Chapter 7

Hermione and Blaise looked at each other warily, before following Snape's billowing cloaks into the Malfoy's dining room. Blaise had been here countless times before, but the Manor's former glory had deteriorated to a somber gloom.

"My Lord," Snape addressed, bowing low before Voldemort's cloaked figure. Hermione and Blaise followed his example, addressing him with the proper hint of reverence. Behind Voldemort's elevated chair emerged a crazed woman, her unruly locks rivaling those of Medusa's.

"Severuss..." The Dark Lord hissed, acknowledging his servant. "Have you brought them to me?"

"May I introduce Ms. Hermione Granger and Mr. Blaise Zabini," Snape enunciated slowly, sweeping to the side so that Hermione and Blaise fell under Voldemort's gaze.

He looked both of the students up and down, appraising them like a carefully selecting butcher.

"Leave uss!" The Dark Lord hissed at Snape, who then strode out of the room, slamming the black doors shut behind him. The silence stretched on, and the dark-haired woman approached the fourteen year olds.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the itty bitty Mudblood," Bellatrix jeered, emerging from the shadows. "So these are Snape's... protégé," she sniffed disdainfully. "Baby Blaise has grown up a bit, hasn't he?" She approached them, and began circling them predatorily.

"So, what do you think, Bella?" Voldemort asked softly. "Are they... assets, to our cause?"

"Well, this boy..." Bella said slowly, tracing his jawline with a clawed finger, "will make a... tasty specimen. His intelligence will surely be a bonus," she said slowly, looking up and down his body. "He, he is worthy," she concluded, then walking up behind Hermione.

"But this one," Bellatrix whispered. "Her blood, it's filth. We kill the likes of these," Bellatrix spat.

Voldemort chuckled maliciously. "Oh Bella, you aren't questioning my judgement, are you?" he suggested dangerously.

Bellatrix didn't miss a beat.

"Of course not, my Lord," she smirked. "The Mudblood's intelligence surely makes up for that. She is useful, at least.. temporarily." Bellatrix paused for a moment, and then tugged on Hermione's hair.

"I question, not your choice, my Lord, but hers. Why did Gryffindor's Golden Girl come to the Slytherin side?" Bellatrix cocked her head, maneuvering herself to face Hermione directly. "Hmm? Can you be trusted? Why so eager to join a cause that destroys the very people with your filth?" Hermione stood still, unwavering and meeting Bellatrix's psychotic stare.

"Although," Hermione began, controlling her voice so it wouldn't shake. "I may not believe in mudbloods or halfbloods or purebloods, I believe in intellectual capacity, and the lack of it. As far as I have observed, almost all muggle borns are simple minded. They don't deserve the gift of magic - their brains can't even begin to imagine the power they possess. Don't even get me started on muggles. Obviously, the people who aren't smart enough survive the Death Eaters' purification don't deserve to."

"Interesting," Voldemort smiled.

"So why join with us?" Bellatrix hissed.

"Because I'm tired of the stupid," Hermione spat, her voice trembling with both passion and nervousness. "The Death Eaters are an elite group, are they not? Not only are they elite in their own status and family, but they understand the power they hold, and how to wield it. That's the true power of the Death Eaters. And that is the cause I wish to join."

"But what about your friends. Potter? Weasley? Malfoy?" Bellatrix hissed. Hermione paused for a fraction of a second, but Bellatrix barrelled on.

"Oh, so the girl with all the answers no longer has any?" Bellatrix taunted. "How does it feel, to be in the snake's nest, love? How's your Gryffindor courage sustaining you?" Bellatrix face was centimeters from Hermione's, and Hermione fought every urge to flinch.

"Weasley?" Hermione laughed. "Not only is he a blood traitor, but he's as thick as Hogwarts A History. Without even a word of information stuck up in that vacant head of his. Potter's as dumb as a stump. Malfoy betrayed his own family! They're no friends of mine. They've isolated me, just because I've a better mind than them. They doomed themselves the moment they called me an 'insufferable know-it-all'."

A few minutes ticked by. Bellatrix giggled. "Very good, dear. Perhaps you are worthy. Perhaps you have legitimate reasons for joining our side."

Bellatrix then whirled back to her lord. "I propose a test, for the mudblood girl. If she really wants to rid the magical world of filth, then have her cleanse her own history, shall we?" Bellatrix chortled maniacally. "For her initiation, why don't we have her... play with her filthy muggle parents?"

Voldemort's red eyes bored into Hermione's expressionless face. "Well, Ms. Granger? Is that a... suitable proposition?"

Hermione bowed her head, and then met Voldemort's eyes.

"Anything for you and the cause, my Lord."

As the Order meeting concluded, Harry desperately tried to catch Paige's eye, but was completely ignored for Oliver, who smiled down at the blonde. It hurt, damn it. Oliver was a great guy, and Harry couldn't have asked for anyone better to take care of Paige, but it stung, every time they linked hands.

"Sirius?" Harry asked after the rest of the Order filed out of the room..

"Hmm?" Sirius replied, absentmindedly staring out.

"I don't know if it's my place, but... it's been bugging me for a while. Why did you take Draco in? At the end of fourth year. I mean, I know Voldemort began occupying the Manor, but back then, you hated all Malfoys. Regardless of what I told you about him." Harry scratched the back of his neck nervously, looking at his godfather.

