Hello again! Here is the initiation. I have to say I considered ending the story here and starting the sequel but I find that I can't end it without giving Hermione some revenge so the story will continue for at least 9 more chapters. Hope you all like it. Remember to read and review.


Hermione spent the next week meeting with Draco everyday to plan for recruitment into the Dark Bloods. They had agreed that Draco and all of their friends would have to pass initiation to make it into the Dark Bloods. There would be no special treatment in Hermione's group. The best would have to prove that they were the best. Draco helped plan out different portions of the initiation but Hermione refused to let him help work on the mark. Only she would know everything that the mark was capable of. She met with her father on multiple occasions to work on her scars. She had decided that her mark would be the word Blood written across each members arm. Her father had made many suggestions for the rituals that went into the mark and Hermione had fashioned a spell that she was quite proud of. Draco had sent out the invitations to the recruits and everyone had responded that they would like to join. The only thing left was initiation.

Draco, Blaise, Theodore, Astoria, Fred, Ginny, and Pansy all stood in the meeting room with Lucius waiting for their initiation to begin. They were all dressed in plain black robes as instructed and everyone had their eyes fixed on a table full of potions and knives. This initiation was promised to be the hardest test of a person's integrity and strength that existed in the ranks of the Death Eaters. Most of the group couldn't wait to begin; others weren't sure what they had gotten themselves into. Everyone jumped as Hermione and her father stepped into the room. Voldemort wore his usual attire of black robes, but Hermione was dressed in a black and red corset with a pair of black leather pants on. She wore sensible boots and a large smile on her face. Everyone couldn't help but notice how her scars on her left arm emitted a bright red glow and that the lettering had been altered to say Dark Bloods.

"Hello," Hermione began with a smile, "I've very glad to see you all here tonight. You have been hand-picked by me and my father to become an elite group of Death Eaters. You will be my Dark Bloods. However, in order to become a member you must first prove yourself. There will be a series of tests and then you will receive your marks. If you pass that is."

Voldemort laughed, "If selected you will become the best of the best. Only those who can handle the challenge will be selected. Now if everyone could please step forward and take a vial of Veritaserum we will begin the initial screening."

Draco was the first to move forward and down a vial of truth potion as the others were still waiting to be told exactly when to move. Hermione smiled as the others followed his lead and she watched the potion take effect in their systems. Each member sat on a stool and Hermione and Voldemort walked from one to the next asking each different questions. They began with Draco.

"Draco," Hermione grinned, "Will you follow orders and carry out the plans set to you by me and my father without question?"

"I will," Draco answered solemnly.

"Would you ever betray the Dark Bloods or I in any way, shape, or form?" Hermione continued with a smile.

"Never," Draco replied straightening his shoulders, "I'd die first."

Hermione nodded and turned serious, "And if you should ever have to choose between me and your family who would you choose?"

Draco was silent for a moment before whispering, "You."

Hermione smirked, "Thank you Draco."

"I'll ask the same questions if you want to head to the next initiate Hermione," Voldemort said seriously as he stepped in front of Draco.

"Of course Father," Hermione replied moving on to Blaise.

Voldemort leaned close to Draco and met his eyes, "I have only one question for you Draco. Do you love my daughter?"

Draco met the Dark Lord's gaze and smiled, "With my entire soul sir."

"Good," Voldemort growled narrowing his eyes, "You had better take care of her or I'll have your head boy."

"Yes sir," Draco replied bowing his head.

Hermione worked her way through half of the initiates before she had her first drop out. Astoria had cringed as the truth potion forced her to explain that she would choose her family over anything in the world. Hermione smiled, "That is all well and good my friend, but the question then becomes who do you consider your family?"

"People related to me by blood." Astoria answered with a wince.

Hermione's smile disappeared, "I see. You know something Astoria; blood can cause more problems than it's worth. For example, my blood is pure. It comes from the noble line of Slytherin, but do you know what that got me? It caused a prophecy that made my closest friends turn on me and carve words into my skin. All because of the blood that runs through my veins. Their actions had nothing to do with who I was and everything to do with where I came from. Perhaps you should think on that."

