Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling. Titania Orion belongs to me. I've stopped trying to be clever with this disclaimer.
Enjoy!
Chapter 11: The Impossible Task
"I always forget how much I hate those Muggle-fuckers," I snapped as Severus and I hurried our way back to Knockturn Alley.
"I never forget," Severus said softly.
"You know what I mean. And I didn't even get to have my fucking ice cream. What a nightmare. I would have liked one more week of solitude without having to endure Pettigrew's stupid laugh or Potter's inane insults."
"That makes two of us," Severus said, opening the door to the inn for me. "Just think of all the knowledge we've gained this summer…they'd be powerless against us if ever we had them on our own."
"Against you, maybe. And you've always been clever, Sev. I bet you knew half of this before Lucius taught us anything."
We wandered into my room and I began to cram my purchases into my slovenly packed school trunk. I looked up at him to see if he would confirm or deny my statement; he merely shrugged, much as I'd expected.
I'd just been about to open my mouth and ask what was on the agenda for the day when there was a knock at my door.
"Come in!" I called, crossing my fingers that it was not one of the servile house elves.
The door swung open, and Lucius strode inside.
"Good afternoon, Severus, Titania," he said.
He paused after he said my name and gave an impatient sigh.
"You have something on your face, Titania, and this would be a good day to make yourself look presentable," he said, glancing back at Severus as if to check whether he looked more put together than I did. "Tonight, the two of you, along with all of this summer's other new recruits who have been deemed satisfactory, will finally be meeting our Dark Lord. It is tonight that you will be branded with the mark and given your first tasks as Death Eaters."
"Already?!" I squeaked.
Lucius sighed again. "The summer is nearly over, Titania."
"Oh, right. I know."
"We will depart here at nine o'clock tonight, after dinner."
"What will be expected of us tonight?" Severus asked.
"Our prompt arrival is imperative. You will address the Dark Lord as 'My Lord' or 'Master' when he speaks to you. Do not fidget or speak out of turn. No matter the task set before you, you will accept it graciously and without question. Can you comply with these things?"
He looked to me even though Severus had been the one to ask the question.
"Yes, my Lord," I said jokingly.
"The Dark Lord does not appreciate a sense of humor," Lucius said snippily.
"And neither do you, clearly" I said. "I'll behave."
"Stop being cheeky, Titania."
"I don't believe I need to tell you that I'll refrain from childish behavior," Severus said to Lucius.
"Of course not," said Lucius. "Now, go make yourselves presentable and I will see you both later for dinner."
He left. I extracted a mirror from my trunk and rubbed at the spot of ice cream still dirtying my face.
"What do you think these tasks could be? Surely, we can't do much while we're at school," I mused.
Severus shrugged. "Maybe we are simply expected to scope out potential new recruits for next summer's training."
"Hopefully. But Lucius made it sound like it would be more involved than that. What more could we need to do to prove ourselves in addition to this summer's training?"
"We'll just have to wait and see."
Dinner was a quiet affair, the silence rarely even broken by the clinks of silverware or crunch of chewing, as neither Severus nor I bothered to touch our food. After dinner — if you could even call it that — we retired to our rooms to retrieve our masks and hooded cloaks before meeting Lucius in his suite.
"I will be receiving the Dark Lord's call shortly," Lucius explained, glancing at the antique grandfather clock in the corner. He rolled up his sleeve to reveal the red skull burned into his flesh. "I want you two to Apparate along with me to our destination."
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the skull glaring up at me, bright against Lucius's pale forearm. Soon, I, too, would permanently bear the tattoo. I realized the finality of my decision as I watched the shape turn suddenly black. My eyes darted up to Lucius's face; his eyes fluttered briefly closed and his jaw tensed, but he regained his composure almost immediately.
"Now!" he commanded, and Severus and I each grabbed a hold of one of Lucius's forearms.
I don't know where I'd expected to end up, but in the middle of some dark, random field hadn't been at the top of my list of choices. I made my entrance by toppling over as soon as my feet hit the ground. Severus hauled me up quickly by the collar of my robes, likely anxious about the impact my clumsy entrance would have on our fate.
Once I gathered my bearings, I noticed Severus, Lucius and I, along with a few other faceless fellows, were standing inside a broken circle of hooded and masked figures. I assumed the other figures that presently didn't have a designated spot were Avery and Mulciber. I'd been so busy trying to identify my fellow Death Eaters that I barely even noticed that the Dark Lord was standing amongst us until he spoke.
It took everything in me not to topple over again as a hissing voice filled the silence. It was a voice like I'd never heard before, sibilant and inhuman. My eyes followed the sound and fell upon the most alarming individual I'd ever seen. An oddly reptilian face matched the snakelike voice. Red eyes glowed eerily in the darkness. I tried unsuccessfully to suppress an involuntary shiver, remembering Lucius's command not to fidget. Lucius placed a hand on my lower back, and I wondered whether it was supposed to be comforting or a reminder to behave.
"Greetings, my friends," the Dark Lord hissed. "I welcome those of you who are joining my noble cause."
He prowled around those of us inside the circle, pausing to look at each of us new recruits. He approached Severus first. I held my breath.
"State your name," he commanded.
"Severus Snape," Severus said; his voice betrayed no hint of emotion.
"Ahh, Lucius has spoken most highly of you," the Dark Lord said thoughtfully. He nodded to Lucius, who was standing, head held high, between me and Severus. Returning his gaze to Severus, he commanded, "Extend your left arm."
Severus obeyed, pulling up his sleeve as he did so. The Dark Lord withdrew a lengthy wand from his pocket and placed the tip to Severus's flesh.
"Do you swear to live by my creed: to eradicate the world of Mudblood filth, to put the Muggles in their rightful place, to demonstrate your pride in being of pure blood?"