Sirius sighed, putting his hands on the table. "Did Draco tell you what happened?"

"He didn't want to relive it," Harry frowned, remembering Draco's vague mutterings as he tossed and turned at night. "He screams, sometimes, in his nightmares. But he can't tell me what went wrong."

Sirius became worried, and decided that Draco wouldn't mind Harry knowing. It seemed that Draco would have told Harry, had he been able to himself.

"At the end of fourth year, Harry, Voldemort knew he needed an heir," Sirius began, in a low voice. "However the hell he managed to come back, Voldy realized that without a centralized leader, the Death Eater movement fell through. In case something like that ever happened again, he needed a successor, even if it was temporary. The first choice, obviously, was Draco..."

Harry suddenly realized where this was going.

"When Draco was first confronted with the idea, luckily it was his father who asked, not Voldypoo himself." Harry snickered at the nickname, but became serious again under Sirius's glare. "It seems that Lucius desperately wanted to be in the Mold Lord's good books, and so, proposed the idea to Draco."

"Sirius," Harry interrupted, trying to hold back a laugh. "I can't take you seriously when you call Voldemort all of those names. It really detracts from the story."

"All right, all right," Sirius agreed. "Anyways, at that point, Draco refused, knowing that it would be the only chance he got. If Voldemort himself had asked Draco in person, there would have been no way that Draco could have survived, or at least, survived with his sanity intact. You know how brutal that son-of-a-bitch is, so Lucius tortured him. Tortured him for a week, without food or water. It was only when Draco finally agreed in a fit of hysteria that Lucius stopped, not even Narcissa could quench her husband's rage.

"When Draco was in slightly better health, he knew he had to leave the Manor, and for good. There was no one else he could turn to - he'd never even met Nymphadora, his cousin, so he came to me. Actually, Andromeda - that's Nymphadora's mother, mentioned that Nymphadora's gone missing. Anyways, he literally showed up on my doorstep, with all of his luggage, bruised, beaten, and even skinnier than his normal skeletal frame, begging me to let him stay."

"So why did you let him?"

"Partly because I finally listened to you, and mostly because he reminded me of myself," Sirius said softly. "There he was, a small, beaten teenager, disowned because he stuck to his own principles, his own beliefs. I was beyond grateful when the Potters opened their arms up to me, and I couldn't deny Draco that relief. It's not as if he's ever done anything horrible to you or me, so I let him in."

"Wow," Harry gasped. "No wonder he couldn't tell me. I can't even imagine..."

"And that's not the worst part. You know what the worst part is?" Sirius asked.

"No?" Harry inquired, confused.

"Blaise. And Hermione. They never would've been recruited to Voldemort's side if he had joined. They're his substitutes, personally recommended by Snape, it seems. I told Dumbledore never to trust that slimy bastard. And look what happened!" Sirius snarled.

"Merlin," Harry breathed, finally understanding. "That's what eats away at him, all of the time. He lost Hermione to the Dark, because he stuck to his principles. Well," Harry's voice hardened. "It's not like Blaise and Hermione stuck to theirs."

"I think you're wrong, on that," Draco said quietly from the doorway, his gray eyes dark with guilt.

"Draco?" Harry turned, startled. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Doesn't matter," Draco waved it off dismissively. He slowly walked around the table, sitting in the chair across from Harry and Sirius.

"What do you mean, I'm wrong?" Harry asked, befuddled.

"I don't think they just went gallivanting off with Voldemort," Draco said solemnly. "Honestly, do you really think Hermione would do that? Blaise, maybe, he's been raised by purebloods and all. But Hermione?"

"I don't know what to think of Hermione," Harry spat angrily. "She and Blaise, I don't know that I even knew them."

Sirius shook his head. "Why don't I leave you two alone?" Sirius then left the room.

"I don't understand how you can possibly have any faith left in them." Harry shook his head, disbelievingly. "They betrayed us. They killed Dumbledore. Without them, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Harry stubbornly pounded his fist on the table. "What will make you see them for the traitors they are?"

"Think about it, Harry!" Draco protested.

"Think about what?" Harry thundered, exasperated.

"If I had actually joined Voldemort, they never would've been asked! They would've stayed on the light!" Draco persisted.

"It doesn't matter! They ran to Voldemort because they couldn't handle being on the other side!"

"OF COURSE THEY COULDN'T HANDLE IT. If they personally refused HIM, they'd be dead!" Draco explained, frustrated.

"Then they should have!" Harry seethed. "They should have died rather than betray their friends! THEY WERE OUR FRIENDS!"

But something had clicked, in Draco's mind. "Of course," he whispered.

"What?" Harry demanded, still fuming.

"You're wrong, Harry," Draco stated sadly. "They're not truly evil, and by the time the war ends, we'll know the real reason why they switched over to the dark. And they'll fight beside us, because that's what they've been doing the entire time." Draco stood up, his chair scraping the floor loudly as he pushed it back.

"Goodnight, Harry."

Harry's fists were balled tightly, still sputtering. Why couldn't Draco see that Hermione and Blaise were far gone, and they weren't ever coming back?

AN: Hey guys! Sorry we haven't updated in a while. Between junior year and senior year (yay SATs and College Apps!), we haven't found much time to update. Please review!