Astoria closed her eyes and sighed, "I will."

Hermione nodded, "Lucius please escort Astoria to the waiting room. She will have time to think on her failure before you will modify her memory and wipe everything about initiation from her mind. Alter the memory of our conversation so that she can still remember my words."

"Yes ma'am," Lucius answered showing Hermione respect as the leader of the group and guiding a crying Astoria out the door, "No worries my dear. There is nothing to cry over. Trust me you won't remember a thing."

The other teenagers watched as Astoria left and then turned back to Hermione. It had just become obvious how easily they could fail this initiation. Hermione wouldn't let them slide by because they were friends. They were all determined to succeed. Hermione continued through the first phase of initiation without any more problems. They continued onto the second phase of skill testing without any drop outs either. Hermione smiled when Blaise came close to choosing a wrong potion ingredient but caught himself. She offered praise when Ginny cured a particularly difficult hex that had been cast on her, and even clapped when Pansy managed to stun Lucius.

"Now we move onto the final stage of your initiation. It is time to be marked. I would like to inform you all that this will be the hardest part of your initiation." Hermione said looking seriously from one initiate to the next, "I am going to require that each member create their own mark. To prove your strength and determination to the Dark Bloods, me and my father. The Dark Bloods are a family, and will be treated as such. Families fight but they always back each other. My Dark Bloods will do the same thing. Each member will make an Unbreakable Vow to the Dark Bloods. Only after that will you continue by receiving your mark."

Draco nodded stepping forward to start off the vows. Hermione smirked and grabbed his left forearm with hers causing Draco's hand to be spread across her scars, "My father will officiate the Unbreakable Vows."

Voldemort stepped forward and raised his wand, "Will you, Draco Malfoy, promise to devote your life to the Dark Bloods and the cause they pursue?"

"I will," Draco answered as a green light shot from the Dark Lord's wand. He smirked as Hermione's mark flared and shot out a jet of red light that wrapped around Draco's hand as well.

"You may all be wondering what this is." Voldemort smiled deviously looking at the surprise on the other initiates faces, "This is an old magic. It is used in the most sacred of rituals. The binding works exactly like an Unbreakable Vow with an added bonus. The caster and the recipient of the vow are both tied to the spell. This means that Hermione can choose to pardon an Unbreakable Vow. Only she can break the binding, but if she chooses to make the vow stand then both my magic and hers will attack the vow-breaker making death much faster."

"I decided to use this type of vow with my Dark Bloods because there will come a time when I trust you all completely. At that time I will remove the Unbreakable Vow. It is something I want you all to strive for." Hermione added, "It is something that will not be achieved easily."

"Will you swear to never reveal any information about the Dark Bloods and to defend your new family to the best of your ability?" Voldemort continued looking at Draco.

"I will," Draco repeated.

"And will you promise to never lie to or deceive your new family when dealing with important matters?" Voldemort ended.

"I promise," Draco finished solemnly squeezing Hermione's hand as the final strands of light wrapped around their hands and disappeared.

Hermione smiled and turned to the other initiates, "Now we move on to harder things. Draco will now have to create his mark. He will choose a healer from Mr. Malfoy and the Dark Lord. I will be casting my own spells over the mark while he creates it. He has two choices. He can choose a healer who will heal him rapidly or a healer who will push his limits to the very brink. Draco, your choice please?"

"I would have the honor of the Dark Lord being my healer in this ceremony. Though I love my father, he is very protective, and I believe that the Dark Lord will push my limitations without fear of harming me." Draco replied with a nod of respect to his father.

"Well chosen Draco." Hermione praised walking over to the table full of knives, "Now you must be wondering how you are to create your mark. It is simple. You will create your mark the same way mine was created, the old fashioned way. Blood will be the word you use."

