Sorry for the tardiness, been awfully busy.

Too tired to check the names, so I'll just say thanks to all the reviewers! You know who you are. I'm only writing this fine piece of literature (or not) because of you!

Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable.


"Antonin?"

"Yes, Master?"

The boy pointed his wand at the other and said:

"Confundo!"

The other boy, Antonin, looked dazed for a while. Tom observed him closely, the muttered in his ear:

"You are unhappy about the marriage arranged by your parents. You will write to them, refusing to marry Eileen Prince, make sure the two of you never marry, and never bother her with the subject. And you will forget I ever did this."

Dolohov closed his eyes for a moment. Tom backed away, and sat down on one of the worn out, black couches in the Slytherin common room. Slowly, Dolohov came back to normal, and turned to Tom as if nothing had happened.

"My Lord, I need your help with the Charms essay."

"Sure, Dolohov. Bring it to me."

Dolohov retreated to the dormitories. Tom relaxed back into the couch. He had nothing to worry about, he had performed Confunding spells for a few years now. Finally, the Prince issue was over. The girl was one of his own now, and would get a taste of the life of a Death Eater tomorrow night, on her first ever meeting. Dolohov came back, sitting next to his master and handing him the essay. Tom looked at it nonchalantly and proceeded to tap it with his wand. Meanwhile, the Black boys entered the room, two of them laughing heartily at something. Dolohov turned to them and asked:

"What's that about?"

Cygnus and his cousin Orion were the ones laughing. Cygnus's brother Alphard was smiling, but looked at the other two disapprovingly.

"Orion here just levitated that bloody first-year, Greyback, in front of everyone in the third-floor!"

Alphard rolled his eyes. Dolohov laughed, and Tom didn't even look up.

"The kid's odd though, didn't even flinch or anything, just stood there."

"It's still humiliating, he'll have learned his lesson."

Tom spoke up, still not focused on the essay.

"There's no need for that. All the boy wants is to be one of mine. For now, he is too young…but boys grow."

"Yes, Master, but he could never. He's weird, he is. Never talks to anyone, he's always in his own world. And the things they say of him!"

"Yes, Cygnus, I know the rumors. Still, I don't believe Dumbledore would go as far as taking a werewolf under his wing and protecting him, much less hiding him every month. Dippet would surely never approve."

"If you'll excuse me, Master, that's the thing. What they say is that Dippet doesn't know. Heck, the old bat wouldn't know a werewolf if he bit him in the ass, literally. They say Dumbledore hides him in that abandoned house in Hogsmeade."

Tom looked up.

"That sounds more likely, but I for one do not believe it still. Rumors in this school have never been proven to be true." That was a fact. Often, these rumors were manipulated by Tom himself.

Alphard, the only one who hadn't spoken up yet, raised his voice.

"Actually, if I may, Master, Dumbledore was the one who stopped them from locking Greyback in the broom closet. Came in all stern and angry. Said this school should learn to accept everyone as they are, and took Greyback to his office."

One of Tom's eyebrows was raised at this.

"This might mean that what they say is right."

"Exactly, my Lord."

"And if that is so, if Greyback is indeed more than he lets on…" He drifted off, lost in his thoughts. The others didn't reply, used to their master's lack of communication. Dolohov was looking over his new essay, clearly pleased.

It was already late, and the boys went to sleep. Tom stayed for a while longer, thinking, them did the same.

The following day was a Saturday, so there were no classes. Eileen rose, ready to start finishing all of her homework for the week. She was a fair student at everything, except in Potions. Between homework, study, and Gobstones, the day went by quickly, and soon enough, it was midnight, time for her first-ever meeting. Tom had told her that, to be one of his followers, the first step was to be taken tonight. She smiled; Dolohov wasn't even that big a deal anymore. She dressed carefully, straightened her black hair with her wand, and went on to the seventh floor. She was told to stand in front of the tapestry with Barnabas the Barmy, and wait, so she did. Some minutes later, Malfoy, Cygnus and Orion Black appeared on the corner, coming in her direction. Malfoy was the first to speak:

"Follow us, Prince."

They walked past the wall opposite the tapestry three times. A wooden door appeared on the wall, and they gestured for her to follow them.