"Yes, my Lord," Severus whispered.
The Dark Lord then forcefully stated an incantation the likes of which I'd never heard before, and a fire burst forth from his wand, burning its way along Severus's flesh, twisting into the gruesome pattern of the skull and snake. Despite his mask, I could see Severus clench his jaw tightly in pain, though he showed no other sign of distress. I imagined his overly large nostrils flaring as they so often did when he was stressed or irritated, a look with which I was quite familiar.
The Dark Lord removed his wand theatrically from Severus's forearm. The tattoo was still smoking slightly, a glowing red burn clearly visible against Severus's pale, greenish skin. He unclenched his hand slowly and lowered his arm to his side, careful not to let the fabric of his sleeve unroll and irritate the burn.
"Thank you, Master," he said, his words forced and breathless, but still calm.
The Dark Lord turned next to me.
"State your name," he commanded once again.
"Titania Orion," I said, proud that I managed not to stutter.
"I believe you come from the line of Borgins?"
"Yes, my Lord," I affirmed.
"I see…your mother was quite infamous in her day. Maybe you will possess her same powers?"
"Maybe, my Lord," I replied, wondering immediately if I should have answered in the affirmative.
Possess her powers? What the hell did he mean by that? Well, I knew what he meant. I'd heard stories, rumours, of my mother's and her sister Belinda's famed promiscuity. The two of them had broken countless hearts (and banks, allegedly) of the men who had dared to fall for them in their prime…but what did that have to do with me? Was that why I'd been brought on?! Surely not. I'd only ever been with one person!
But then again, that person was Lucius Malfoy. What would he be doing with the likes of me if I didn't possess some strange powers of seduction of which I was ignorant?
"Few women have joined my ranks. I do hope you prove yourself useful in that regard, and that Lucius has not led me astray in his recommendation. Your arm," he stated.
I extended my arm, doing the best I could to keep it steady and not flinch when the cool tip of his wand pressed into my skin.
"Do you swear to live by my creed: to eradicate the world of Mudblood filth, to put the Muggles in their rightful place, to demonstrate your pride in being of pure blood?" the Dark Lord asked me.
I hesitated. Maybe it was because I'd just been thinking of my mother and Aunt Belinda, but my cousin Veruka's face popped into my mind's eye, wearing her usual expression of happily exasperated concern as only she could. I hadn't spoken to her since the "Borgin Brawl," but was I sealing my fate against ever having a relationship with my cousin — my once best friend — ever again?
Lucius gave a little cough next to me.
"Y-yes, my Lord," I said quickly, realizing I likely had more to fear by saying "no" to the Dark Lord than by saying "yes."
Suddenly, the wood of his wand wasn't cool; it was blazing. A fire erupted not just on my skin, but in my skin, a thousand burning needles tattooing the pattern into my flesh. I bit down on my lower lip and clenched my nails into my palm so hard I nearly drew blood.
And then, it was over. I breathed a humiliatingly obvious sigh of relief, thankful that my mask concealed the involuntary tears that stung my eyes. I looked down at the angry weal on my arm, raw, glistening, and smirking up at me, permanent like my decision to join the Dark Lord's ranks. I flexed my left hand a few times as the Dark Lord moved onto Avery and Mulciber. Between the darkness and the masks and hoods, I was unable to discern whether or not they handled the pain any better than I had. Though the fire had died and the smoke cleared, my skin still burned. I blinked back the residual tears in my eyes and steadied my breath as the Dark Lord took his place in the center of our circle.
"New Death Eaters, you may now take your places among us."
Lucius led me and Severus to one of the open gaps in the circle before taking his own place across from us. I glanced around again at the faceless faces. This was my family now. I let my eyes finally fall upon Lucius, and he gave a subtle nod of approval. The Dark Lord spoke again.
"And now," he announced, "you shall receive your first official assignments."
He spoke to us in the reverse order in which he had bestowed us with the Mark: first Mulciber, then Avery, then me. My thoughts were racing so quickly I heard nothing of the tasks set before my fellows. My mind darted to the nearly immediate future: What would my task be? It stumbled blindly through the uncertainty of my final year of Hogwarts. It sprinted ahead to life as a full time Death Eater, meandered through fantasies of nights to be spent in Lucius's arms…
And came to a dead stop when I discovered the Dark Lord standing right in front of me. I jumped involuntarily.
"Orion," he hissed. "Or should I say Borgin? Pure blood runs in your veins from both sides of your family tree, naturally. But not all those in your family are loyal to my cause. We could use more like you, and we can't have pure-bloods against us. Bring me your fellow Borgin; covert your cousin Veruka Infinite to be one of my Death Eaters. You have until the end of your seventh year to convert her…"
He let his voice trail off nastily, leaving me no doubt in my mind something horrible would happen if I didn't follow through. My thoughts rushed forward once again, and this time I caught only blurred images — Veruka evading me, denying me; me sobbing to Lucius that the task before me was impossible; the Dark Lord's haunting voice telling me, 'You have failed me; now, one of you has to die…'
I gasped, but managed to breathe out a feeble, "Yes, my Lord."
"Good," he sneered, and then moved along to Severus.
Maybe I was getting ahead of myself. Yes. Surely, it was this creepy night, this lonely field, this total uncertainty of my new life, that was making me blow things out of proportion!
Shivers ran through my body, and I hoped those around me either didn't notice, or attributed this slight spasm to the chill wind that night. I was so wrapped up in my anxiety that I didn't even catch what was required of Severus, either. It was all I could do to stay in control of my limbs, much less my mind.
The last thing I remember of that godforsaken evening was the Dark Lord announcing to the group at large, "Do not fail me…or you will suffer my displeasure."