Draco swallowed hard and paled as he realized that Hermione expected him to carve the word blood into his arm, "Hermione?"

"I would not ask you to do something that I have not already endured." Hermione reasoned looking at Draco with sadness in her eyes, "You can choose to back out if you want."

"Never," Draco growled approaching the table to pick a knife, "This is my life."

"You may begin when you are ready and take as many breaks as you need." Hermione whispered pulling her wand from her pocket.

Draco nodded as he picked up a four inch dagger with a silver snake wrapped around the handle. Taking a deep breath he pushed the blade into the skin on his left arm. Slowly he began to form the letter B on his arm. He worked his way through the other letters as Hermione whispered spells under her breath. Voldemort watched Draco closely for the first sign that he was losing too much blood. To everyone's surprise Draco worked quickly and had Blood carved into his arm in less than five minutes. The inside of his cheek was bleeding from trying to keep from gasping in pain. He spit the blood out of his mouth, smiled, and dropped the dagger back on the table. The other initiates watched as Draco's blood dripped onto the floor.

"Welcome to the family Draco," Hermione grinned casting a healing charm to stop the bleeding on his arm and hugged him.

Draco hugged her back and whispered, "Nice touch with the mark. Took me by surprise but I like it. It definitely pushes a person's limits."

"Don't worry. You won't keep the scars. It's just for show right now." Hermione whispered back with a giggle.

Draco stepped away from Hermione and shook hands with his father and Voldemort, "You didn't heal me sir?"

"I knew you could handle it. You might feel light headed for awhile but you just proved you will be a strong leader to all the other initiates, and you set a precedent that they will all strive for." Voldemort answered quietly.

"I see," He responded taking his place by Hermione and waiting for her to continue.

"Draco went first because he will be my second in command." Hermione explained looking at the other initiates, "Any quitters or volunteers?"

"I quit," Fred announced quietly, "I love you like a sister Hermione but I can't do this. I hope you understand."

Hermione laughed coldly, "Fred I knew you wouldn't go through with this. I just wondered how long it would take you to actually quit. Lucius please remove him from the room and remove his memories of tonight. He is not to remember anything about this initiation or that he was even invited."

Lucius bowed his head and escorted Fred out of the room, "What about you Ginny? Would you like to quit as well?" Draco sneered glaring at the girl.

"No thank you," Ginny frowned stepping forward to go next, "I finish what I start."

"Very well," Hermione agreed grabbing her arm and allowing Draco to proceed with the Unbreakable Vow.

Ginny gave her vows with a fierce determination in her eyes, but her face paled as she picked up a dagger to begin carving into her skin. She chose Draco as her healer and proceeded to create her mark. She gasped in pain every time she moved the dagger through her skin but kept going. Draco had to give her to blood replenishing spells before she finished her mark, but Ginny did finish it. Hermione smiled, healed her arm and welcomed her into the family. Blaise went next managing to get through his vows and mark with only one blood replenishing potion from Draco. Theodore chose Lucius as his healer and received three spells of healing and stability before he was able to complete his mark. Pansy stepped up last and paused for a moment.

"I'd just like to say that I wouldn't tarnish my skin for anybody that I didn't think was an equal. I respect you Hermione and I love you like a sister. You know I'm a strong witch and can hold my own in a duel. Please don't let my lack of physical strength make you think any less of me." Pansy said in a pleading tone as she grasped Hermione arm to begin the vows.

Hermione grinned, "Thank you Pansy, and trust me. You will grow stronger and I won't think any less of you. The important thing is showing that you can get through the initiation, the rest will come with training."

Pansy smiled as she took her vows to the Dark Bloods. Her demeanor changed and her hand shook as she picked up a knife from the table. She had chosen Blaise to be her healer because he knew how bad Pansy feared death. She slowly began her mark and cried silent tears through the entire process. Blaise cast several calming and healing spells on her throughout the process. She took the longest to complete her mark and finished fifteen minutes later. After completing the last letter Pansy stuck the knife into the table and looked up at her friends.

