorrow night."

"You didn't have to do that, Narcissa," Hermione said, butterflies erupting in her stomach again. She managed to keep herself together if no one brought up the next night, but considering it seemed to be all everyone could talk about she was having a pretty hard fucking time taking her mind off of it.

"Of course I did! This is a big night for you and I'm sure you'd like to look your best. Unless you brought a dress of your own?"

"No…"

"Leave her alone, mum," Draco jumped in, coming to her defense almost immediately. "We had a long day in the gym today and we're all exhausted. I'm sure she wants to try and relax a bit before tomorrow."

"Of course, of course," Narcissa said, turning her attention to her husband instead.

"How many times did you have to get picked up off the floor today, Hermione? Six, seven?"

"Oh, fuck off, Theo! It isn't my fault Draco goes so hard on me all the time."

"Language, dear," Narcissa admonished automatically. It seemed to be her goal to clean up Hermione's mouth, but the girl didn't care – its how she'd always spoke and nothing was going to change it. Not even Narcissa telling her that it was very unbecoming and made her sound like a lonely, miserable old man.

"What should I expect tomorrow night?" Hermione asked instead of acknowledging Narcissa.

"A room full of people waiting to see you get your mark?" Blaise asked innocently.

"Don't you have a home to go to?" she asked in retaliation, annoyed that they wouldn't take her seriously now that the subject had been breached.

"Yes, but it's boring there. That's why I choose to eat every meal with you and your charms," Blaise answered, smiling innocently.

"Me too," Theo said.

Hermione wished Greg and Vince were eating with them – they always stuck up for her, but they'd been summoned to their own homes for dinner. Hermione was pretty sure they were being grilled about her presence in the manor and her marking ceremony the next evening.

"I mean should I expect to be attacked while standing in front of all the Death Eaters, considering who I am and what I used to stand for?"

"You're being ridiculous," Lucius answered, taking a sip of wine.

"It seems like a pretty valid fear, to me."

"Hermione, you're hardly the first person to defect from Dumbledore's point of view and come to us," Tom answered slowly, weighing his words. "You'll be surprised tomorrow night and you obviously still have a lot to learn – no one would dare do anything to another Death Eater unless they wanted to die a slow and painful death. The marks have a specific magic in them that will not allow someone bearing it to attack another without harming themselves as well, unless of course I've altered the magic to enable such a thing to happen – something that is very rare, I assure you. The only people who don't have an obvious mark on their skin are our spies, but the reason for that is pretty self-explanatory and while they still have a mark somewhere on their body they don't bear the obvious mark on their forearms."

"Oooooh you have spies?! Who!?"

"You'll see."

"Anyone I know?!"

"You'll see tomorrow, Hermione."

"Have many people have defected from you?"

"Only a few, but they were found dead before anyone even knew they'd planned to betray us. That's the whole point of the vow you take before you're marked."

The way Tom said that made the baby hairs on Hermione's neck stand on end but Dumbledore and Harry had tried to kill her the second they'd realized she was speaking to Death Eaters so apparently killing people who were going to defect was practiced on both sides of the war. At least Tom's way was lucrative in ensuring he kept loyal followers who wouldn't turn their backs and there was no way a spy for the Order would be in the mix.

"Fair enough," she answered diplomatically, turning her attention back to her meal and realizing that Draco was still talking about the fucking gym.

"Can you give it a rest, please!? Jesus, it isn't like we don't spend all goddamned day in there – oh no – we need to rehash everything we do all evening, too."

"Relax, I was telling my father how good of a job you've been doing. In fact, I was going to tell my men to reveal their alternate weapons to you tomorrow night after your marking, but if you're too tired to hear about it after the fact then never mind."

Hermione levelled a glare at Draco for that – she had been bothering them for a week to know what their weapons were, but Draco didn't want her 'getting sidetracked'.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No. I guess they'll just have to wait a little bit longer."

Hermione slapped Draco on the arm. "That is not fucking fair, Draco Malfoy!"

He laughed.

"Language, dear."

/

Hermione was standing in her bedroom waiting for Lucius to pick her up and escort her down for the Marking Ceremony, capital M, capital C.

She was looking at herself in the mirror and admiring her reflection – the dress Narcissa had chosen for her was simple, really. It was black and hugged her curves becomingly, the many layered tulle skirt tufted out and it was short enough that her legs looked ridiculously long, yet not too short that she had to be worried about strangers being able to see her knickers while she stood on the dais with Tom. Her hair was down and smoothed out so it was straight and ended at her waist. Her makeup was simple and she wore no jewellery.