It was a very gloomy room, just big enough for the people in it. Similarly to their common room, the floor was made of stone. It had some lamps hanging on the ceiling, and a hard, round, wooden table in the middle, with about ten chairs around it. A bigger chair with small snakes sculpted in the armrests stood out, facing the door. Everyone in the room was Slytherin, as far as Eileen knew. There was Malfoy, Cygnus and Orion, obviously. She recognized Alphard Black, Dolohov, and Yaxley. After a few moments, she realizes she was the only girl in the room. Apparently, that didn't make her any more appealing, since said boys didn't even glance. They all started to sit down around the table, and she made to do the same when the door opened, and Tom came in. The boys, who had until then been chatting, stopped, and the room fell into silence. A sort of danger could be felt in the environment, or perhaps just from Tom's person, and Eileen liked it. The boys fell on one knee, bowing to their Master, and Eileen followed suit.

"Stand up."

They did. Tom walked slowly to the bigger chair, and sat down, feeling the snakes in the armrests with a slight smile. He gestured to Eileen and said:

"You are to sit here.", motioning to the seat closest to his. She stood up, her heart racing, and sat in her chair. She didn't dare to look Tom in the eye.

"As you may or may not have guessed, we have a new member among us. She is Eileen Prince, fifth-year Slytherin."

Eileen looked around awkwardly. Was she supposed to wave, or say something?

"Master, she is a girl.", said one boy she didn't know. Tom looked at him, with a sort of disdainful look.

"I am aware of that, Jonas. I decided some diversity would be beneficial amongst mine." He paused, and stood up. He climbed his chair and stood on the table, pacing around until he was on the opposite side.

"You all know the procedures. Eileen, step up to the table."

She did so. The others stood up, standing around the table. Tom moved closer to her, and said:
"Pull your left sleeve up."

She looked at him, doubtful, anxious, and thrilled as well.

"Abraxas, you will be the one to perform today."

Malfoy climbed the table, and stood between Eileen and Tom. He didn't look pleased at all. Tom raised his voice to the others, and said:

"We shall now perform the spell that shall brand Eileen Prince as a Death Eater, a follower of Lord Voldemort forever."

He then raised his hand and directed it at Malfoy, muttering something. The pale boy looked a bit scared, and closed his eyes. Tom closed his as well, looking the same, but Malfoy looked as if he was going through extreme pain. Eileen didn't know whether this was accidental or if Tom meant it, she didn't know what was going on. Suddenly, Malfoy jerked up, and spoke up, in a louder, deeper voice not unlike Tom's, pointing his wand at her:

"Eileen Prince," she felt something in her, like butterflies in her stomach, flutter, but in a very odd, not pleasurable way. Greenish black sparks started to come out of Malfoy's wand, wrapping around her and Tom, who still kept his eyes closed, like some kind of matter, not entirely liquid or gas ", do you solemnly swear to become one of Lord Voldemort's own followers, to fight for his power and to defend his ideals, until the day you succumb to death?"

She said, in a tiny voice, but sure of herself. This was what she had been raised to fight for, this was what she wanted:

"I do." The sparks turned darker.

"Do you swear to do whatever necessary to uphold Lord Voldemort's cause and to guarantee his success?"

"I do." The sparks were darker still.

"Do you swear to submit to whatever wishes of your Master, for you acknowledge that he is unparalleled, powerful and glorious like no other wizard, before of after him?"

"I do." Darker.

"Do you swear to aid Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters in purging the world of those not worthy enough to experience Magic, as well as supporting his rise to infinite power, over Wizards, Witches, Magic and Death?"

"I do." Darker.

"And finally, do you swear to hold your Master's life before your own, as well as defending your fellow Death Eaters at all costs?"

"I do." The sparks were fully black now.

"Then, in accordance to the vows you have just pronounced, you are forever bonded to you Master. You are to be marked with his brand on your skin."

The zombie-esque Tom crossed the small distance between them, grabbed her exposed arm, and held his hands to the inside of her forearm. The others were watching. Eileen looked at Tom, once – his eyes were now open, and the pupils were completely red. She was frightened at this, but even if she wanted to, she couldn't move. Malfoy raised his wand, pointed it at her arm, Tom's hands still around it, and yelled, in Tom's voice:
"MORSMORDRE!"

Eileen screamed into the night, as she felt like the skin in her arm was being ripped apart. The sparks turned a sickening gold, and a blackish substance flowed from the tip of Malfoy's wand, onto Eileen's arm.


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