"I did it!" Pansy grinned as Hermione hugged her and Draco patted her shoulder.

"You did," Hermione agreed with a laugh, "And we are all very proud of you. Welcome to the family!"

"Yes we are both very proud of all of you," Voldemort grinned clapping his hands, "this group will be the greatest thing to happen to the Death Eaters. Now everyone spend the night celebrating. Lucius and I will meet with you all tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you Father," Hermione replied leading the Dark Bloods out the door to head downstairs to party.

They all met up in the living room after separating to get cleaned up. Hermione changed into a silver tank top and let her dark hair down. Ginny put on a green dress and helped Pansy pick out a blue top that brought out her eyes. They met the boys in the living room and immediately started talking about the Dark Bloods. Hermione grinned at Draco who was passing out drinks and sat back to listen to the conversation. Draco shot a smirk back at her as he sat down beside her.

"This is going to be bloody insane," Blaise laughed flopping down between Pansy and Ginny, "We will be the best of the best. I wonder what our first mission will be."

"I'm just excited to finally have sisters. That's the best part, having a true family," Pansy added.

Hermione nodded taking the shot that Draco offered her, "We'll have our share of missions and fights but first we have to be trained so that we can live up to the name. Dark Bloods will be ruthless and deadly. Our name will instill dread into anyone who hears it."

"To the Dark Bloods," Draco said raising his glass to toast. Everyone followed suit and soon they had all settled into a happy atmosphere of drinking and joking. Hermione laughed as Blaise quickly became the center of attention with his different stories and jokes. She noticed that Ginny paid close attention to him but that Theo and Pansy were both very quiet.

"Theo, you couldn't have done anything. It was her responses that caused her to fail. Nothing can be done if she doesn't fit the group." Hermione explained solemnly.

Theodore's head jerked up at the sudden silence in the room and he frowned, "I know that Hermione. But it doesn't mean that I don't wish things had happened differently."

"Don't we all?" Hermione asked coldly taking her drink and leaving the room.

Blaise sneered at Theo as Pansy and Draco both went after Hermione, "Way to go dumbass. Whine about the girl who didn't make it into the group and piss off our leader. That's the best way to start out in this family."

"Blaise try to be understanding," Ginny admonished, "I'm sad too Theo. Fred didn't make it either remember. I don't know what they'll do with him now. Hermione was his only safety net. But you have to look at where you stand. We're going to be part of something great."

"Excuse me if I would like the girl I love to be able to be here too." Theo growled nursing a glass of fire whiskey.

"Well give it a couple weeks and maybe Hermione will reconsider," Blaise snapped, "but bringing down the party and pissing Hermione off isn't the way to get her here."

"Blaise!" Ginny huffed giving him a look.

"What it's true and you know it. We just made it through initiation. We should be celebrating not fighting. Geez. Get over it Theo. Astoria will get here or she won't but that's on her. We can't change that." Blaise defended grabbing the bottle of fire whiskey off the table and pouring more in his glass.

Theo sighed, "I know alright! It's just driving me crazy. To be honest of all the people invited I thought Pansy would chicken out. Definitely not Astoria."

"Hey Astoria didn't chicken out," Ginny countered looking over at Theo, "It's her way of thinking that's flawed. Hermione doesn't want us to see family as blood because in the end blood doesn't mean anything. You can't trust someone just because they are your kin. You have to know the person and decide whether they have earned your respect. That's Hermione's point with the Unbreakable Vows. When she fully trusts us she'll remove them. That's when we will truly become a family."

"Well said Gin," Blaise agreed while filling his glass again, "I wonder how Pansy and Drake are fairing at calming the Dark Lady down."

Theo laughed taking another shot, "Shall we go find out?"