Hermione opened her door to peek out and see if Lucius was in sight yet – she was incredibly nervous and was getting pretty damned sick and tired of waiting for him. He was walking down the hall toward her in a very nice suit that was clearly tailored to fit him perfectly. Hermione still couldn't get over the fact that everyone was dressing in muggle clothing but she was personally not a fan of wizarding dress, so she wasn't complaining.

"You look incredible," Lucius said, smiling happily at her.

"I'm so, so nervous," she answered, wringing her hands together for effect.

"Everything is going to be fine, just answer the questions and move on. You're allowed to stop and take time to think about your answers, too, but they're pretty straightforward – and a little hint – he just wants you to say yes."

Hermione puffed out a breath and walked companionably beside Lucius to the ballroom.

"It's really not that bad."

"Is it going to hurt?"

Lucius met Hermione's eyes, surprised that she'd ask such a question considering everything she'd been through. "It will hurt a little bit but you've had much worse – you'll be fine!"

"Oh God, I can't feel my legs!"

"What do you mean?!" Lucius asked, turning to her quickly in alarm.

"I'm so nervous my legs are numb!"

"Come on, Hermione. Get it together."

"I'll be fine," she assured, although she was a little worried she'd break an ankle in the damn heels she was forced to wear. "I'll be fine."

"Just take my arm and remember to put one foot in front of the other. I know it's scary but it will be over before you know it."

"I don't like large groups of people," Hermione admitted suddenly.

"Oh, and you couldn't have told Tom that a week ago? Stop being ridiculous, let's go."

Lucius threw open the double doors before Hermione had a chance to argue and began to tow her down the aisle toward Tom, who was wearing a dashing charcoal suit and was standing on a raised dais waiting for her. Hermione's stomach was in knots and her legs were still numb. She avoided looking around – she didn't want to see all of the people pressing in on her – but before she knew it she was standing at the bottom of the stairs that would lead her directly to Tom.

"Draco is just to the right," Lucius said in a calming voice. "You'll be facing him and if you get scared you can just look at him – he'll reassure you, I'm sure."

Hermione met Lucius' eyes and tried to decipher what he meant but she didn't have the time to figure it out before she was approaching Tom, who was smiling encouragingly.

"Welcome, Hermione!" He boomed, and loud clapping and whooping suddenly erupted in the hall. Hermione couldn't avoid it anymore and looked around, but she didn't look at the individual people, she just looked at the crowd itself, surprised by how large it was. There had to be at least seven hundred fucking people there.

"Oh, God," she said under her breath, her eyes frantically searching for Draco.

She met his silver eyes just over Tom's shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked genuinely happy and was clapping politely along with everyone else. He was wearing a suit that matched his fathers and looked ridiculously good – it almost wasn't fair that there were people on the planet who just looked so fucking good in anything they chose to wear. She was checking him out in appreciation before she remembered that her Marking Ceremony was neither the time nor the place for such antics. She met his eyes again and realized he had seen exactly what she was doing – he looked pretty fucking proud of himself as he gave her a small smile, his eyes twinkling at her.

"As you all know, you're here tonight to witness and celebrate the marking of our newest member, Hermione Granger! She came to us a couple weeks ago with some of our younger members, beaten and abused, under a horrific curse that was meant to kill her – and would have, if I hadn't known the counter curse. I'd appreciate it if everyone could ensure that she feel welcomed in our group, regardless of her blood status!"

There was more cheering and Tom was suddenly gathering her left hand in his before saying, "Bellatrix, if you could do the honours?"

"It would be my pleasure, Tom," Bellatrix said evenly, approaching Hermione with her wand drawn – the image was made less frightening by the fact that the black haired woman was smiling at her pleasantly.

"Are you ready to take the Oath, Hermione?" Tom asked loudly so his voice could reach all areas of the hall.

"I am," she said, smiling at the man as Bellatrix hovered around them, her wand mere inches from the skin on Hermione's hand.

"Do you, Hermione Jean Granger, from here on out vow to do everything in your power to assist this side of the war?"

"I do," Hermione said immediately, trying to speak just as loudly as Tom was and wanting this to be over – she truly did hate large groups of people.

"Do you vow to be faithful and loyal to me and our fellow Death Eaters?" Tom asked, gesturing to the crowd. Hermione looked out at the huge crowd again without actually looking at individual people but she thought everyone was smiling up at her – that's what it felt like, anyway. Hermione locked her eyes with Draco's as she said, "I do," while letting out a breath.