Hermione was livid. She knew that Theo would be upset about Astoria not making the cut but she didn't think that he would be so open about it. She expected him to suffer in silence and get over it. And then to have the audacity to say he wished things were different. Yeah well she wished things were different too. She wished that her best friends hadn't betrayed her; she wished that Draco actually liked her for more than a friend; she wished that people would live up to her expectations instead of letting her down all of the time. But she didn't get what she wanted now did she. Hermione growled as she tried to calm her anger. She was the leader and she had to keep a cool head. It was no use getting upset over life because she couldn't change it anyway. She jumped as she felt a hand land on her shoulder.

"Easy, it's just me." Draco said softly, "You okay?"

"Just fine thank you," Hermione hissed stepping away from him, "I don't need you to check up on me."

Draco frowned, "Don't be like that Mione. I'm not the one you're pissed off at."

"Sorry Drake," Hermione sighed stepping into his embrace, "I just don't know how to deal with this. It isn't my fault Tori didn't make the cut. I feel like Theo is blaming me."

"He'll get over it," Hermione looked up to see Pansy standing by her side.

"I hope so."

Pansy rolled her eyes, "He will. Now stop being all emotional. You can't change the past."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at Pansy causing Draco to laugh out loud, "I swear you guys act like sisters."

"We are." Both of the girls snapped before bursting out laughing.

"Speaking of," Hermione smiled walking over to Pansy, "Let me see your arm Sister mine."

Pansy held out her wand arm, "The other arm, the one with your mark," Hermione corrected softly.

Pansy swallowed and paled slightly but offered her marked arm to Hermione. Hermione grinned as she tapped the mark with her wand and it slowly faded into nothing leaving Pansy's skin whole and unmarred. "What happened?"

"I know how you pride yourself on your beauty. Your mark will never show unless I summon it back. I don't need you branded to know that you are one of mine. You're my sister and your pain is my pain. I will not cause you pain again unless necessary." Hermione explained looking into Pansy's eyes.

"Thank you Mione," Pansy whispered rubbing tears from her eyes.

"No problem, now stop being all emotional," Hermione mocked with a grin.

This time Pansy was the one to stick out her tongue, "Bite me."

Hermione shook her head and turned to Draco, "You next handsome."

"No," Draco shook his head and met her gaze, "I bear my mark proudly. You are my life."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up and she sucked in a deep breath. Her best friend's eyes were molten silver and shining slightly. He wanted to keep her mark. That was why he was her best friend. She would never find anyone as completely devoted as her Draco was. Hermione nodded and tucked her wand away looking between her family with a smile, "Well what do you say that we head back to the party?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Pansy agreed grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the door. Draco followed behind the girls watching the sway of Hermione's hips as he went. Right before the girls reached the door it opened to show Theo coming outside.

"Oh, I was just coming to- I mean I was- uh," Theo stuttered flustered at the sudden audience, "I uh just wanted to say sorry to you Mione. I uh, I know it wasn't your fault."

Hermione glanced behind Theo to see Ginny and Blaise watching the scene from the hall. She looked behind her to meet Draco's gaze. He smiled but said nothing to help the situation. That meant that Hermione was doing her first action as a leader. She took a deep breath and stepped up to Theo.

"As I have just told Pansy, your pain is my pain. You are my brother, and I don't want to hurt you. I would not hurt to again if it could be helped, but I can't allow Tori to be in the group with her current mindset. It's hazardous for all of us. If she were captured she could break and tell the Order secrets about us." Hermione explained.

"I know," Theo answered, "But the Vows?"

Hermione shook her head, "The Unbreakable Vows will not activate automatically. Even if they did she could spill a lot of information in the thirty seconds that it took for the Vow to kill her."

"I see," Theo whispered bowing his head, "Thank you for the explanation. I shouldn't question your judgment. I apologize."

"You are forgiven," Hermione responded immediately, "Now how about we all go and have an actual party?"

Her suggestion was met with a cheer and they all went back inside to enjoy the night. Not long after they had all settled back down Blaise suggested that they play a drinking game. The group agreed and they played for a couple of hours. One by one members of the group dropped out of the game until only Blaise and Hermione remained. She had eventually won but not after becoming completely trashed from the bottle and a half of fire whiskey that she had consumed. Draco laughed and helped her to the couch since everyone else was passed out on the floor. He fluffed the cushions and settled her in before laying down on the floor right in front of her. She smiled and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Hermione woke up the next day with a groan. A potion was immediately deposited into her hand and she downed the thing without asking questions. She sighed and opened her eyes after she felt the hangover potion take effect. She glanced around the room and smiled at what she saw. Her new family was sprawled out in various locations around the room. Theo was sandwiched between Pansy and Ginny to the right of the couch. From the looks of it they had all decided to share the chair cushion as a pillow. Blaise was asleep underneath the coffee table and at some point after he passed out he'd taken off his shirt to make his own pillow. Draco was sitting in front of her on the floor where she had seen him lay down the night before. He smirked as she met his gaze and chuckled softly.

"Morning my lady," Draco whispered, "How are you feeling?"

Hermione's heart skipped as Draco addressed her as his and she smiled, "I'm fine since you gave me that potion. Thanks. Blaise will probably need one too."

Draco nodded pointing to the tray on the coffee table, "I got enough for everyone. I knew if I drank the least and was hung-over then everyone else would be too."

"Why do you call me your lady?" Hermione asked changing the subject.

"Does it bother you?" Draco asked confused by the turn in the conversation.

"No, I just was wondering why you call me that." Hermione answered keeping her voice low trying not to wake the others.

Draco hesitated, "I guess because I think of you as mine in a way. I like you Hermione. Always have."

"But you said you didn't want to be married to me." Hermione argued confused.

"What?" Draco frowned, "When did I say that?"

"The other day. You said we were stuck together." Hermione whispered with tears in her eyes, "I thought you meant that you would rather have someone else."

"Oh babe no," Draco breathed realizing his mistake, "I was just joking. I didn't mean that I didn't want you. You're the only thing I want. Like I've said, you're my life."

Hermione smiled, "I want you too. That's why I chose you as my second in command. I had hoped that maybe you would develop feelings for me."

"I've always had then," Draco answered, "That's why I almost lost it when we rescued you. I want to rip Potter to pieces for what he's done to you. You deserve way better than that. You deserve to be spoiled and waited on and worshipped." Draco stopped suddenly as Hermione leaned forward and put her hand on his cheek.

"Are you offering to spoil me Drake?" She asked with a blush.

"If you'll have me."

"And you'll give me anything I want?" She countered.

"Name it," Draco demanded.

Hermione blushed shyly, "I want….a kiss."

Draco's answer was to lean forward and capture her lips with his. He growled remembering the last time they had kissed like this. She moaned as he pulled her off the couch and into his lap. She felt so good. He could kiss her for hours. Draco pulled away and starting planting kisses along her neck and smirked at the response he was getting. She was pulling him closer and tilting her head to give him better access to her neck. Just as Draco went to give her another searing kiss he felt her freeze. He stopped what he was doing and pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked dreading the answer.

"We can't do this here," Hermione whispered, "Our friends are passed out two feet away."

"I'm not passed out anymore," Blaise groaned as he blindly reached above him to find the hangover potions.

"See." Hermione snapped trying to pull herself away from Draco.

Draco sighed letting her get up to help Blaise with the potion. He was going to kill his new brother for ruining that moment. He really was.

Hermione shot him a glare and Draco laughed as he realized that he had voiced the thought.

"Thanks for that Drake," Blaise laughed drinking the potion Hermione handed him, "I love you too man."

Draco rolled his eyes and stood up to help Hermione pass out the potions. Obviously he would have to continue with his previous plans later. Hermione smiled at him for helping her. He grinned back. She was absolutely beautiful and a fierce warrior. He loved that she cared more about being deadly than beautiful and he would love her even if she was scarred and ugly. He couldn't wait to see where the Dark Bloods lead them. Hopefully, this new family would make a name for themselves that everyone feared. He couldn't wait to begin.