"Do you vow, Hermione Granger, to be the best Death Eater you can possibly be and keep yourself and the group you are assigned to alive to the best of your ability?"

"I do," she said, her eyes drifting back to Tom's – she would sincerely do everything in her power to make sure Draco and his friends stayed alive whether she had taken a vow or not. Not just because they were her squad-mates but because she genuinely liked them and couldn't imagine being without them. They'd saved her and she would never, ever be able to turn her back on that – even if she hadn't been friendly with Theo and Blaise before they'd found her she still wouldn't. She would do everything in her power to make sure that these men lived throughout the war.

"And lastly, do you vow to kill or torture anyone that is asked of you without hesitation?"

Hermione closed her eyes upon hearing that question, contemplating the words seriously. Could she vow to kill Harry Potter? Ronald Weasley? She thought about everything they'd put her through, not just the beating, the rape and the curse, but everything they'd done since they were eleven years of age. How they'd make fun of her behind her back while foolishly thinking she didn't know; how Harry would take Ron's side over everything, even when he was being a complete fucking git. She thought about how Harry would always run out of the castle for quidditch practice and expect Hermione to do all of his fucking homework for him so he could go out and have some fun – a habit Ron picked up once he'd joined the team. How they'd lied to her about everything, every fucking thing, for the last two years and kept her locked up in a house, just so Ron could eventually burst into her room and attempt to destroy her.

"I definitely do," she said, leaving out the curse that was on the tip of her tongue for Narcissa's sake. She could just imagine how embarrassed the woman would be if Hermione swore at a public event while she everyone was focused on her.

Tom grinned at her while a blue light shot from Bellatrix's wand and wound itself over his and Hermione's joined hands. The twisting blue light stopped after a few moments and everyone was still while the magic determined whether Hermione was being truthful or not. After a few painful moments it sunk into their skin, validating Hermione's words and binding her to the cause.

Cheers erupted again as soon as the light had disappeared and Hermione jumped slightly, surprised by the support she was receiving. It made her feel warm and fuzzy and so fucking welcomed – a feeling she wasn't used to at all and she couldn't help but to smile out toward the crowd.

"Your left arm, please," Tom requested, holding his hand out.

New butterflies emerged in her stomach as she stretched out her arm and placed it in Tom's hand – he gripped it by her wrist and lifted his wand carefully. He met her eyes for a fleeting moment before he pressed his wand into her skin and said, "Morsmordre!"

It wasn't so bad at first, but after a few moments Hermione could literally feel her skin cells burning away and morphing – filling with the black ink-like substance that twisted and curved into the Dark Mark. It continued to get more painful, her eyes widening as the skin on her arm bubbled and burned. She turned her eyes to Draco, who was looking like he wanted to run over to her and whisk her away from the pain and managed to give him a small smile – her eyes feeling somewhat watery. She wouldn't cry or shout out though, not in front of all these fucking strangers who would peg her as weak if she did something as foolish as that.

He smiled back and just like that, the pain stopped.

"Welcome, Hermione!" Tom shouted again as more cheers and clapping erupted from all over the ballroom.

Hermione looked out again, and this time actually looked at the people before almost falling off the side of the dais in shock.

Standing about halfway through the large room was none other than Ginny fucking Weasley!

"Oh my God," Hermione breathed, ripping her eyes away from a clapping Ginny before taking in even more people that she was surprised to see.

Justin Finch-Fletchley – a Muggleborn and former member of the Order of the Phoenix. Dennis Creevey- a Muggleborn who's brother was part of the Order of the phoenix. Romilda Vane. Alicia Spinnet, and was that Padma Patil?! Oh, fuck! It was!

Hermione was shocked but elated at how many people she recognized in the crowd. It was also full of students she'd known who attended Slytherin but that wasn't really a surprise. She did notice that Pansy Parkinson was giving her the major fucking stink eye and she decided to have a little fun at her expense, but she'd try and keep it together until after she'd spoken to Draco. It was a snap decision but she suddenly felt like she wanted to get the whole marriage talk out of the way at some point during the night.

Draco was by her side suddenly, escorting her down the stairs to the dais and to a table where his parents were sitting, smiling proudly in her direction. While she'd been inspecting the crowd tables with food had appeared and she was suddenly ravenous.

"You did great," Draco said from her side, her left scarred hand clamped tightly in his right as he pulled her through the crowd of people who were all congratulating her and smiling, their shoulders bumping because there were so many people in the room.

"Thanks," Hermione breathed, distracted. She couldn't help but to stare at the mark on her arm – a mark she had been taught to detest since she was eleven years old, but she was one of them now and was quickly learning that all was not as it seemed. She traced it with her eyes slowly, wanting nothing more than to reach out and trace it with her fingers, thinking about the smouldering burn that imprinted it onto her skin. This was her life, now – she was a Death Eater. A fucking Death Eater! She had been taken into a new wizarding order with open arms and nothing but kindness and she never thought she would treasure the Dark Mark so immensely and immediately, it showed her who was really there for her and it made her feel a part of something.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked as they approached the table. He let go of her hand gently and pulled out a chair for her to sit in – always a gentleman, well, in front of his mum at least.

"Did I see Ginny fucking Weasley in that crowd or was I hallucinating?!" She asked the table loudly, causing Narcissa to cringe and Draco to smile widely.

"You saw her."

"How the hell did that happen?!"

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to speak with her after dinner, Hermione, but for now you should really try to eat something."

Hermione focused her attention on the table in front of her and her mouth started to water immediately. It was laden down with food and she hadn't eaten a thing all day thanks to the butterflies in her stomach.

"Eat, dear, I noticed you hardly touched anything today," Narcissa said, picking up her own plate and putting small, even portions on it. Hermione grabbed up her own plate and started piling a ridiculous amount of food on it, making Draco laugh and Narcissa cringe again. She had to hand it to the woman – she was irritated by most things that Hermione did but she never openly criticized her in a way that made her feel like shit. They were completely different people and Hermione was happy to see that Narcissa was accepting of that – especially if they were going to technically be related within the next six months.

"Hermione," she heard as she was putting a mound of Yorkshire puddings onto her plate before smothering them in gravy. She noticed Draco turn his attention to whoever was standing just behind her shoulder and gave him a look – he shrugged and continued to watch. "I'm shocked to see you here."

Hermione turned to Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Muggleborn in her year at school who was in the Hufflepuff house.

"I could say the same," she said as they shook hands. "I was glad to see a few familiar faces, anyway." She turned in her seat fully to face the man who was looking way more grown up than she felt. He looked happy though.

"What caused you to defect?" He asked casually.

Hermione swung her face away from him instantly upon hearing the question, her hair hiding her eyes from Justin's view; Draco's brow creased at the question and her attitude toward it. It would be a long time before she was actually alright, he figured. He hadn't seen her interact with someone who didn't know what had happened and he really didn't like the way she looked almost ashamed of herself. It made him absolutely fucking sick to think that she felt even a tiny bit responsible. He sent Justin a small glare, but the other man wasn't looking his way.

"A lot of things," Hermione answered vaguely.

Justin nodded, "I understand," he said, even though Hermione and Draco were both sure that he didn't.

"Do you like it?" Hermione asked, pulling her hair behind her ear and looking back at her friend, genuinely curious. "Being a part of the Death Eaters?"

"I do, actually. It's certainly different than we were taught when we were younger, but I find it more enjoyable than being in the Order. We actually do productive things – not just attacking innocent people and planning. Tom really does treat everyone fairly, also, which is important to me – Harry just…"

It was clear that Justin didn't want to speak ill of their former friend even though they were both following Tom Riddle now.

"Harry is an arrogant pig-headed arse and he'll learn the hard way that he's going about everything the wrong way. Did you know that they purposely attacked a non-affiliated Pureblood's house and even though the witch was fucking pregnant they still tortured her?"

"I was already following Tom then and I knew the witch. It was horrible and Tom was raging mad."

"It was truly awful. I objected it and was banned from the meetings for weeks."

"He's sick," Justin spat, speaking of Harry, clearly still angry about it. "I should let you eat, though," he said, gesturing to the plate of food in front of her.

Hermione nodded and said, "It was so nice to see you," before turning back to the table. Blaise and Theo had joined them now, each with a plate of food in front of them and it seemed as though Draco decided he'd be better off drinking instead of eating anything. Lucius immediately pulled the men into a conversation and Hermione was quite happy to just sit and listen so she could eat her meal.

"Can we talk when you're done eating?" Draco asked suddenly, sipping from his glass and looking slightly nervous.

"Of course," Hermione answered, smiling at him graciously. She didn't miss the fact that Theo and Blaise heard Draco's question before turning to each other with a grin.

Tonight was the night and apparently everyone fucking knew it.

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